Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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....

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