ART BY JOHN RICHARDS
John Richards was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 7th, 1966. He grew up with three siblings. Like most children, he began to draw pictures at an early age and has never stopped. His older brother Kerry was an avid fan of the classic black and white horror films, and was instrumental in the development of Johns’ artistic interests. A major point in this influence was the year 1975 when Kerry purchased a copy of The Fantastic Art of Frank Frazetta. The stark use of black and white ink drawings that Frazetta utilized was the call that John has since answered.
At the age of twelve, he and his family moved from the city to an antiquated farm-stead on the edge of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. The house had been built in 1904, and the property had a number of much older out-buildings: a cavernous hay barn, a weathered chicken coop, two grain silos, the original house, a well shed, and a double door maintenance building, all of which sat upon a hill surrounded by rolling farm land to the north and west, but bordered by intermingled forest and marshland to the east. It was during this time that he would explore the dark and unfamiliar surroundings of this rural environment, at first the mysterious structures on this seven acre plot, then later into the nearby hills and dark woods.
John is a self taught illustrator, and aspires to establish an art center for talented children and young adults who think and dream beyond what they have been told.
His book A Last Breath is the culmination of many years spent amongst those shadows of imagination. He knew what lived in those out-buildings, the bogs and the endless forests. And this is his work.
A secondary work, CailleachTeiene, is a follow-on to the first book and features several new stories and illustrations. The third and most recent book is a full length novel entitled The Moths Of Autumn which encapsulates the world he has created.
Currently he is engaged in his signature stark and highly detailed illustrations and will be the basis for a planned graphic novel.
