The Tormented, paperback cover 1974

Victor Prezio made this paperback cover illustration, probably with oils or acrylics. It is hard to imagine how he mixed these blues and whites to make the image emerge out of a space of mystery and uncertainty. Look at the statue and how it stands in the back, a spectral presence. Do you notice how the brushstrokes aren't blended, but dragged downwards as if to simulate an apparition? Prezio may have wanted to show that the ghosts are more than an echo from the past. I wonder about the young woman depicted on the right. She gazes ahead with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. I imagine Prezio, brush in hand, contemplating how to convey a sense of vulnerability and strength, all in one gesture. It's like he’s saying that artists are just like shamans, conduits between worlds. We are all in conversation, after all.