Gabrielle Tito, recently named Artit’s People’s Choice Portrait Artist of the Year 2024, offers a portrait practice rooted in intimacy, observation, and emotional clarity. The work is marked by a sensitivity to gesture and presence, capturing not just the surface of her subjects but something quieter underneath. Through portraiture, Gabrielle explores connection, memory, and the act of seeing with care.

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Your work melds the Old Master tradition with contemporary themes and the world of couture. How do you approach technique in your practice, and what role does classical training play in shaping your modern artistic voice? 

As a child, I always wanted to understand the craft and technique of the old masters. It was very difficult to find art schools or teachers who had the background, training or interest. When I trained in the studio of portrait artist James Childs I felt as though I had entered a mysterious world where the secrets of the old masters were being passed down. Childs had studied under Richard Lack who had studied under R.H.Ives Gammell who had studied under William Paxton who had studied under the great academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. The students of Richard Lack subsequently opened 30 ateliers. The methods of Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gerome are now compiled in an accessible art tome and are being taught more widely today but back then I felt as though I was learning an ancient unspoken language. When I visit a painting of Gérôme I feel like I’m visiting the Godfather who gave me the skills to be the artist that I am. Hunting for that knowledge and that information was a major part of my journey as a young artist. That language was so thrilling and beautiful to me and the one I needed to tell my modern stories to a modern world. The world of couture is similar in that a couturier is only going to learn the secrets of their craft in a studio where that information is being passed down from generation to generation. We live in a time where the handmade and the human touch feels more and more out of reach. Keeping these languages alive infuses modern life with the ultimate in skilled handcrafted human creation. Mastering craft is just one component of being an artist but vital in unleashing my own stories, emotions and modern perspective on the canvas.

Fashion and art are deeply intertwined in your work. What can the world of couture teach us about storytelling, connection, and self-expression through art? 

Fashion is like painting with fabric. Both couture and painting tell stories through image-making. When I paint layers of fabric in a portrait, it is as if there is a painting within a painting. Fashion reveals time and place and is often transportive to a world of fantasy. A simple earring, headdress, powerful gaze and glazed lip in "Girl with a Pearl Earring” was enough material to inspire a novel and a great motion picture. A swish of fabric in a painting, a bit of embroidery and a ribbon are all visual clues. In my painting,”Remember the Field of Gold,” there are three sunflowers, a vintage Hermes scarf, a tweed jacket and a handbag. All of these fashion elements reveal a story or perhaps a memory: We were biking and stopped to pick figs. I wanted a sunflower. You said those belonged to Vincent then you showed me his tree. Still, I took three as mementos. When you discovered them, you said be like a wildflower and grow in unexpected places. Paintings like perfume are powerful memory holders. Nothing informs the story, memory or fantasy more than a layer of fabric, a flower or a bit of embroidery. We all react to these visual clues in different ways based on our own experiences with a scent, a flower or a vintage scarf. If those visual pieces of information are strong enough they lure us all in to project our own story.

  
You’ve mentioned that painting couture is not just about beauty and nostalgia but about connecting threads of the past, present, and future. How does this philosophy guide your creative process?  

There are some paintings I sit in front of and think that the artist is talking directly to me. It doesn’t matter how many people are in the gallery or how many millions have stood in front of it, the dialogue is with me. It sounds outrageous but maybe the artist is just that good. This delusion is particularly acute in front of a Velàsquez. Imagine that friend who is so charming he makes you think you are the only person in the world. Velàzquez is without a doubt that charming friend! And so I decided to paint an answer to the artist or perhaps a question in “Self-Portrait with Velàsquez Reflection.” My family can trace our roots in Italy as far back as 1492 which makes us believe that we are originally from Spain. What if we hadn’t been expelled from Spain? What if I was sitting in front of Velàsquez a century later when he was busy painting Juan de Pareja, his household’s former slave of African descent?  He painted him like a magnificent king. He later freed Juan de Pareja, his apprentice,  who became a celebrated artist in his own right. Velàsquez painted Sebastián de Morra, the court dwarf and jester, with such humanity and in Las Meninas he flips the easel to let the viewer see the artist, court jesters and ladies in waiting standing on equal ground as the Infanta. The royal couple are barely visible in the mirror on the back wall. So, I ask him in my painting, how would you, Velàsquez, paint me? I painted myself in a modern couture Spanish black shawl with richly colored embroidery. Black has a vibrant history in Spanish fashion, originally worn by the nobility because of the quality of the dye, called “negro Ala de Cuervo” or “ravens wing.” That dye was ridiculously expensive and a symbol of power. It’s no wonder that Spanish black was a major inspiration to couturier Balenciaga. Painted in that black shawl I can almost hear the Gypsy notes of flamenco vocals, guitar and wooden castanets. When I sit in front of a Velàsquez painting, I realize that he is painting me. Do you have that same feeling? Is he also painting you? This feeling of connection across time and place is what inspires my painting and need to include elements of couture in my subject matter.

