Jean-Baptiste Monge is an illustrator, concept artist and character designer who I have featured previously on Lines and Colors.

Monge combines superb draftsmanship, sensitive textural rendering, and a keen appreciation of color and value in his beautifully realized character creations — in particular his delightful gnomes, goblins, trolls and other “faerie folk”.

Monge has an obvious respect and affection for 19th century “Golden Age” illustration, as well as the traditions of the “Faerie Art” genre popular in France, England and other locations at the time.

In a modern genre often populated with lightweight attempts to evoke the “magic” of fantasy and fairies, Monge gives his characters a gritty solidity that makes them feel like the would smell of earth and leaves and home brewed ale.

Since I last highlighted his work in 2012, Monge has redesigned his website, on which you will find examples of his work in several galleries (don’t miss the drop-down choices under the “Illustration” navigation tab).

Monge has been hard at work on a new collection of his most admired work, Celtic Faeries, an edition that will be in English, with added features, including sketches and preparatory work. These are presented as a kind of field guide to these wild and whimsical denizens of the forest floor, with passages the delve into their history and background to accompany his beautiful illustrations.