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Behind the Cover: James Griffin
Oct. 13th, 2009 11:29 am"I began my career in Illustration in 1976. It was not my career of choice, which was to be a “Fine Artist”, (also known as a “Starving Artist”). But a few years after graduating with a BFA degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, I was steered towards illustration by an experienced illustrator, Charles Gehm. Already experimenting with realism, using photographic reference, I was shown how to use my inclination and actually make a living. I was introduced to the world of models, costumes and photo studios and practiced as a sort of apprentice. I started out in paperbacks with a genre that was fading in its popularity, the gothic novel. These books usually had a woman in a nightgown looking scared in front of a big, sinister mansion.
Devilish Duke in My Bed by Sophie Jordan
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The “bodice-ripper” was on its way in and I proved adept at this look, playing with the over-the-top sensuality, but also bringing elements of classical painting and design to them. A trip to Italy in 1984 reinforced this classical tendency, when I saw the works of Carravaggio, Botticelli and other Renaissance painters. I recognized that those artists were really illustrators in every sense. Their images were designed to communicate and tell a story. They worked for clients whom they had to satisfy if they wanted to continue being employed, and they had to meet deadlines as part of their job, (admittedly they had much more time, with some commissions taking years to complete).
Up till that point, I had generally seen Illustration as sort of a commercial half brother of “Fine Art”, and it troubled me to think I was selling out and should instead be painting in a “pure” way. But I began to realize that the Art industry was responsible for the pure art myth, when in fact it, too was a commercial system, - just with different rules! Since then I have worked steadily with the goal in mind to continue the ancient tradition of Art Illustration, to not just satisfy the client, but also satisfy my sense of Art.
By most recent estimate estimate I have created around 3000 illustrations so far for clients such as, Avon Books, Ballantine Books, Berkley Books, Dell, Doubleday, Harcourt, Harlequin, Holt Rhinehart Winston, Little Brown, New American Library, Random House, Rounder Records,The Bradford Exchange, The Wall Street Journal, Viking Penguin, Italian Vogue, Zondervan and Zebra."
http://www.james.griffin.org/
Devilish Duke in My Bed by Sophie Jordan
( more pics )
The “bodice-ripper” was on its way in and I proved adept at this look, playing with the over-the-top sensuality, but also bringing elements of classical painting and design to them. A trip to Italy in 1984 reinforced this classical tendency, when I saw the works of Carravaggio, Botticelli and other Renaissance painters. I recognized that those artists were really illustrators in every sense. Their images were designed to communicate and tell a story. They worked for clients whom they had to satisfy if they wanted to continue being employed, and they had to meet deadlines as part of their job, (admittedly they had much more time, with some commissions taking years to complete).
Up till that point, I had generally seen Illustration as sort of a commercial half brother of “Fine Art”, and it troubled me to think I was selling out and should instead be painting in a “pure” way. But I began to realize that the Art industry was responsible for the pure art myth, when in fact it, too was a commercial system, - just with different rules! Since then I have worked steadily with the goal in mind to continue the ancient tradition of Art Illustration, to not just satisfy the client, but also satisfy my sense of Art.
By most recent estimate estimate I have created around 3000 illustrations so far for clients such as, Avon Books, Ballantine Books, Berkley Books, Dell, Doubleday, Harcourt, Harlequin, Holt Rhinehart Winston, Little Brown, New American Library, Random House, Rounder Records,The Bradford Exchange, The Wall Street Journal, Viking Penguin, Italian Vogue, Zondervan and Zebra."
http://www.james.griffin.org/
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If I Were a Lady by Bryl R. Tyne 
Coin Operated Boy by Bryl R. Tyne 
Cattle Valley: Fool's Gold by Jenna Byrnes 
Cattle Valley: Fool's Gold by Jenna Byrnes 
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch by Angelia Sparrow 
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch by Angelia Sparrow 
This is not a review and it's the first time I do something like that. This is an admission of guilt, I wasn't able to finish this book. But not since the book wasn't good, or well-written, I think that, if you are a fan of gothic fantasy, very dark gothic fantasy, and of a well-crafted setting, and if you have a very open mind, Sacrificial Sex is a good book for you. But for me it's too much; I can arrive to some extension, but even I have my limit. Human blood sacrifice, multiple partners, using of sex as a weapon to control people... and basically men without moral boundaries, sorry not for me. I know, and this is the reason why I post, that to some readers these things are not a "no, no" like for me, but instead something they search. I repeat, I think that the author's style is good, the world she created complex and original, and I think this is a big push boundaries novel. I arrived to more than half the novel, since when I was just there to let it go, the writing always kept me, but then I had to stop, it was too troubling for me going on. But if you want to give it a try, here it's: 
This is not a review and it's the first time I do something like that. This is an admission of guilt, I wasn't able to finish this book. But not since the book wasn't good, or well-written, I think that, if you are a fan of gothic fantasy, very dark gothic fantasy, and of a well-crafted setting, and if you have a very open mind, Sacrificial Sex is a good book for you. But for me it's too much; I can arrive to some extension, but even I have my limit. Human blood sacrifice, multiple partners, using of sex as a weapon to control people... and basically men without moral boundaries, sorry not for me. I know, and this is the reason why I post, that to some readers these things are not a "no, no" like for me, but instead something they search. I repeat, I think that the author's style is good, the world she created complex and original, and I think this is a big push boundaries novel. I arrived to more than half the novel, since when I was just there to let it go, the writing always kept me, but then I had to stop, it was too troubling for me going on. But if you want to give it a try, here it's: 