The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

Selardorart - Featured Artist

Interview by [Kaimee]

Please click all thumbnails to view a larger image.

[selardorart] is a username I didn’t really start seeing
much around Elftown until sometime late last year, when I
first came across her art. Heck, she only joined Elftown
early Feb, 2005, so I can hardly blame her for not being 
noticeable straight away.
But then suddenly – it seemed – she snuck up on us. 

Birth Of Gaia

Appearing in Sunrose’s infamous Sunny Featured Art
with her amazing Birth Of Gaia piece, and then opening
her GreekGoddess Contest (which is in the process of
voting by the way, so go check it out) she was suddenly 
everywhere I was, and actually, that wasn’t such a 
coincidence considering where I seemed to spend a lot of my 
time. 
I was delving through her galleries, drooling over her 
artwork, leeching inspiration, misusing my guard powers to 
scroll through her uploads, and daydreaming off into all the 
old fairytales her pieces brought back for me.
A true talent with illustration, and a truly beautiful style 
reminiscent of all the old great illustrators, here we bring 
you an interview with Erin “Franky” Lewis, our ET Herald 
Featured Artist for the Fairytales Issue.
~[Kaimee].

Name & Age: Erin F. Lewis, on the verge of 24
Country of Origin & Residence: raised in New York, U.S. and living in Washington D.C.
Partners or Children: I live with my boyfriend Anthony.
Work: I work as a part-time teacher and fill the rest of my time with my creations.
Hobbies: running, historical fiction, Indian food, travelling, museums, art history, rock music, hiking, the occasional drink, sketchbook, collecting little things

Cover image for Issue 13, Fairytales - Trista's Trinkets. 
Watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic on hot press paper, 9" x 6".

Education: B.A. in Art History, Temple University. I also studied in Rome for a year.
Other Training: No formal studio art training, just a few classes.
Favourite Medias and Techniques: I love using watercolours, coloured pencils, and acrylics in layers.

Favourite authors and books:
I like D.H. Lawrence a lot: Sons and Lovers, Women in Love, etc. I also love a lot of historical fiction (Margaret George, Phillipa Gregory), art history, and Classical history (Imperial Rome, Ptolemaic Egypt).
Favourite artists:
Wow, what a question-- so many. Lyssipos, Praxiteles, Veronese, Il Sodoma, Poussin, Schiele, Bouguereau, Dulac, Kay Nielson, Edo Ukiyo-E artists, etc.
Most inspirational story, artwork, author or artist:
I would have to say Kay Nielson's illustrations to the Grimm's fairytale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." One day, I plan on creating a modern adaptation to the story and painting the accompanying images to submit in graphic novel form.
Favourite or most inspirational place and person:
The person is my Anthony :)(and T.E. Lawrence, i.e. Lawrence of Arabia) and the places would be India and the desert (and of course the realm of fantasy!).

Rosy Fingers: Angela Aurora. "Aurora is the ancient Roman goddess of 
dawn and her Greek sister deity is Eos, on whom the Christian
angel was based. 'Rosy fingers' is a Homeric 
epithet for the goddess."
Watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic on hot press paper.

Where has your work previously been published?
No place significant as of present, but very soon that will change!!
Where your work is available for sale?
On eBay or directly through me.
Where can you be contacted professionally?
Via email, I always get back to you snappy. (selardorart@hotmail.com)

Fleurs de la Fee. Based on an Alphonse Mucha drawing and done 
as a custom Ebay painting. 
Watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic on hot press paper, 10" x 7".

How did you get started with your art, how long have you been painting?
Unfortunately unlike a lot of artists, I haven't been drawing since I could hold a pencil. Although, occasionally I would sit down and try to copy my dad's (who is an awesome artist) masterpieces. I became serious about art as occupation only about a year and a half ago. I was introduced to watercolours in fifth grade when my mom had me take private classes from a local artist. I became disinterested in the whole deal from high school all the way up until the fourth year of college.

Pan. A modern version of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, stuck in here 
simply because this is the Fairytales issue :P 
Pencil on paper, approx. 4.5" x 9".

How would you describe your paintings in general, and what they mean to you?
Well on the outside they're an amalgamation of the Art Nouveau style and colour scheme and old illustrator technique. I incorporate other elements I like as well, such as Victorian, Indian, or Chinese design and Renaissance florals. When I paint, it takes me to another world sublimely different from yet very much alike to reality. And I love it so much that I don't want to do anything else but paint.

Your style is amazing, much like that of the old fashioned illustrators, with a heavy nouveau influence. Where did you pick up your style?
Thank you! Mainly from other contemporary artists working in the same genre (fantasy) and personal preference. You do your homework, find the styles and genres you like (for me, Classical sculpture, Venetian Renaissance, Art Nouveau, and the Golden Age of Illustration), and utilize chosen elements with your own.
What sort of technique do you use with your paintings and drawings?
I use a combination of watercolours, coloured pencils, and acrylics in layers in order to get the "jewel effect" of the old illustrators such as Dulac, Rackham, Warwick Goble, and Charles Robinson. I like a lot of browns and tertiary colour schemes because they give a time-worn, antiquated impression.

