“I make art in the same way you walk, or breathe, or eat a meal,” says illustrator and designer John Gendron of Providence, who created the cover for Motif’s year-end issue. “I try to process the world around me, and communicate it to others.”
He gets his inspiration from daily events, along with the jokes people make, and especially the conversations he has with others. “It’s a matter of seeing, and then showing, where all those things lead to,” he explains.
A certified beer server, Gendron gets plenty of conversation where he works, at Buttonwoods Brewery on 50 Sims Avenue in PVD. “Craft beer is local,” he explains, “and I’ve always loved the community that comes for it. And the cool thing is that the people who make it, wind up serving it to you.”
The artist is studying to take the next step in the Cicerone Certification Program, that of earning the professional qualification of Certified Cicerone, which is akin to becoming a sommelier in serving wine. “It’s a self-study thing,” he says, “And a couple of people in Providence have given me tips and books to prepare for the test.”
Gendron has always been creating art. He started drawing at a very young age and, as he puts it, never stopped. He got serious about becoming an artist in high school and, after graduating, went to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned a BFA in Illustration in June 2022.
His artistic journey took an interesting turn. He audited the MS1 Anatomy course at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, in which he studied human dissection in the laboratory. “It was a fascinating experience to be confronted with death, but in a very controlled environment,” he recalls. Gendron focused on illustrating the dissections, as well as the narratives surrounding the students’ interactions with death.
No surprise, he’s read the works of mortician and author Caitlin Doughty, who’s explored America’s death culture. His favorite is Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory.
Otherwise, his reading tends to be all over the board, Gendron says, mentioning 1984, Brave New World, and House of Leaves. He also relaxes by taking bike rides, fixing old electronics, and playing video games.
For the cover, Gendron drew on his experience in making 3D art for the past few years. He uses Womp 3D modeling software and, in May 2024, became one of the first verified creators on its website. “Instead of going into a studio, I go onto my internet browser and get access to Womp,” he says, which is a downright bargain considering the cost of renting a studio these days.
An artist he finds inspiring also works on Womp. She’s Tania Orozco, whose concept-driven visuals blend storytelling with emotional expression. He also cites the work of Gaia Orion, “Whose work is a fascinating play with textures.”
Back to the cover: “I wanted to make a collage or montage of Providence history spiraling to the center,” he relates. A bus, two beer cans, a trolley car, and jewelry feature in his cover art. “I wanted to keep it local,” he adds.
The assignment got Gendron thinking about the past year. “My Dad and I went to Belgium. Going overseas, you see the world in a different font. It was a wonderful experience.”
For the year ahead, the illustrator wants to put more of the day-to-day in his artwork. “My hope for 2026 is that it will turn out to be great news for us all living in the future,” he concludes.
–John Picinich
His work can be viewed on Instagram @gendronart and at portfolio showcase behance.net/johngendron.