DEVILISH DUKE IN MY BED

This is one of my favorite recent covers, done for the book, Devilish Duke In My Bed, by Sophie Jordan, Avon Books. There is a very hot inside cover, too. The model was Suzanne Fogarty, one of the best models, who manages with grace and style to embody whatever sexy pose I ask for.

In this case I requested an auto-erotic feeling, as if she was getting turned on just from the thought of her lover. I did a lot of painting in this one to further that concept, turning up the heat and emphasizing her body writhing under the satin sheets. Her skin was made very pale and hair, very light blonde to contrast with the rich colors of the sheet and patterned background. I notice in my work of late, that I care less and less whether the background or setting makes sense in a literal way, but works in an artistic way to further the feeling of the piece. My thanks to Suzanne and Shirley Green, my photographer. Thanks also to Veronica Bennet, who keeps me on my toes and posting more regularly! Please visit her website for a treat, at : http://www.veronicabennet.altervista.org/

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Cover Cafe article!

I've chosen an real classic from my collection of book covers past, in honor of the recent article posted in www.Covercafe.com/BTSCgriffin.shtml  This was for the book by Jennifer Blake, called Midnight Waltz that was published in 1984. It's interesting to notice what has changed and what has stayed the same about romance book covers in the intervening years. When I painted this, I was trying to bring back a fine art look to the cover image and I wanted to convey a mood that fit with the intense feeling of romance in the book. Amidst the bubble gum covers at the time, all screaming at the reader with huge, gigantic flowers and saturated colors, I thought this classical approach would really stand out. And it did! I understand this sold very well and was soon to garner a bunch of imitators. I still do these moody covers from time to time, when the subject seems to warrant it, but for the most part, publishers shy away from greys, browns, and dark purples. Yet I think this holds together because of its close color harmonies. It is saved from total gloom by the patch of orange sky, looming over the victorian hotel. There is a feeling danger and urgency, indicated by the blowing dark cloud, whipping palms and crashing waves. 

Another thing that was popular then, but has just begun to come back, is the image wrapping around to the back cover. At the time I did this, most artists treated the back cover differently from the front, often having a vignette showing another scene from the story. I felt it would be much better to sweep right across, continuing the panorama in one image. I'm sure the typesetters hated this, because their blocks of copy were harder to read, but I think the customers liked it. I also had an ulterior motive, with an eye toward the future, to create a painting that would make sense in a frame as a work of art. Some of these painting are in frames in private collections and they do work that way. The rest are in storage bins awaiting the day when they might be rediscovered like Pulp Fiction illustrations were a while back. At one time those cover paintings were hard to even give away, but after a good amount of time had passed  they became campy and interesting again. Their prices at auction have been rising ever since. 

I did many covers for Jennifer Blake books through the 80s and early 90s for Ballantine books. I'll haul one out and post it from time to time. Meanwhile, visit CoverCafe.  

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WHEN THE DUKE RETURNS

This is the front cover illustration I did for Eloisa James' When The Duke Returns, Avon Books. The model was Ewa Da Cruz, costume by Sharon Spiak and Photography by Shirley Green. I was looking for a way to get across the title's celebratory feel, but also an intimate romantic sense and hit upon the idea of using fireworks in the distance. It is smoky out there and our heroine is smiling coyly at the off stage Duke. The mask helps convey the thought of a vaguely naughty party.  On the stepback image, which you see when you open the front cover, she now has her man in her arms. I liked this pose very much and it was a happy accident, made by trying different positions. To me, he looked so heroic, but also so fragile and she seemed both hungry  and protective in her touch. The party keeps going on out there somewhere... but she has her duke!

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THE SHADOW AND THE FLAME

This image is for the first book in a series of four, I think, by talented author, Denise Rossetti, who is exploring afresh direction in the Fantasy genre. It is a hot book, in many ways and well-written, too! I recently was interviewed by her on her blog, http://www.deniserossetti.com/blog/, for the launching of the series by Berkley Books.
Briefly, it's a fantasy world in which certain rare people are inhabited by powers , such as Fire , Breath, Shadow, etc. The Powers are also very involved with the sexual natures of their carriers, though it seems they are incomplete without their opposite power. Denise, forgive me if I mangled this synopsis!
My challenge was to get across this intense sexuality and heat of the fire spirit within our heroine. I worked with a scene where Cenda is beginning to explore her sexual nature with the fire in her tavern room. I wanted to get across the torment she had about her, the longing and also the amazing power of fire that she was just beginning to control. My model for this was Ewa Da Cruz, who once again carried a role way beyond the usual! Photography was by Shirley Green. Inspriration was partly the work of William Blake, whose 18th century paintings transcend time.

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THE STEEL WAVE

This is an oil painting for the book, The Steel Wave, by Jeff Shaara, published recently by Random House. It was created using as reference that famous photo of the Omaha Beach landing on D-Day, photo used with permission. Whenever I do a war image I feel a deep sadness the whole time. I hate war and think we humans should evolve past this type of brutality. At the same time I mourn the young men and women who get thrown into the middle of these things! I can imagine their terror as they struggled in the icy waves to get ever closer into range of the machine guns and exploding shells. How did any of them survive and how did they remain sane after witnessing that maelstrom of death? I am humbled to be portraying them and yet I condemn those "masters of War", who brought into being the need for those soldiers to wade ashore that day!

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RUNAWAY McBRIDE

I haven't had a call for a lady wearing a bustle in ages, so when I received this assignment, Runaway McBride, by Elizabeth Barton, Berkley Books, for a woman wearing a beautiful bustle ball gown, it was an ice change from the string of Regencies I've been doing. Costume history note: 1870s were the era of the bustle, an enlarged, padded under structure that protruded out the back, emphasizing the rear, but also giving the upper body a lean look by contrast. Corsets helped with this part,of course. By contrast the Regency women's fashion was emulating the ancient Greek look of unstructured simplicity, moving the waistline high, just under the breast and allowing for long, flowing folds below. I think it would be interesting to bring back the bustle, but I can't see it happening in todays world of cars, elevators and computer desks. Maybe at some gala occasion it would be quite a departure.
Enough about fashion! I was very pleased with the way this image came out. It was one of three I submitted. I wanted the girl to stand out an be featured, but also for an design element to flow behind her. In this case a William Morris inspired design was used and seemed to work well with the period and pose.
I want to thank photographer, Shirley Green, model Lauren Delollio and costume designer, Sharon Spiak for their great help in making this image possible.
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SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER

This illustration was done recently for a book titled, Scandal's Daughter, by Christine Wells. It's a case where where I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on the writing or story, but it looks to be getting great reviews. I was given the barest of facts, the heroine's age, hair color, time period and a bit about her character. They also had a scene in mind, which is helpful, but the rest I basically made up and hoped it was right for the story. I went with the heroine's personality, which was independent and strong-willed. The publisher mentioned an English house in the distance and a horse grazing mid-ground, so I decided she had been riding, even though wearing her Regency dress. I gave her chamois gloves and a riding crop to help get that across and had her thoroughbred wearing a saddle. The idea of having her looking away from us, into the scene was requested from the art director and I really think it brings the viewer right into what she's looking at. This is also a way of allowing the female reader to place herself in the role of the heroine, and not get hung up on her face. In this case, the face, and body, too, belongs to Suzanne Fogarty, a model I have worked with many times and always is superb!

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