EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 14 © 2016 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

3 ABOVE: The Death of Boto (2010) , oil on linen, stretched over panel, 35” x 48”. Based on the pink- tinged fresh-water river dolphin, also known as the Boto Encantado , a shape-shifting, maiden-wooing, wave-surfing romancer of the jungle river villages of Amazonia. BELOW: Inertia (2013), oil on wood panel, 30” x 30”, from Wandering Luminations . The paintings of Tara McPherson convey a certain sweetness with their pastel-like colours (though mostly done with oils), combined with an outer- world strangeness that adds to their surrealistic power. Often described as 'creepy' (for lack of a better understanding) there is, in fact, nothing ugly nor anything to fear about her paintings. It may be owing to the uneasiness they might generate, or their apparent darkness, that has led fans and critics to call them 'creepy'. But far from it, Tara’s paintings are a world on their own, ethereal and beautiful, and seem more influenced by Japanese art (particularly Hokusai, Hiroshigi, Yoshitoshi, and Kuniyoshi prints, manga and anime) than by Western art, which might lead people to think of her work as 'weird'. “It’s partly due to my interest in modern Japanese art,” she once said. “I love the way it depicts monsters, but also these cute, sweet girls who are really badass. I’ve always liked depicting strong women. It’s a really fun balance—if I do something that’s all sweet, I feel it has no edge and there’s something missing.” Her attraction to the human figure has also led her to look closely at the Renaissance masters' Mannerist paintings, notably the work of 16th century artist Agnolo di Cosimo, better known as Bronzino, whose skin- tones Tara admires, and the way Klimt merged Japanese and Western