The artist in me knows that I must also be an outlaw (vandal, culprit) in the world. It might be a controversial image, or words that rub some folks the wrong way, but my job is to put it out there; to stir up conversation and maybe cause some notebook doodling. Whether it is powerful women with weapons, monsters lurking in the shadows or books about the monstrousness in all of us, I'm gonna do it. About the art: I had an idea for this one, a female outlaw in mid-air. So I began with a gesso'd canvas and some thinned oil paint and sketched a rough outline of the figure. Next a layer of background paint, pushing in to further refine the sketch. A long drying time. Using a small brush I went in for the detail work - face, hands and weapons. While those were drying, I placed shadows in the clothing, the hair and the legs. More drying! The requisite 80 million layers, pushing and pulling until the right level of detail vs abstraction was reached. It took many weeks. OY! Finally, a second layer on the background, and a very wet brush laden with paint for the dripping parts of her clothing. After four more weeks of drying, I added a layer of varnish. She is a big, powerful piece in the studio. She does not tolerate timidity or hesitation!
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It is the most exciting penultimate day! The day before MonstroUS is released. And I am having a little surreal moment - is it nearly here already? But rather than talk about the stories and the writing today, let's chat about the art. Over 60 pieces of oil paintings and pen and ink drawings went into this book. Each story has a different style inspiration; a unique visual perspective. The studio had pieces propped, taped, clipped and leaned everywhere for more than a year. I was surrounded by the art! Here are a few of my favorites.
Thank you to everyone who has preordered MonstroUS! If you haven't already ordered, you have one more day to reserve a copy AND be entered to win one of two original pieces of art from the book! Woohoo!
And Balle is so right in pointing out the improbability of our very existence as humans in the universe - why should we be rattled by more freak occurrences? Next time I am saying softly to myself and this too, I will simply look up at the stars and nod knowingly. All of this is an improbable coincidence. About the art: beginning with a gesso'd piece of Yupo and an inspiration image, I roughed in the outline of the figure with a pencil and then painted the first layer of background paint (working outside-in) and further refined the figure outline. Then a long drying time. Following with the face and hands, I used a thin layer of paint to place the main facial features and the structure of the hands around the heart. Another drying time (oil is all about patience) and then a tiny brush to place small details on face and hands, then more layers of paint on both. While those layers dried, I worked on a base coat for the hair and clothing, the neck and the skin of the arms (shadows and light). More drying time! A few more layers on the face and hands, another layer on hair and clothing and arms, then a final, very loose layer on the background. About five weeks from start to finish. This joyful, heart-generous girl makes me smile.
I think the key to this book coming together so beautifully is teamwork (as is the key to most successful things). Having an editor who is excited about the project, demanding and yet encouraging certainly helped me over the rewrite hurdles. And for Rindoks, having a writer/illustrator who would meet deadlines and embrace changes (well, most of them anyway) might have helped, too. If you have a book in your noggin itching to get out, finding the right (WRITE!) team is the difference between finishing the book and getting stuck in the mire. Whether you are working with an editor like Leslie Rindoks, or a writing coach like Thea Fiore Bloom chemistry between you is the magic elixir of creating something wondrous. And guess what? YOU are part of that magic elixir for me! Your feedback on the blog, the art, the process and my own journey have been instrumental in building the confidence I needed to tackle this, well, monster of a project. THANK YOU!!! I had the opportunity to interview Rindoks once MonstroUS was complete. There is a link to the interview on YouTube below! 
