BOOK NOOK; Wicked Kisses by Arantza

Immerse yourself in the stunning art of Arantza 

"I do not want the man with the tender eyes, the sweet look, the intense fire. No, that is not it...what I want is only in your kisses...

It is not the man of the shadows, or the true friend, or the savage beast, or the fairytale prince.

What I want, my love, I can only find in your kisses..."

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had fun.  One of the best things about the festive season for any bibliophile and art lover is finding a beautiful new art book beneath the tree. This lovely book was under my tree this year and I have spent happy hours perusing the stunning artwork within its pages.

Wicked Kisses by Arantza is a picture book, being a collection of artwork and pencil sketches and if you like the work of Victoria Frances then you will certainly enjoy this too. The blurb states that the artist intends to 'show us the thin delicate line separating love, pain and grief through the desolate stories of her delicate protagonists'.   There are 25 glossy full colour images, plus a further 15 matte pencil sketches, all finely detailed and brilliantly executed.

Arantza has also written some evocative poetry to accompany each image, such as the quotation at the top of this post which is taken from the book.  It really is a beautiful combination of modern Gothic art and poetry and I was completely captivated from cover to cover.  The book depicts solitary maidens in various states of love, rapture and repose.  Reading Wicked Kisses is like walking through a dream, as each girl tells her tale of lost love and heart ache. I was reminded of the work of John William Waterhouse - Wicked Kisses has that same dreamy sort of feel to it.

From warrior princesses and lonely spirit maids haunting cemeteries to winged sylphs and mermaids, Arantza has compiled a book which celebrates womanhood in all Her darker moods - strong and resilient, yet at the same time delicate, fragile, tormented.   Arantza's heroines are often sorrowful and solitary; sometimes traumatized by battle; or they are fragile wisps of forgotten love...but they are no less beautiful for all that... they are the pure essence of womanly sorrow.  

I wish I could put together a book of poetry and art like this, but alas, I can't paint - I can only write.I highly recommend this book if you like studying collections of art, or if you enjoy reading the modern Gothic and dark romance genres, or if you just want to throw yourself into another world for a short time. 

Wicked Kisses by Arantza is available on Amazon UK.