Artist16: Paul Romano

Paul Romano has served as one of my biggest inspirations for design. The first time I saw his art on the cover of Mastodon's album Blood Mountain (pictured left), and I've been following him since. His interest in ancient mythos and arts and his ability to combine both styles and techniques effectively is what first attracted me to his work. I share the same sentiment and have always been fascinated with old, archaic, mysterious, and otherwise ancient art, culture, history, etc.

Romano works in several different styles and mediums, moving from screen printing to digital art to photography, but his art is always identifiable and carries his unique style. One of his most common tools is the intricate, swirling lines that swim and float across his designs. He seems to pull a lot from the medieval Christian monks who would intricately decorate Bibles and transcriptions in his line work. Elements of medieval Japanese and Chinese murals can also be found in his art. Here are a few examples illustrating the presence of these themes in his work:

Romano's fixation on mythology and the according art style affords him a special spot in my list of influences.