Hi everyone and welcome to my new blog. The transition to the new website johnbomanauthor.com has been smooth so far and we've had some great traffic and comments. A few people have signed up to the website via the CONTACT US link, which is great. If you do so, you'll receive updates on all things John Boman related, including news, release dates and a whole lot more. So what's stopping you! And if you join between now and 1 August, you automatically go into the draw for a signed copy of THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON and an official T-shirt to go along with it. Outstanding!
News Item: We will be releasing details soon of the launch party for THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON, so keep your news feed open and your eyes peeled.
For my first blog today, I thought I'd do something special and present an interview I did with my Finnish cover artist, Juha Veltti. So without further ado....
JOHN: Tell me about your upbringing in Finland and where you live now? Has it influenced your art?
JUHA: I lived near on in Tampere, in one of the biggest cities in Finland (which isn't that big) the first 25 years of my life. I grew in a working-class home with no cultural leanings, and it was my love for comics that sent me on the art path. The last eight years we've lived in Riihimäki with my spouse Katja, our daughter, a dog and two cats. I'm sure that growing up in Finland has influenced me and my art very strongly. You are the sum of of your experiences, to good or bad. Maybe what I value the most is the Finnish nature. Also the changes four seasons in Finland are very drastic, from the current 30 °C of hotness to - 25 °C in the winter. Getting through the dark winter can be rough sometimes. Politically Finland was in a tough spot in my childhood between Soviet Union and Western countries, I'm sure it has had some effect in the way I view the world politically.
JOHN:Tell us about your art influences; where did you go to school, who influenced you the most, where does your inspiration come from etc.
JUHA: I think it all boils down to imagination - when I was a child, most of my activities dealt with creating and participating in imaginary worlds: when we played in the woods with friends, the books and comics I was most excited about and the comics I drew myself for hours on end. Imagining and participating in imaginary stories is a natural high, and gives tools to see the real world with fresh eyes. My passion for comics and drawing led me to study art in the Tampere University of Applied Arts. By that point, I was into painting and fine art, but also started my experiments with digital image-making. Dave McKean was my art hero at the time, I studied his Sandman covers and Cages comics with piety. At the same time, I learned the modern art history through making art, and my painting teachers in effect were Picasso, Matisse and Edvard Munch. I've never been a good imitator though, the varied influences filter through my own style, for better or worse. Hopefully all of my interests in the visual culture, history, myths, religion etc. enrich the stuff I do. I think what keeps the passion alive is learning new aspects of the world and challenging yourself constantly.
JOHN: I think what drew me to your art was a it’s primal, occult like nature. It’s interesting to see myth and religion as an influence. It definitely layers your work and relegates it too another level. So tell me, when I asked you to do the cover for THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON, what were your first impressions? I only gave you the first chapter (mainly out of fear!) so you didn’t really have much towork with other than my vague ramblings.
JUHA:Thanks. I guess it would have been easier to picture your fictional world if I had read the whole book, but the first chapter of the book creates a unique atmosphere and a feeling that you can't predict what'll come next. I started sketching some images after reading the text, and then proceeded to think about what the image needed - to communicate the feel of the text. I felt my role was to open a small window into the vast realm of stories that is Sovereign Creek.
JOHN: Take us through the process of creating the cover, step by step. The first rough sketch you sent me blew me away. I was happy to use that as the cover I was so impressed It was like you entered my head and ripped the image right out. Did you sketch first, add digital inks and colouring? Was it all done on computer? How did you achieve it all?
JUHA:That is great to hear. Usually there is a visual idea that I start developing from the get-go, I sent a rough color sketch for you first, where I tried to establish the color scheme and mood. After hearing you liked the approach, I started on the finished version. I was actually planning to make a watercolor and gouache painting, but when I had drawn the outlines in the right proportions, I decided to scan those in and try coloring it digitally in the same way I work with my comics, but at some point I decided to get rid of the ink outlines and do a more "painterly" color work. It is actually my first digital painting of this kind. As I mentioned, l always try and give myself new challenges to make things more interesting. I always draw on paper, but for the coloring computer is a great tool. I use Photoshop with a Wacom tablet, it gives the flexibility and possibility to try different solutions that is isn't possible with watercolors, for example. For me, it isn't that different from traditional painting in the sense that I work from layer to layer, refining the image as I get further along. It's composition, color, form and light - the basic principles of art, but always exciting to work with!
JOHN: Tell us about the future. Other than continuing to do the covers for my books what else are you doing artwise now, what’s coming in the futre and what are your ultimate goals?
JUHA: Sure, I'll be glad to continue doing the Sovereign Creek covers (if that's the name of the book series?). I'm currently working on a few comics projects to U.S. and doing paintings for two art exhibitions in Finland - one solo, one group exhibition, both in October. What I want is to be able to do comics, painting and illustration side by side during the year. That's really what I do now, but building a financially viable career takes time and struggle. Getting better in the art of making pictures, being a better person, and understanding the world more wholly.
JOHN: Thanks for everything, Juha. Can't wait to see more of your upcoming work. Especially the covers for my books!
