Creator Spotlight: Horror Artist and Painter John Febonio

September 28, 2020

There are countless artists who love monsters and horror. It’s a genre in itself when you see the amount of work in the world that is inspired by the classic monsters of film land. Among the mass of inspirational and aspirational artwork referencing our childhood heroes and ghouls, there are a number of artists that may come to mind. The influencers of yesterday and today have laid the groundwork for artists in this genre. Self-taught painter John Febonio stands out, even among giants, as one of the most prolific pillars in this ever-growing Bell Tower. He’s modest about his work, but that doesn’t keep him from looking for ways to improve.

“Daniel Horne was my first mentor when I started painting. These days I have been getting some instruction feedback from Mike Hoffman,” Febonio said.

When Febonio first started showing his paintings, he found himself in an exhibit at Count Orloc’s Nightmare Gallery in Salem, Massachusetts. After selling a few of his paintings there, they kept three pieces for permanent display. It’s easy to see why as he is on a path to being mentioned among his influences like fantasy painter Mike Hoffman, and horror painter Basil Gogos.

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John Febonio’s work has a frenetic energy with lighting and movement that reflects his speed. He used to spend days and weeks tweaking his oil paintings to get them just right. It wasn’t until he moved to quicker drying acrylics that he found his style. His colors are reminiscent of Basil Gogos’ artwork, but Febonio captures his monsters with an impressionistic lens. His finished pieces have the striking tone of a blacklight poster. His objective is not to go hyper-real, but rather to create a mood that is derived by the subject and that lives in a shared reality in his body of work. He treats each canvas as a comic panel, laying down black, and “coloring” the action. He cools down in the evenings experimenting with cartooning.

Febonio is dedicated to his craft, but he also spends a lot of his time kicking down doors to get noticed. He likened it to hammering an apple tree to shake out the fruit. His apples are everywhere, falling all over the internet. A quick google search of his name will yield results of listings on every portfolio site there is. This approach seems to be working. His gaining popularity is sure to land him a commission that will eventually propel him to fame.

When the pandemic hit earlier this year, Febonio set out to paint full-time. He completes one to two paintings a day, or several per week. Allowing for days off to recover from the intensity of the process, he’s done around ninety paintings in the past six months. He’s had approximately four hundred commissions over the years. His commission list is constant, so get in early if you’re thinking of surprising someone with an original. The prices are surprisingly reasonable. His favorite recent commission is an underwater tussle between his customer and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Follow John’s Facebook page or Instagram to see how likely it is you can grab something before he’s out of our league. Collecting art is something everyone should do, and you can have an original Febonio for less than the cost of a nice dinner for two. Now, you know what you were saving for by staying home. Smartly, Febonio recently started selling prints of some of his work for those on a budget.

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Febonio paints with the vibrancy of Gogos and the composition sense of Ken Kelly, famous for more than KISS’ Destroyer album cover. You’ll likely start seeing Febonio’s work on comic covers and book covers, too. He’s already cracked the code for being seen on record art. His work has been on my radar for a while, so when he listed a painting of our favorite Gill-Man, the Creature From the Black Lagoon carrying tango surf guitarist Didi Wray on the beach, I grabbed it. Being a fan of both, it’s one of my most prized pieces. It was used as the cover for the vinyl single, Os Milongas! for Missing Fink Records. The Georgia based record company has an indy surf punk vibe that matches the feel of Febonio’s rich yet stark style.

“I’m a fan of the horror genre first,” John told me. He loves to paint Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. While monsters are his favorite, the genre allows his taste to reach familiar faces monster fans will easily recognize. Amongst other recognizable icons, you’ll find the various roles of Vincent Price portrayed. Look for The Munsters and some Hammer Horror sirens and monsters; and of course, the silent freak, Orlok. I smiled wide when John showed up in our Zoom call. Behind him, on his wall was a beautifully rendered Madeline Khan as Elizabeth dressed as the Bride in Young Frankenstein. Sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found you.

Some quick Q&A with John Febonio:

• Creative influences:
“A lot of my creative influences come from old school comic books and horror magazines from the 70s.”

• Favorite artist:
“That’s a tough one. I have a few. Comics: Bernie Wrightson and Gene Colan. Paintings: Frank Frazetta, Mike Hoffman, Sanjulian, Enric Torres.”

• Favorite painting you’ve done:
“I’ve had a few different phases in my career so far. Style always evolving or devolving as the case may be. I did a portrait of Vincent Price as Dr Phibes a while back that I still really like.”

• Favorite Horror or Monster Movie:
“I think I’ll have to go with The Changeling (1980) with George C Scott. A friend of mine had given me a VHS of that one. I had never seen or heard of it. Timeless.”

• Favorite Geek Movie:
“My favorite classic geek movie is Real Genius. On the horror side, I love any good comedic horror. Slice, What We Do in the Shadows, Bubba Ho-Tep, Evil Dead 2, Shaun of The Dead, Final Girls.”

• Favorite Monster of all time:
“The classic Frankenstein Monster with Borris Karloff in the role.”

You can find John Febonio’s work on Instagram and Facebook.