Interviews with Fantasy Artist: J. Corsentino, Creator of Time of the Faeries

This is the first installment of a Fantasy Artist Interview Project I'm undertaking. This Project will introduce you to upcoming as well as successful fantasy artists. We will learn about their hopes, their dreams, their fantasy art and their life philosophies.

Fantasy art is making a huge impact in the United States these days and with J. Corsentino's work, it's easy to see why. J. Corsentino's fantasy artwork can inspire you to believe in faeries in the here and now. I highly recommend you visit the Time of Faeries website and see for yourself after you finish reading this fascinating interview with J. Corsentino.

J. Corsentino was born in Bogota, Columbia on August 13, 1978. He has lived in New York but currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three cat children, Willow, Shadme, and Longshanks. I had the opportunity, recently, to interview J. Corsentino. We decided to do the questions and answers through email because it was easier, I live in Georgia, and more our style. We are both very attached to our computers in this high-tech age.

The Artist

Me: Where are you from?

J. Corsentino: I am originally from NY, which at times I miss but right now I live in Los Angeles and I love it. 1. It has versatility in its look and style, being the birthplace of noir; it's both dark, and shady and shiny and glitzy. B. There is so many talented artists who are working as hard as I am in pursuing their dreams. Being around their energy and determination pushes me too. III. I rarely have to cancel a shoot on account of rain and all my stuff is here.

Me: Are you married? Do you have children?

J. Corsentino: I am married to Donny, less than four months now, loving it, loving her; she's my partner in crime. Cat children, yes. Three psycho cats who take all of my free time up; Willow, Shadme, and Longshanks.

Me: What do you like to do for fun?

J. Corsentino: Going to the movies, good food, good music venues here in Los Angeles, and go and visit the galleries and museums of the area.

Me: What did you do before deciding to pursue art as a career?

J. Corsentino: I was a graphic retouch artist for a high-end wedding photography company in New York, I was founder of an artist community group on Long Island, and occasionally shot fashion shows for the China Club in NYC.

Becoming a Fantasy Artist

Me: Were you formally trained as an artist?

J. Corsentino: No I wasn't. Short of a high school photography class that I took only to graduate, I have had no training. All self taught. I am a firm believer in learning by doing. If you want to be a photographer, get a camera, start shooting. The more you do it; if you are serious then you will learn.

Me: How long have you been pursuing your art career professionally?

J. Corsentino: Two years maybe three, though I decided to concentrate on the Time of the Faeries project less than two years ago.

Me: What made you decide to go Professional?

J. Corsentino: I don't think I wanted to do anything else to be honest. I didn't aim to be a photographer, I simply wanted to get the stories and ideas from my head into something so I could finally sleep at night. It turned out photography was the best way for me to do that.

Me: Do you think it is hard for a new artist to break into the business?

J. Corsentino: Yes. Its takes tenacity, patience, and a passion and love of what you are doing. This is not an easy business, and it's not a kind business, but if you fight for it and stay the course then it happens. It also takes direction and focus. The first question you should always ask yourself is where do you want to end up?

Me: Do you have any advice for new artists?

J. Corsentino: Don't start unless you are willing to stay with it, don't give up because it gets hard or life hands you other easier options. Keep fighting for what you believe you can do, and then simply do it.

Me: Do you know of any virtual or nonvirtual groups that help support new and/or pro artists?

J. Corsentino: Well I am part of Faerie Chronicles at http://www.faeriechronicles.com/forum/ . We are a relatively new group that popped up around the same time as I started taking this whole thing seriously. Created by Maragret Dean, I joined when she just got it going and my wife and I started rallying new artists to join. Tracy Cornett and Dave Windham are also a part of it. We are all fantasy photographers and help each other by sharing art and our experiences in the business and in creating the art. Our membership includes at least 6 members published in Faerie Magazine (http://www.faeriemagazine.com/) and many more serious emergent artists.

The Art and Time of the Faeries

Me: What's your preferred method of doing art?

J. Corsentino: Photography, and digital photography

Me: What "type" of art do you do?

J. Corsentino: Fantasy art, Modern urban faerie art with hints of Science Fiction

Me: What are your favorite subjects to work with?

J. Corsentino: Magick in the modern world.

Me: What do you think makes your art unique from others?