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR (but do keep wishing) IN A NONDESCRIPT midwestern town somewhere in the early 1970’s, a middle-schooler sat at a desk in geography class writing short horror stories. The instructor had a monotonous voice and wore his sweater-vests inside-out, so writing was the way to stay alert, as well as a way to delight classmates when the stories were passed from desk to desk. The middle-school girl had unruly dark hair, thick glasses, bumps on her face and hairy legs. Was she a witch? If only. A few spells might have worked against the monsters at home. In the meantime, writing horror stories made the real horrors seem somehow less. Fifty years later (FIFTY YEARS!) the (now grown) girl receives a missive from a magical being inviting her to write and illustrate a book. She raises an eyebrow, waiting for the catch, but instead finds the door opened to a world outside of the box, rules abandoned, caution thrown to the wind—just waiting for her. WHERE DO I SIGN?, she yells, and a contract lands in her lap. Fifteen months, 60 illustrations and a dozen stories later, a book is born under the practiced and expert eye of the magical being (who happens to be an enchantress and book doula). Somewhere in the time loop, a middle-schooler is screaming with joy, jumping on her desk and shouting TAKE THAT, YOU FUCKING MONSTERS! She accepts detention for swearing and marches off to gleefully serve her time. About the art: beginning with an old oil painting on a flat panel, I roughed in a basic mountainous scene with bold strokes of oil paint and a brush. Drawing on our hikes along the rugged Oregon coast, where waves crash ominously against tall vertical cliffs and rocks, but without using a reference photo, a worked with big shapes and broad brush strokes. This piece took form over five weeks, where drying time between layers allowed me to come back in and build color layers while scraping back enough to let the underpainting peek through. Finishing with a palette knife to add rough highlights and whitecaps to the waves, and a wet brush through the sky to drag paint over the mountaintops.
About the art: an intuitive abstract landscape - working with brush and palette knife, I roughed in a basic composition based on hikes we've taken into mountainous areas. The layers of hills and ravines and rocks; the hugeness of the sky. Resisting the urge to get overly detailed or "precious" about the piece, I worked quickly to capture light and shadow, big shapes and highlights. Is that water? Is it snow? Is that the smell of rain off in the distance?
Naranjo-Morse influenced my thoughts about my own painting when I came across her poem. This coyote? He's a slick city guy. Hanging out with house cats, wary of cars and security lights. Does he read the New York Times? Maybe? I'd love to hear what relationship words have with art in your world. Do words make art come alive? Or does art describe something words cannot? Leave a comment!
I am personally celebrating each and every one of you. Brave souls who follow their hearts, even if there is no path, no guidebook or map and no instruction manual. We don't need to know the way back. We can just take another step forward with glee. About the art: beginning with a gesso'd piece of Yupo and a color palette in my mind, I grabbed a wide brush and just ran with this one. I wanted to veer away from preciousness, from tiny details, from tightness and over-control. A wide brush and big strokes makes that easy! I drew a basic series of horizon lines with neutral paint, then began blocking in chunks of color. A wash of pale glow and the suggestion of a sun and its reflection. I worked all around those lights, ignoring them until the very end when I could cut in with the paint and reduce them to the most impactful size. I'm pretty stoked about this one.
I spent many years staying in my lane, not wandering, not adventuring, stifling my curiosity because of outside pressures and inside fears. The anxiety of the unknown can be crippling! But not now, not here. I want to have the most incredible tale to tell when all is said and done. About the art: beginning with a piece of Yupo covered in white gesso, I lightly drew the figure with a small brush and thinned oil paint. I painting a light wash on the background to isolate the figure in the space, then some drying time. Coming in with darks I delineated the helmet, neck area and the basic figure shape. I used a small rubber wedge to carve back through the paint on the neck to expose the white underlayer and create "wires". A wash of golden yellow for the helmet and body, then blues and teals for the "glass" of the helmet faceplate. After more drying, small crushes and all of the tiny details over many, many layers. Finally, more washes of color to create and atmospheric background, then one more go with the small wedge to carve more "wires" around the helmet. This curious bot makes me smile. There is hope in that architectural visage. :)
About the art: the march of the murdered paintings continues! They are lined up in the studio, ready for their transformations. When I got the idea for this abstract, I was so excited I forgot to take any process pics. Oy! Beginning a brush laden with thinned dark paint, I deliniated the basic structure - horizon line, rolling hills and a falling tumble below. Many washes of color to amp up the brilliance, then a long drying time. A small brush with more darks to re-sculpt the "rocks" and "cliff", then more washes of color over top of the dried sections. A chopstick dragged through the layers to create texture and movement. A small brush splayed and twisted in a circle for the blue moon. A final coat of varnish and a deep, satisfied sigh.
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AuthorLola Jovan 
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