Inspired to Escape

Although working constantly is the nature of what I do as an artist, I felt that I wanted to take some time out and address the things that of which make my fans curious. The most significant being, how am I inspired for my work. This is a question I receive on a frequent daily basis and while there are so many answers, at the same time there are also two very basic underlying truths for my creative process. One is my need to take the person viewing my work and transport them to another time; simply draw them in and make them feel like the woman on the cover of a book and for a moment remove them from an ordinary existence into that of a romantic fantasy. Every last detail is designed to ensure this vision, from the actual model to the costume she is wearing and the very pose she is holding. All of this works together to make the reader want to open that book and take a journey as that heroine on the cover and escape everyday life even if just for a brief period of time. Often it is something subliminal in the design to stir an emotion or inspire some kind of feeling that you wouldn’t experience anywhere else. It takes hold of you and you can’t shake it…nor do you want to. The feeling envelops you from the moment you see the cover and continues until the very last page.
The other very basic aspect of how I create a scene is my innate sense of what is beautiful and natural. I can find beauty in anything and have always wanted to translate my vision to the world so everyone can see that beauty and enjoy it and allow it to fill up their soul. Art in all forms is beautiful and an escape and I am driven to provide that escape to my audience.
At the moment some of my projects include covers for NY Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens, Kathy Maxwell and Elizabeth Boyle. I have completed sketches for an oil painting depicting a scene in 19th century New York City, but will discuss that more as it comes closer to completion, although I’m very excited about the process and loving the historical aspect of creating such a piece. Also I’m thrilled to report that every month I will be posting a new gallery on my website, so keep an eye out each month.
I do read all my e-mail, so continue to write me as I would love to respond to more questions about my work and will continue to give an inside look into my world here in my blog.
--Jon-Paul

Jon Paul latest news

It's been a month since my last blog. A lot has transpired since then and I am excited and amazed at the feedback and trafficking that has gone into my web site since I launched it only two months ago. The site will be updated shortly again with a lot of new content and new features. Two more galleries will be added to the gallery section. I hope you all like it.

This months, Romantic Times magazine (May 2009 issue) did an article on my career as a Romance Illustrator of Historical Novels. It should be on stands this week in Barnes & Noble and other book store outlets all over the country and the world. The article talks about my passion for my art and shows a little of a behind the scenes in the making of the cover art.

Also besides my novels, I do gallery art and limited edition giclees, which will be available through my web site at a later date. As I mentioned in my last blog, I love history and recently just saw a great movie in my opinion called "The Duchess." The cinematography was absolutely beautiful and I love the costumes from that period ... in my own work (gallery art and some of the covers) all my costumes are custom made. I am planning at the moment to do a painting of The Duchess of Devonshire "Georgiana." I'm already starting to design the outfit for the painting and I have a very beautiful model picked out to play the role. I think the model I chose is perfect for "Georgiana" ... Georgiana was known for her beauty and sense of style and she set the trends of the fashion of her time … she even sat to have her portrait painted by the two of the most famous painters of the era… Reynolds and Gainsborough. When I do projects like this, I like to immerse myself into knowing everything I can on the subject in order to be authentic to the period. I remember years ago, I was doing Cleopatra and I ended up study every aspect of her fascinating life. From her birth to her death...

Well, I better get back to work...I'm working on several novel covers right now and I will be writing another blog shortly...

Jon Paul Romance Novel Book Cover Artist

Today is the first day I will start to write a blog on my new web site. My web site has been up for a little over ten years now and I thought it was time for a new look and I hope at least the majority likes it (lol). Writing a blog is something new to me, though I look forward to doing it and sharing my thoughts and feelings about my passion for my work... with the world so to speak and how I feel about it. To begin with I've been a Romance Illustrator for over twenty years now. I've have painted every time period imaginable and I have to say I still love doing it to this day. I know things have changed quite a bit in the Romance industry since I enter ... the covers these days are going more to in house and photographic in style and away from the more illustrative and painterly style. I have to say both styles have there place and one would be boring without the other. So it gives more variety to the market for different tastes. As far as me being a painter of Romance Novels and doing all these different periods makes me feel like a time traveler, for I mainly do historical novels... I always loved history (whether it be European, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.) and studying the different periods and wondering what it would be like to live back then. I'm definitely a romantic in my art, whether I am painting a Romance Novel or any other subject. I guess that comes from the Italian in me (lol)... I'm all Italian... American born. My ancestors (Paternal side) are originally from small village in Potenza where I still have relatives and my ancestors from my maternal side are from Salerno. My last name is Ferrara and I hope someday to visit the land of my ancestors... To know my ancestors are from the land of the biggest names in art history… Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Bernini, Bottochelli, I could go on and on ... it would be a sin not to visit it someday and just Europe in itself to me spells Romance... The beauty of the architecture, it's all … not just in the museums, it is in the streets itself. Well, let me get back on track about my work (lol)... In my work, I like to think of my art as story telling, I want the viewer feel the emotion of my art just like an actor or actress does when they are up on a stage. I always believe all the arts are the same and join into one another. Whether you are a painter, actor, actress, dancer, poet, etc., you are basically portraying a feeling that you want your viewer to feel, whether it be happiness sorrow, love etc....... and I also believe when an artist can bring there viewer into their world for even a moment, that is when we have succeed as artist, that we have touched the human spirit of another person and that is the highest compliment an artist can achieve in my opinion in return.... Some of the best moments in my career is the letters and e-mail's I get from people around the world telling me how I have touched them in one way or another through my work… How can you beat that??? That is why I love what I do....

To be continued....