This painting started on my first ride up the Berlino chairlift, which climbs from Garessio 2000 to Monte Berlino, in January 2023. I took the reference photo on the way up. It had snowed heavily that winter; the whole mountain and its firs lay under white. I painted it with my fingers, in oil. The pink sky isn’t the one in my photo — it’s the colour I remember those winter sunsets being, added to carry the full feeling of the cold, snow-covered mountain.

This one came from our mushroom hunts in the woods, porcini above all. We go in autumn, when the undergrowth is damp and smells of earth and leaves. You walk slowly, eyes down, and for a long time you see nothing: porcini hide among the leaves and moss, the same colour as the wood. Then all at once you spot one, its round glossy cap, and it’s a small joy. That’s the moment I wanted to paint: the patience of the search, and the reward when the wood finally pays back all the walking.

This painting takes me back to early spring, when we go walking in the mountains. A trip near Rifugio Savona has become a tradition of ours. It’s an incredible place, rare in its landscape and its mountain plants; the flowers are rich and full of colour, and it all takes your breath away. I really recommend these mountain walks, to live it for yourself.