Title:  Painting of You

Authors: Mia Paluzzi & Chris Delk

Publisher:  Iris Print

ISBN:  9780979466724

May Contain Spoilers

Claudio Verges has a problem.  He’s the hottest thing in the painting world, but he knows that his painting lack any real emotions. He’s so terrified that someone will discover his awful secret that he abruptly changes universities to keep his deficiencies under wraps.  Too bad one of the first people he meets is photographer Benedict Connor, who sees right through his charade.  Benedict volunteers to help him find his passion, and Claude reluctantly accepts his offer.  Claude finds himself attracted to the charismatic Ben,

Painting of You was a sweet, romantic tale.  At first Claude’s self-loathing turned me off, because he came across as a snob instead of a character deserving sympathy.  As the plot unfolded, his feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy really started to define his personality.  He’s ashamed of his works, which are like random snapshots, mechanical and lacking depth.  Caught off-guard by his sudden fame, he’s bewildered that everyone seems to think he’s a genius.  He knows the truth, that he’s like a camera, and as a result, he’s formed an unflattering opinion of photographers.  He also has no respect for himself.

In steps Benedict, an gifted photographer.  Claude, not knowing Ben’s profession, seethes when he’s told his art resembles a photograph.  Photographers aren’t artists, he declares, and it takes no talent to shoot a picture.  There’s no skill involved and no feelings, either.  This earns instant animosity from Ben’s friend, Beatrice.  Ben, however, accepts the criticism as a way to improve his craft.  Claude’s new friends, his roommate Hero and Hero’s boyfriend, John, are taken aback by his views, but quickly forgive him his faux pas.

Throughout the story, Hero and John (and John’s doll, Honey) believe that Beatrice and Claude are attracted to each other, and even convince Ben that they’d make a terrific couple.  While they are all trying to push them together, Claude struggles to find meaning for his art.  Ben, giving him a camera, has a plan to capture his missing feelings.  The theme of Claude’s class project is “Galatea” and he’s at a total loss.  What does this mean to him?  As they work together on Claude’s project, he begins to understand chasing after a seemingly hopeless love, especially with Hero and John’s well-intentioned matchmaking causing conflict for all the parties involved.

The art is a little clunky compared to what I’m used to, but I was soon caught up in the struggles of the characters, and began to appreciate the unique style.  The focus of the book is the characters, and the art effectively displayed the range of emotions they were feeling.  The page layouts, with their larger panels, really spotlighted Claude’s confusion, and his growing fondness for Ben.

This was cute character driven romance, peopled with interesting personalities and situations.  Claude’s inner turmoil, both over his lack of an artistic soul and his growing attraction to Ben, are explored with gentle humor.

Grade: B

There’s no age rating, but I think it’s a Teen rating.  There’s really nothing offensive that I can remember.

Advance review copy provided by Iris Print