Jenny Liz Rome, Illustrator

I went on to OCAD U and did 4 years to get my BFA. It was a fun experience... It wasn't until after graduation from OCAD that I started illustrating. It was easier to find what I really enjoyed making, without a constant flow of opinions from professors and peers...I needed to isolate myself.

I started by taking images of my friends, and have since began combining my own photography with found images. In almost all of my work, you’re not looking at one woman who actually exists. I make each girl with fragments of bodies and portraits. Working that way gives me the freedom to create an entirely new human being, and body shape. In any given image, you may be looking at the parts of 3-5 different people. I focus mainly on the female form, because it’s the perfect canvas.

I pull the images into Photoshop – and make what might be best described as"“Frankenstein’s Wife” – as I make a new person out of several people. Once I lay the groundwork for the body, I start on the hand drawing portion. Drawing details like the hair, pieces for the outfits, the feathers, the flowers, etc. which will later be digitally composited. For a lot of my recent work, I’m also adding a color portion, so i get to play around with water color for a while. I scan all of my hand work into my computer and play with composition until my eyes hurt, or notice I’m getting really thirsty...

I'm influenced by many eras. Predominantly the 80's and the 50's. My girls are fairly eclectic, with styles that really range. When I am working on a new series, I usually collect a hand full of images as influence. These images could range from 50's bathing suits, to 80's studded jackets, and anything in-between...