J. Corsentino: I'd like to think my fantasy art has a grit, a lived-in texture that gives it a reality. We convey faeries as more than pretty girls with wings to be taken lightly, but as deep characters with issues and pains, living in a world that is harsh.

Me: What is your favorite piece, out of all your pieces, of art?

J. Corsentino: A simple image of a modern shadme Jas'Malachi faerie looking into a mirror and seeing her faerie reflection with wings and pointy ears while she doesn't haven't these things visable. It's a nod to quantum leap and to the story behind the shadme. They are faeries who move around us in shadows and push us to keep moving forward. It's a simple image in concept, application and needed very little retouching. I love it because it represents where this art is going.

Me: What is your fan's favorite piece?

J. Corsentino: I think it's a toss up between many of the Twilight Images and one from the shadme set I did. The shadme Jas'Malachi on the stairs sitting with wings extended and glowing in the above ground light.

Me: What piece of art did you have the most fun creating?

J. Corsentino: I think it was of a street faerie Rya. She is sitting in a jail cell that had to be digitally created from a variety of photographic sources. It took all of 3 non-stop days. Small naps in between and was by far very fun. It was something I simply played with from the beginning without knowing what it would look like in the end.

Me: Approximately how many pieces of art do you do a month?

J. Corsentino: It varies based on how many shoots can occur in a month. From one single shoot I can get 10 final images out of them for a full set, sometimes more sometimes less. If we do 2 or three shoots I try to stay ahead so I don't get swamped in retouch hell. I don't sleep much.

Me: Do you support any charities with your art?

J. Corsentino: At this time, we are relatively new, so not much. We have done some work for a non-profit cat rescue and adoption service here in Los Angeles, called LOST ANGELS. I shoot some of their kittens Time of the Faeries style and gave them rights to the images. We kept a few of the darker images for Time of the Faeries, but we hope they get some funding. We do it for the homeless kitties.

Me: Do you sell originals, prints or both?

J. Corsentino: We sell prints, the images mostly are now shot in digital and the days of darkroom are sadly far behind me. I do miss it but for what I do it seems the best and most efficient way of doing things.

Me: Do you sell your art on anything else?

J. Corsentino: We have tiles, mousepads, and magnets from Quicksilver Dragon at http://www.quicksilverdragon.com, calendars by LULU press, and now a book from IMAGINOSIS PUBLISHING.

Me: What else do you do besides your own art?

J. Corsentino: We'll we have the book, the website which is getting a huge upgrade soon, we are working with musicians in the LA area to give us Time of the Faeries style music for a later release, and working on getting the new ideas into production which is taking up a lot of our time right now. In other words, not much else!

Me: Do you have anything new in mind for the future?

J. Corsentino: Keep doing what I am doing. I'd just like to get more resources to get the other ideas out of my head as well.

Me: Where can people see and buy your art?

J. Corsentino: www.timeofthefaeries.comhas an online store for purchasing the art. We have many small retailers who purchase our art prints and/or purchase the tiles wholesale through QuickSilver Dragon. Our art has popped up in various places! Currently, you can see a cyberfae test shot at the Chelsea Museum in New York. We are featured in magazines throughout the year.

Me: Will you be at any 2007 art venues?

J. Corsentino: We have many plans for the coming year due to the release of the book.
We will be at Comic-con http://www.comic-con.org/cci/ in July 26-29 in San Diego.
We are a guest artist at FaerieCon http://www.faeriecon.com/ in Philadelphia October 12-14.
We will be at Faerieworlds Festival http://www.faerieworlds.com/ in Oregon, also in July.
We also have tentative plans for Dragon*con http://www.dragoncon.org/ .
Most exciting of all, we are planning a book release/faerie gallery showing sometime in March.

Inspiration and Goals

Me: Where do you get your inspiration?

J. Corsentino: Luis Royo, Joss Whedon, my friend Laura Lightfine, and tales of ancient mythologies

Me: Are you happy?

J. Corsentino: Damn straight.

Me: What are your dreams?

J. Corsentino: I am living them now.

And that concludes this interview with the fantastic Fantasy artist J. Corsentino. If you would like to see J. Corsentino's art, please visit his website at www.timeofthefaeries.com. In addition, if you would like to contact J. Corsentino, you can do so at admin at timeofthefaeries dot com.