About me
Hi, I’M manuela!
I’m an Italian watercolour artist now painting from my home studio in sunny Abu Dhabi. I’ve always felt that nature communicates through colour: the shimmer of a butterfly’s wing, the blush on a rose petal, or a rainbow after the rain. These are wordless messages of beauty, hope, and renewal that speak straight to the soul. It’s this idea that inspired the name of my studio: Alma for soul, and Colours for nature’s messages. Just like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, nature constantly shows us the possibility of new beginnings and that hope can bloom at any time, even in the most unexpected moments.
My Painting Journey: Beginning Again
There was a time when I stepped away from art, and I lost touch with the part of me that loved to create. Life was busy, priorities shifted, and creativity quietly slipped into the background. For years, it stayed there, waiting. Until one day I started drawing again, and it opened the door to a new chapter I did not see coming.
When I returned to art after a long break, it was not dramatic. Just a pencil, a piece of paper, and a moment to explore a few ideas. Watercolour came soon after, offering me a way back to beauty at a time when I was struggling to see it, following a diagnosis of a rare genetic disorder.
Little by little, through daily practice, I began to heal, and butterflies became a recurring symbol in my work for the simplest reason: they are living proof of transformation. They speak of change that can be beautiful, of renewal, and of hope appearing when we least expect it. In watercolour, I found a new beginning, and through butterflies, I found my wings of hope.
If you are new here, welcome. And if you have ever had to find your way back to something you love, I hope my paintings leave you with the feeling that it’s never too late to begin again.
