WACM: What was the question you have never asked yourself and you should have asked?                                                        Balsamo: My answer to you will unfortunately take me to a world of controversy. It would be wise to bring this question to all those critics who for nearly 15 years  did not even consider me as an artist. For years, they would not acknowledge my "existence" and notice my work! Consequently, perhaps, logically, the "unasked question" becomes: "Why and how come,  they have  never recognized and  understood  my art?

WACM:You are close to 68 now. When are you going to stop painting and begin to relax?                                                               Balsamo: I am 69 now. I still feel that I can give a lot. You must understand,  painting is my whole life. I live for my art and breath through it. I live my art 10 hours a day, along with my books,  my music, my poetry, my fantasy, my thoughts... I had 8 art periods in my  "colorful" life and today I am on the verge of creating another period. I will never retire. On the contrary, I keep on experimenting, digging, inventing, re-inventing, searching, exploring new ideas, new colors, new visions, new concepts, new techniques, new themes, new philosophies...I will always try something new, every day. I might stop, only, when and if I begin to feel that I cannot produce meaningful art anymore. However, I will not change my esthetical philosophy and artistic style to please the market...this is another story. I will never do that.

WACM: If you could stop time, and re-think about your whole life, how would you paint it in a painting?                                            Balsamo: Beautiful question. Creed that cannot be enclosed (all my life) in a single picture, but every  period of my  work could be reassumed as part of  my existence step by step. My life is a sequence of feelings and visions. My life is there, all over my paintings. Let me guide you toward my life on my paintings. Autoritratto in 1961. Fiori, fire, lights  in a blue vase in 1973.Decomposizione in1976. Trauma and "warp" in 1977?. An inquisitive  painter in 1978.  Letters of my life in 1984. Ultimate moments...opera...visions, not one single vision. Sognando in1987.  Romance in 1993 well depicted in Atmosfere romantiche. My free thoughts  in 2000. Capriccio in 2003. I cannot stop for one single moment and I will paint for the rest of my  life. My life is all of the above...My life is "many things"...so is yours!

WACM: What advice you would give to new talented painters who are having hard time selling their paintings? What they should do to succeed? Tell me about the practical aspect of it?                                                                                                                         Balsamo: Young painters of our times should accept sacrifices. They must spend enough time studying the great masters. Unfortunately, many of them are not patient enough. They want to succeed right away. This is impossible. Being an artist is not fun all the time. You got to be patient and willing to learn, to practice, to practice and practice again. You have to work out your art. Also illusion of grandeur is destructive. Some artists believe that they have made it already, because two galleries exhibited their work. They begin to tell themselves that they are on the top now. And when, they begin to feel that way, PROGRESS STOPS! If your art is stagnant pond, life dies in it and so YOU! Something else, young artists should be concerned about. A true artist should not follow "fashion" in art. There is no such thing as  the "painting du jour" or the "special of the season", or "trendy art". Art is immortal. Art outlives all of us. It is not the trend, the fashion which makes you a great artist but, the true, humble and sensitive artist who lives inside you who will immortalize your name and struggling art. Art is not a very fine "boutique shopping",  Art is not a product on "sale", the French and the Italians refer to it as "Occasion" and Occasione! Final advice: An artist becomes a true artist when he or she finds his or her "identity" that nobody can take away from the heart, soul, art and character of the artist. An artist should not paint to please the "shoppers" and the critics. Soon or later, shoppers and critics die and are forgotten. Only, truthful art with truthful identity will immortalize the name, the memory and the art of the artist.

WACM: What do you wish for your children to become one day  in life: Rich lawyers? doctors? Successful businessmen? Or talented painters?                                                                                                                                                                                Balsamo: I have 4 sons, two boys and two girls from my first marriage. Roberto, lives in Australia. He is an artist, a sculptor. Francisco works with me, he takes care of my art and exhibitions business. My two daughters, Antonella and Daniela live in Rome. From my second marriage, I have a 9 year old son: Adam. I do not impose my will on them, nor decide what they should do and should not do in life. I do not think about it. Each person in life sees life differently.

WACM: What is a masterpiece, Maestro?                                                                                                                                   Balsamo: It is what endures in your mind and soul. From the classical art, don't go far, Michelangelo's work. Antonello of Messina or Piero of  Francesca.  From the modern art: The work of  Segantini,  some capolavori of Picasso, Braque, Gorky, or Kandinsky. But if I  have to choose my favorites, I would select  Mirò, Tobey and Twombly.

Final words of Maestro Balsamo: I want to thank you for visiting me. You have asked beautiful questions.  They took me back in time...and brought to me memories, memories of my early days...the beginning of my career, dear moments in my life. Also, unfortunately, just to be frank with you, those beautiful questions  brought to my heart and to my mind, sad memories, but that is life! Through your questions, I revisited passages and frames of the film of my life with all its intensity...thank you.

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