Iofiel: Angel of Beauty. "The name Iofiel literally means 
Beauty of God.  She is there to help us remember that everything 
that happens is divine and eternally natural and beautiful."
Watercolour on cold press paper, 9" x 6".

What would you consider your favourite or best piece and why?
Oh, I don't know. Usually the last piece I finish is the one that ends up being my favourite because I experimented or learned something new along the way of creating it that I believe helps me become a better artist!

What piece is most important to you? Tell us it’s story!
Hmm, I would have to say my "Little Ivana Nirvana" piece. I found this Renaissance etching in one of my books and was going to use it to make my own piece. And so I put all my inhibitions away, temporarily forgot about other artistic styles, and started creating a completely novel piece. The composition and background were different, I added design components, I began with a somewhat monotone colour scheme, etc. Something completely new emerged that was for the first time 100% "me."

"Little Ivana Nirvana" - Watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic.

What is it that makes the genre of Fantasy special to you, what makes it so magical and capturing for you that so much of your artwork springs from it?
When I was younger, I lived in a very rural place. It looked like the setting where medieval adventures, folktales, and ancient myths would take place. A perfect, conducive environment when you have a wild imagination. My mom used to tell us there were fairies flitting through the forest surrounding our house, and my sister and I would play Robin Hood. So I think fantasy art reminds me of childhood. And childhood is a place where experiences and stories are so ingrained that you never forget them or ever really stop believing in that magic. "There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colours are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Sebille Don't Cry - watercolour, coloured pencil,
acrylic on hot press paper, 9" x 6".

Where do you see your art going, are there any different styles, artists or subjects you’d like to experiment with?
Well, I plan on dipping my foot into the greeting card/gift book business soon to get an idea of how the commercial art world works. Then hopefully I'll move onto children's books and perhaps submit a few proposals to comic companies for graphic novels.

Will you stay with your fantasy subjects, or do you think you’ll branch out?
Oh, I love fantasy art to much to give it up completely. I think I'll always be selling fantasy art on eBay on the side. But I would like to branch out so as to contribute to other ends; I'd like to find other spheres of illustration that my style can correlate with in order to get the desired effect.

You've mentioned Graphic novels a few times, is this where you see your art heading? Into the 'grownup' version of comics?
Well, I've pretty much taken into consideration just about every potential outlet for my art there is out there. And the graphic novel would give me the chance to illustrate ideas and concepts that aren't always present in children's books, such as complex character studies, creative page layouts, adult situations and behaviour and emotions, changing environments or landscapes, etc. But I'm still not quite sure :)
Are you interested in writing as well, and would you plan on writing your own stories to accompany your illustrations? Or would you collaborate?
I do like to write, but up until now, I've never really thought about "going public" with my literary musings. As of late, though, I've definitely become more interested in creative writing and would love to have the opportunity to be both author and artist. However, if only my illustrative skills are needed or asked for, I wouldn't mind either ;)

Juliet At The Ball. "A painting done for the February 2006 
EBSQ Shakespeare Show, unfortunately I did not finish her in time. 
But still fun to do!  She's based on Da Vinci's 'Girl with an Ermine' 
because I wanted to stay true to the relative time period the play was written, 
which was more Baroque than Renaissance, but I wanted to present 
her in a portrait." 
Watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic on hot press paper, approx. 8" x 12".

Have you ever considered putting your ET contacts to good use and illustrating the works of fellow Elftowners, or those over at Writersco?
Well, I have recently been asked by fellow ET writers for permission to use my paintings as jumping-off places for stories of their own but have never done an illustration solely for the purposes of an ET-er's story. Perhaps if I had time...

What do you have to say to those aspiring Elftown fantasy artists and writers? What would you love to see from them, what do you warn them against, and what do you think they should remember?
I would have to say that it is extremely important to develop a unique and distinct style, so other artists and authors and art-lovers and story-readers know it is you. Practice, practice, practice! Even if you are imitating another style or artist or writer, because sooner or later you're going to start implementing little features of your own. And that is what I like to see personally-- individuality. Good luck and have fun :)


back to the TH Issue 13 Index

Now, if you’re as addicted as I am you can check out her beautifully maintained and designed website 
at http://www.neomenoart.com and other galleries of her art at http://neomeno.deviantart.com/gallery/ 
and http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/l/i/lilu/lilu.html
And we'll leave you with an image to match our upcoming Arabian Nights theme for 
issue 14, enjoy!

Pirouze the Fae-Child and Her Oracle.
Watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic on hot press paper, 5.5" x 7.5".

back to the TH Issue 13 Index