The Masterworks of Caniglia

This is the October 14th,2007 interview by Eisha and Jules that appeared at their Website:

Eisha and Jules: Wooooo! It’s getting close to Halloween, and we’re in a spooky mood here at 7-Imp. So we’re pleased to be featuring art by Jeremy Caniglia. Back in August, we co-reviewed Margo Lanagan’s Red Spikes, for which Caniglia did the cover art. As Eisha put it in the co-review, the cover painting is lovely in a slightly creepy way, and we thought that Jeremy could send us some slightly creepy-spooky Halloween-esque art (we’d like to do that for each Sunday in October, leading up to Halloween — did you see Frank Dormer’s mummy last week?). If you visit Jeremy’s site, you’ll see he’s capable of creepy and creepy-verging-on-disturbing (he does a lot of art for Adult Fantasy and Horror titles, as he explains below), and no matter the tone, he possesses much talent with the paintbrush.

But then he went and sent us these not-so-creepy and more eloquent, more whimsical paintings instead. And we’re still just as pleased that he did so, even though they’re not Halloween-esque spooky in tone. Here’s what Jeremy had to say about these works:

Caniglia : “People always ask why a majority of my work centers on birth, love and death. I guess the answer would be it helps me understand the impermanence of life on this planet. I have always felt that by bringing ego and materialism into perspective we will find wisdom lying within those willing to listen. Our gift for generations to come can be realized through the seed of hope we plant in our children.

I have always found hidden hope in art, music and books. They are all doorways to very special worlds if we open our minds. I really feel Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan is one of those collections that takes us on a journey in which we find love and hope in the darkest of worlds. It was such a challenge and great experience to create the cover for Red Spikes. I tried to create a cover that was elegant, haunting and beautiful all in one cover. This was my first cover in the Young Adult Reader section. I have mostly created covers and illustrations for Adult Fantasy and Horror. So it was great to finally have a chance to break new ground.

I have attached two new images for you to see some of my other works in progress I am currently creating. These are personal works. The first painting is called ‘Birth of Spring -– Butterfly Kisses.’ This is a painting of my daughter, Vivian. I felt this painting really captured the beauty of being a child and experiencing butterflies that are like little fairies. The darkness in the painting is brought to light by the kiss and promise of the rebirth of Spring.

The second painting is called ‘He came Forth to Unveil the Forgotten Stars.’ This is a painting of my son. The painting was a vision I had of when I was a child and would try to climb trees in hopes of touching the night sky.

Eisha and Jules: Many thanks to Jeremy for sharing his art work with us this week — and for sharing his thoughts about them as well. We’re excited to be featuring his paintings today.