You have mentioned that late Aunt, Rinnà Tito’s work left a profound mark on your artistic path. How do personal memories and family history influence the way you create and interpret portraits? 

I never met my Aunt. She died before I was born and yet she had one of the strongest influences on my life and most profoundly on my life as an artist. Even though I never met her I was surrounded by her paintings, sculpture, library of art books, albums filled with costume designs and fashion designs with swatches of fabric.  I had photographs of her looking like a movie star out of a Dolce Vita film and pieces of her haute couture clothing. There were perfume bottles and even a tiny velvet address book filled with Roman phone numbers and addresses that were penciled in elegant script by her during the 1960’s. Dried flowers were pressed into the pages of her sketchbooks. In my life, she was not there and yet she was everywhere. This feeling has informed the way I paint portraits. I am not merely capturing a likeness despite my familiarity with the face or relationship with the sitter. I’m trying to muster that feeling of being utterly consumed by the story that isn’t there and yet is everywhere between the seams of the fabric in the emotional gaze and in the imagination of the viewer.

Your portraits often seem to embody more than just the individuals or objects depicted—they evoke emotions, stories, and a sense of timelessness. How do you ensure your work resonates universally, even as it remains deeply personal to you? 

I think personal stories are what connect and inspire people and transport audiences emotionally. It is when I started painting my own stories and emotions that I felt a true connection with my audience and understanding that these are the stories they want to see me paint.

Your piece ‘Tomorrow I’ll Wear Yesterday’ explores themes of time, culture, and heritage. What universal messages do you hope audiences take from this series, and how do these themes resonate in today’s world?

In “Tomorrow I’ll Wear Yesterday,” my daughter is wearing a vintage couture Valentino gown that was custom-made for my Aunt. After surviving the holocaust at the height of La Dolce Vita, my family managed to carve out a niche in Rome’s fashion world with nothing but a lucky ring to pawn. La Dolce Vita was a period of high fashion culture and life after a period of darkness. Painting my daughter in that gown is a symbol of my family’s survival while holding on to each thread of our story. Couture and art for me are a celebration of life, dignity, and humanity and a reminder that even in the darkest of times art can help us feel alive.

You’ve spoken about dresses as vessels for whispers of history and culture. How do objects like couture gowns or fabrics inspire your narratives, and what do they reveal about the lives they’ve touched? 

The hand-stitched embroidery in the Cucculelli Shaheen gown I painted took almost 2000 hours. Even though this is a modern couture gown the embroidery reminds me of my Nonna’s work. I remember her hands. She had beautiful hands and when I think of them stitching for hours on end I imagine every story in her almost 100 years of life. She had stories of loss, resistance, survival and sparks of joy. I imagine the stories of the hands that embroidered the Cucculelli Shaheen gown for 2000 hours. So many hands and so many stories. I imagine dresses being worn throughout history and the secrets of the women who wore them. I imagine the places they went and the whispers of stories they heard. Nothing holds a secret like a well-worn dress. These are the stories I paint.

Your paintings connect people across time, culture, and storylines. How do you see art serving as a bridge between these worlds, and why do you believe this connection is so important? 

I see paintings almost as time capsules. In these time capsules I want to share a face, a magnificent dress and a moment of my time. When standing in front of a painting we become part of its story. Paintings force us to stand still, see each other and share a bit of our humanity.

Recognition as Portrait Artist of the Year highlights your ability to capture both beauty and depth in your work. What advice would you give to emerging artists looking to tell compelling stories through portraiture?

I think it's really important to know your craft and to understand the techniques of the old masters. It's also important to push out of that academic tradition and develop your own hand and sensibility. When painting portraits not only are you learning about the sitter and their story but ultimately you are learning about yourself and every story that drives you.

Looking ahead, what themes or ideas are you excited to explore in your future work? How do you envision your art evolving in the years to come? 

I have focused so much on painting portraits and I miss sculpting. I now am incorporating renaissance techniques of pastiglia and water gilding into my paintings which will allow me to combine my passion for micro-sculpture and painting on the same panel. I hope that incorporating these techniques will expand the level of storytelling in my work. I would like to continue to explore the themes of couture, historical and cultural inspiration and modern expression while pushing the boundaries of my own imagination.

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As Artit’s People’s Choice Portrait Artist of the Year 2024, Gabrielle Tito continues to build a practice shaped by honesty, subtlety, and deep regard for human presence. Gabrielle's work stands as a testament to the power of portraiture—not just as representation, but as a space for reflection, recognition, and quiet transformation.