Away from the rush of the peloton, Carlotta Cipressi finds stillness in the quiet rhythm of her brush against canvas.
In painting, Carlotta immerses herself in a world of color, expression and creativity. She unlocks ways to relax her body and mind, challenging herself to create. In the calm of her painting studio, Carlotta has found a rhythm far removed from the intensity of competition, one guided not by training plans or finish lines, but by intuition and color. A way to balance the demands of professional sport with the need for stillness and self-expression.
“Painting is the exact opposite of technology,” says the 22-year-old. “It has no operating patterns, no rules, it’s simply the representation of a thought or a subject.”
Carlotta let us into her home studio to talk about her creative process and how her art is a keystone in her mindset.
Born into an artistic family, Carlotta would watch her grandfather paint through the winter, clamoring to hang his works in her bedroom. Inspired by him and her mother, she was soon making sketches of her own.
“Art in general is something fascinating to me and it has always attracted me,” she says. “It’s something simpler, more ancient.”
When myocarditis (a rare inflammation of the heart muscle) sidelined her in 2023, she was at odds with what to do. Not being able to train for four months can destabilize a young athlete’s mental health. Carlotta threw herself into creative expression.
“I dedicated myself completely to painting and found a true outlet,” she explains. “I’ve never stopped since. I can’t do without it. Usually, when I start a painting, I finish it immediately, without waiting for the next day. I can’t stop, and if I did, the next day the paint and my hand wouldn’t be the same, and I’d risk not achieving the result I’d like.”
Impressionism is the style she associates her work with most, capturing a fleeting moment on canvas with her characteristic flowing marks, calling on Manet, Renoir, and Monet as chief influences.
“Another painter I can’t help but draw inspiration from is Van Gogh,” she explains. “I love his technique in using color and the palette knife, which, with a simple, small detail, could make the difference in an entire canvas.”
Art has and will forever be the most evocative form of expressing the creator’s feelings. Using both brushes and palette knives, Carlotta focuses on mostly realistic landscapes and nature, sometimes combining more abstract notions depending on her mindset at the time.
“For me, having a hobby is fundamental, especially for an athlete. It helps relax the body, but above all, the mind,” she says. “In my opinion, art is something that, unfortunately, isn’t appreciated much today, especially by young people, but in this modern world, art has no time, no modernity, and no canons.”
Through painting, Carlotta has discovered that art, much like cycling, is about movement. Not always forward, but inward too. Sometimes, the most meaningful victories are found not on the road, but in the spaces where we allow ourselves to pause, reflect, and create.
