Words: Anna Con

Images: Naomi Nowak

To look at a painting or read a graphic novel by Naomi Nowak is akin to experiencing another world,  one which touches on our own but goes beyond to more mystical realms.  Her work overflows with lush colors and ethereal subjects, and is often imbued with forces both natural and supernatural.  Her latest graphic novel, Graylight, is no exception.  It tells the story of Sasha, a young woman who finds herself working in a remote northern village over the course of an arctic summer.  Her life becomes intertwined with some of the locals, nearly to her demise.  The complexity of the relationships, along with the haunting environment and magical forces at work, makes for an exceptional reading experience that goes beyond dialogue and plot line.  There is a method to the madness so to speak, and as with all of her work, leaves a wonderfully deep impression on the imagination.

Graylight, your most recent graphic novel, presents a not-so-simple story
with minimal dialogue and lush imagery.  Much is left unspoken yet the
images convey so much, creating impressions on the reader that communicate
at a deeper level.  Was this your intent?

Yes, definitely! The novel changed a lot as I worked on it but this was
always my initial intention and it remained intact. Comics is a limited
medium in many ways but I feel that it’s great strength is the fact that
unlike film, for instance, the reader can decide how much time they want to
spend on looking at a page, or even just one panel. I wanted to take
advantage of this to its fullest. Unfortunately
it’s meant that a lot of people didn’t appreciate the book at all and I
think it’s having a bit of a hard time finding it’s audience (although that
could just be because they found it uninteresting or badly drawn).

How did you transition from a painter and illustrator to a graphic novelist?

Actually, I didn’t! I started seriously trying to learn drawing/painting
when I was about sixteen years old, and at that time I also started drawing
my first comic book. That thing will never see print, but it was great
exercise,
and the one I started a few years later, Unholy Kinship, ended up being my
first published work. I never saw any reason to limit myself to painting,
illustration or comics when I felt they were all connected
and I love them all as art forms. The only trouble with this attitude, I
guess, could be that you end up being too much of a jack of all trades and
unable to focus and really grow within one of them.
For the summer, I’m exploring a fourth option, commercial illustration,
which used to be my lowest priority but I’m learning so much! Even though I
may miss artistic freedom
I’m positive that this will enrich me as a painter and comic artist, not in
the least because I’m constantly challenged to use new tools and to draw
things I wouldn’t otherwise, or in ways i wouldn’t otherwise depict them.
However, this isn’t something I plan on making my sole focus. I’m also
working on a new graphic novel!

How long have you been a painter and illustrator?

I could say about six years, but during that time I’ve also had to support
myself by occasionally doing unrelated work. My livelihood at the moment is
illustration but you never know how long that will last! Some day, in
the not too distant future I hope to be a part time artist/illustrator/comic
artist and part time house wife, I guess because I feel my life isn’t
complete if I don’t get to focus on my potted plants or honing my baking
skills.

How do you feel your work has evolved over the years?

Oh, that’s hard to say! I think it’s evolved together with me as a person,
from childish and crude to more refined but that’s self-evident I guess. My
paintings I know have become more fluid, less saturated, less focused
on the human figure (although I still incorporate it from time to time).
This has also, I think, made my work harder to sell … paintings of pretty
girls might be difficult to price high when you’re not famous but they did,
for a couple of years, really help paying the rent. Not so much anymore, but
on the other hand I love what I do more now.

Do you have any fond (or terrible) artistic memories from your childhood?

I was encouraged by my parents to read copiously and they wouldn’t really
let me watch TV. It seems a little harsh maybe, and I don’t think I was all
that pleased about it back then but I think somehow with my
temperament and the fact that they loved me and gave me a lot of attention,
it worked. When I wasn’t reading books I was working with my hands, sewing,
drawing, sculpting, acting, knitting, planting things.
A particularly fond memory: My parents let me paint an entire wall in my
room, just the way I wanted to (I did a rural landscape, horses and stuff)
and I was so proud to have such generous parents, I talked
about it at school, how they were so awesome they let me do that and the
other kids were sincerely jealous. I may even have bragged, I think I had a
light streak of awful princess behaviour…

The natural and supernatural seem to be recurring themes in your work.  As
an artist, what do these forces mean to you?

I feel they are impossible to ignore.

Tell us about your art gallery, Vinca Minor.  How did you come up with the
name?

Maria Erikson (of mariaerikson.com – a wonderful artist & printmaker and
like a sister to me) and I started it together and we knew almost from the
start that we had to have a name from the
plant world. Our personalities are a little different and our artistic
expressions don’t share much but that one theme, recurring nature, always.
Vinca Minor is blue periwinkle, and we chose
the name for several reasons – One, it’s latin meaning is something small
that climbs and fetters, which is just what we hope our little business will
be able to do, climb and grow. Also, the periwinkle has
medicinal properties and is still used in traditional recipes as a tonic to
battle fatigue and lack of lust and inspiration. Good art should do just
that. It’s been wonderful to be a gallerina so far and our opening nights
especially have been magical; unfortunately, due to a most awful troll of a
landlord we have to look for new gallery premises for the fall season.

Where can we buy your prints?

Sometimes on Etsy.com and always, if interested in
something particular, shoot me an email on info@naomi.se and I can probably
arrange it at a favourable price. I’m not a very good businesswoman
I’m afraid but I’m always glad to receive email and I always reply!

Various literature, both fiction and nonfiction, seems to be a passion of
yours.  What are some of your favorites?

This is such a hard question to answer because my favourites change often!
When I get absorbed into a book it’s usually my favourite for a time,
because I simply can’t read without feeling that way
anymore. Maybe I’m realising life is too short to spend on books I feel
so-so about. Lately I’ve enjoyed fiction by Kazuo Ishiguro, Magda Szabó and
Jorge Luis Borges. As for non-fiction I’m usually reading
plant books, astrology books, general esoterica … sometimes just leafing
through and possibly snickering at it, sometimes studying, cover to cover.

What are your current inspirations?

The above non-fiction books, nature, love.

Any advice for fellow artists?

I shouldn’t be giving out advice, because technically I’m not very
successful, but here’s some anyway: Don’t get in your own way. I second
guess myself a lot and it sometimes stops me from doing my work.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t always come out to your satisfaction, just keep
working and never, if you really want to do this, think you are shit. That
doesnt mean don’t take critique or re-evaluate what you do
from time to time, of course you should (and I do) but ultimately these
things are your own decisions. I wish I could take heed to this more than I
do, because it’s good advice.

Naomi is currently working in  Sweden. For more information, please see
links below.

Graylight Website Blog Vinca Minor

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