Throughout our 20-year history, our commitment to the local arts community has never wavered. Even today, you can open any issue of Motif Magazine and see elements of art, music, and culture on almost every page. It’s one of the things we’re most proud of as an organization. This commitment starts from the very first page: the cover. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary as a free local magazine, we would be remiss not to mention our deep admiration for local artists. While we would love to feature every artist from our 20-year history, in the end, we settled on four artists from Motif’s past. This list represents burgeoning artists, seasoned veterans, and even one artist who recently passed. It’s a behind-thescenes look at the story of four local artists and an homage to their work with Motif.
Zoë Anderson is a flourishing artist with big plans on the horizon. As an artist with six Motif covers under her belt, she’s clearly an artist we love working with. When I asked her about the process, Anderson had this to say. “I love working with Motif! They usually come up with the basic idea, then allow me to take the creative reins and make it my own. I really like that process.” One look at her 2019 Fall cover and her natural talent becomes evident. It also happens to be her favorite cover so far. Currently, she’s working on the design for a deck of tarot cards and an epic fantasy graphic novel. We can’t wait to work with Anderson again and look forward to her future work. You can follow her on social media and check out her work at https:// linktr.ee/zuzucat.
Nick Paciorek is an internationally recognized artist who has graced the covers of Motif on several occasions. Even Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has one of his embellished paintings hanging in his office in Washington, DC. Known by some in the art community as the Mad Beast of Color, he sees himself as a “fauvist,” a French word for a group of artists from the early 20th century who painted with bold strokes of color for artistic expression. As the owner of the Pitcher-Goff House, he’s on a mission to offer a place for artists far and wide. Once a children’s museum, the Pitcher-Goff House now functions as a gallery, a studio, an events space, a living quarters, and a visiting artist retreat. When I asked him if he had any advice for budding artists, he said, “You still need to communicate your ideas in person. Don’t just stick to email.” Also, “Once you create something, you own the copyright and can leverage it for future prints.” Paciorek is hosting a gallery featuring lobsters on August 24. The first 35 people are invited to a private art show and lobster boil on August 23. To learn more about the event, the Pitcher-Goff House, or to check out some of his work, go to paciorek.com.
David Paul was a local artist with strong ties to Hollywood. As a photographer for the stars, he worked with Priscilla Presley, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and more. An accomplished artist, musician, actor, poet, and worldclass bodybuilder, he lived a rich life filled with incredible experiences. As one part of the Barbarian Brothers, he even spent time co-starring in major motion pictures. During his time, he worked with Motif on many projects. He designed photographic covers, authored poems, and contributed as a photographer for events. One of his more popular covers was a summer issue. David passed away peacefully in the night in 2020. His artistic energy was singular and still missed by the Motif staff who knew him.
Bob Eggleton is an internationally recognized artist with almost 40 years of experience in the art world. Eggleton is a nine-time Hugo Award winner, with artwork featured worldwide. Motif has been lucky to have him do four covers, and he has a brand-new cover coming out in our next issue. His favorite cover so far is one he calls, “Covidis Necronomicous.” He describes it as a monster coming out of the water with a head shaped like the Coronavirus. He recalls, “Many of the covers I created were for Necronomicon, which honors the late author H.P. Lovecraft.” When I ask him more about the covers, he adds, “All four cover paintings sold to H.P. Lovecraft fans.” Eggleton is most known for his work on Godzilla; yes, that Godzilla. As a comic artist for both IDW and Dark Horse Comics, he’s created many Godzilla covers. He also designed the cover artwork for the book Godzilla in Hell. His latest piece is a poster for the upcoming Godzilla 70th anniversary. The poster will take center stage at the Spoke Gallery in Los Angeles in August. Other notable works include artwork on 22 Magic the Gathering cards and the 90th Anniversary Deluxe Illustrated Edition of King Kong for Eaton Press. When I ask him for advice on how new artists can follow his path, a sad expression crosses his face. “The art world is a lot different today. It’s harder. During my start, I could walk into an advertising agency in Providence and talk with the art director. Now, everything is digital.” Even so, he still believes nothing is more important than getting face-to-face with decision-makers. This echoes Paciorek’s advice – something to consider if you’re trying to break into the art world. He recalls, “I used to work at a paint supply store frequented by RISD faculty and staff. I learned so much from those chats, and it led to opportunities to chat with established artists and learn from them.” He mentioned those chats even led to offerings to “sit in” on RISD lectures. He recalls, “It was a different time.”
While we can’t do a biographical feature on every artist we worked with, we would be remiss to leave out some of the incredible work in collaboration with Motif Magazine. Guerilla artist Tom West used to post “Protest Zone” signs that looked like “No Parking” signs around the Providence area. We were honored to capture one of them for our cover. We still have the sign in the office. We also still have the original artwork created by Michelle Lee Parenteau for one of our Romance issues.
We were honored to work with international cover artist Edel Rodriguez. He regularly does cover art for Der Spiegel, Time Magazine, and… Motif? Rodriguez created a nuanced yet simple design reflecting the conflicts of the 2016 election, wrapped in a mask of theater, thanks to an arrangement brokered by then-creative-director Mark Michaelson. Shepard Fairy offered his work and voice to one issue. Fairy is a legend in skateboarding circles, best known locally for defacing campaign billboards for the late Buddy Cianci. He is nationally recognized for creating the iconic “Hope” poster for former President Obama. One of our favorite covers from a Motif staff member is a photo by news reporter Michael Bilow. He covered an incident where Providence Police maced and arrested a group of minors in South Providence. We photoshopped a “Baby on Board” sticker onto the police vehicle from the scene. Let’s also not forget Providence icon Erminio Pinque, who curates and sponsors the entire comics section. Working with numerous local artists, he has never missed an issue. He has been responsible for some delightful, whimsical covers over the years. Twice a month for 20 years, we’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with many talented artists. There’s no way to list them all, but each has brought something unique and exciting to every Motif cover.
Are you a local artist looking to get your work in front of 80,000 readers? Why not send us a pitch for cover art ideas at admin@motifri.com. You could become Motif’s next notable artist. Also, check out this online article to see all the artwork! motifri.com/ coverspast. •
