The challenge of visually representing the intricate tapestry of human communication for a special August issue on "Conversations" was a significant undertaking, but former Visuals Editor Roberto "Bear" Guerra had an ideal artist in mind: Armando Veve, a distinguished and long-standing contributor to High Country News. For years, Bear and I had envisioned featuring Veve’s distinctive artwork on our cover, and the opportune moment arrived with this issue, which also marked Bear’s final contribution to the magazine’s masthead. Veve embraced the commission with his characteristic enthusiasm and unique artistic sensibility, skillfully weaving together a diverse array of unlikely conversationalists engaged in interactions that were both tense and amicable, while thoughtfully incorporating moments of convivial silence to mirror the ebb and flow of a compelling exchange. His creation artfully maps the winding, often unpredictable, trajectory of meaningful dialogue.

While Veve is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his artistic journey has intersected with the High Country News office in Paonia, Colorado, on a memorable occasion a couple of years prior. He visited while passing through on a road trip en route to a Telluride art gallery, an encounter that left a lasting impression. We are pleased to extend his insightful perspective to our readers through his thoughtful responses regarding the cover artwork and his broader artistic philosophy. This conversation has been thoughtfully edited to enhance clarity and conciseness.

When asked about his creative process and how he has refined it over time, Veve explained that his primary medium is graphite on paper, a choice he cherishes for its immediate tactile quality and its profound connection to the act of writing. He often conceptualizes drawing as a visual form of writing, translating thoughts and ideas into imagery. His drawings are constructed in layers, akin to sedimentary rock formations, beginning with graphite, followed by watercolor, and then colored pencil. For the "Conversations" cover, the coloring was applied digitally due to time constraints, yet he emphasized that even these digital layers are fundamentally guided by the hand. The drawing and color ultimately coalesce on the printed page, which he considers the definitive realization of his work within the context of publications like magazines and newspapers.

In terms of daily inspiration and the impetus for creating art, Veve articulated that drawing serves as his primary method of processing the world, a means of self-centering, of deciphering chaos, and of giving tangible form to his internal thoughts, allowing him to sift through them for profound meaning. He remains perpetually in search of inspiration, striving to cultivate a heightened awareness of his surroundings and to discern details that might otherwise escape notice. Veve shared a conscious effort to reduce his reliance on digital devices, opting instead for greater attentiveness and more direct engagement with people. His creative process often involves embarking on extended walks, sometimes with the intention of capturing images, but more frequently to create mental space and stimulate physical circulation, which in turn fuels his artistic thinking. More recently, he has found himself drawing more from memory and less from external reference materials, an approach he describes as invigorating and one that unlocks new possibilities on the page. For Veve, drawing is a way to maintain a continuous dialogue with both the past and the future, encouraging closer observation and fostering novel ways of thinking. Yet, he also likens it to the primal act of scratching an itch, a process of peeling back surfaces and delving deeper in pursuit of symbolic resonance or narrative depth.

Reflecting on his past collaborations for the "Heard Around the West" column, where he and the interviewer worked together for several years on monthly illustrations, Veve noted that the spirit of that section is palpably present in the cover artwork, with alert readers potentially recognizing familiar characters. He expressed his deep affection for illustrating the "Heard" section, recalling the curated stories as remarkably strange and humorous, citing examples such as a man who propelled a peanut up a mountain with his nose or a dog named Ghost who, after fleeing his home, integrated into a pack of coyotes. He confirmed that a careful inspection of the cover would indeed reveal several "Heard" Easter eggs, including Bo the Bear and Ghost, two characters who first graced the pages of that column. Veve finds immense satisfaction in remixing his earlier works, forging connective threads between them, and breathing new life into recycled motifs and characters. He even humorously mentioned that his cat makes a recurring appearance in many of his pieces, encouraging viewers to keep an eye out. He perceives all his creations as part of a singular, evolving universe, where each narrative provides new subject matter and thematic avenues for exploration, yet all orbit a shared source of creative energy. He likens his visual vocabulary—the objects, symbols, and motifs he employs to convey ideas—to a cast of characters in a play, appearing when they best serve the narrative or sometimes simply out of a desire for personal amusement or an inside joke. He particularly enjoys incorporating a character that feels out of place, one that has been removed from its original context, a recurring theme of displacement that serves to defamiliarize the familiar. This approach stems from a surrealist impulse, as he finds fragmentation and cross-pollination to be more accurate metaphors for the world as he understands it.

When probed about the origins of his distinctive style, characterized by its unique blend of humor and whimsy, Veve traced his fascination back to his childhood. He recalls being captivated by narrative-driven images from a young age, citing Disney’s "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and the comic books that were prevalent in his home. He also fondly remembers the "I Spy" books and the imaginative world-building he engaged in with "The Sims," where he constructed elaborate mansions that often doubled as deathtraps for his virtual families. These experiences instilled in him a sense of discovery and the power of personal narrative construction. He sees a form of democracy in this, where the viewer is empowered to forge their own unique path through the artwork. This appreciation for interactive exploration also extends to his fondness for maps and cross-sections, as they visually articulate the interconnectedness of all things. Veve enjoys revisiting his work, building it up in layers, and refining it through editing and meticulous adjustment, much like a writer polishes a draft. He is drawn to the peculiar stillness inherent in a drawing, finding it almost anachronistic in today’s fast-paced world to dedicate such extensive time to a single subject, meticulously applying marks with the elemental stroke of a pencil. This act, he notes, is literally drawing with the earth—graphite and clay encased in cedar—connecting him to an ancient tradition. This practice stands in contrast to what he perceives as the increasing threat posed by artificial intelligence and commercial pressures to traditional art forms. His work echoes the lineage of art created by human hands, stretching from the earliest cave paintings and illuminated manuscripts to the grandeur of WPA murals and the imaginative realms of pulp science fiction. Veve is cautious with the term "style," believing it overemphasizes the surface of a piece. Instead, he views it as solidified voice, akin to speech patterns, gait, or his unique way of perceiving and processing information. Humor, he asserts, is integral to his work; if an image elicits laughter from him, he instinctively pursues that creative impulse. Whimsy, in his estimation, is a potent force that stimulates free association and disrupts established structures. The humor in his art, he explains, is rarely a deliberate contrivance; rather, it emerges organically from the interactions within the piece or from associations the viewer makes, triggered by personal memories. The drawing, in essence, becomes the conduit for these humorous connections.

Regarding the specific inspirations for the "Conversations" cover, Veve shared that as he grappled with the visual representation of dialogue, he began to contemplate maps as direct metaphors for networks of interaction, leading him to envision a "landscape of conversation." This phrase became the central driving force behind the entire concept. His research involved studying medieval paintings and maps, elements he admires for their stacked spatial arrangements and their ability to invite viewers to wander through the image and discover their own interpretive pathways.

The most challenging aspect of visually depicting conversation, Veve found, lay in striking a delicate balance between inclusion and omission. He consistently strives to incorporate sufficient negative space and moments of visual rest between elements, recognizing their crucial role in building meaning, much like the pauses in a well-structured conversation. His initial sketches, he admitted, were overly crowded and "loud." Consequently, he opted to reduce the scale of all elements and create more open areas, providing viewers with literal pathways through the composition and incorporating moments of quietude, such as the poignant image of a flower mourning severed stumps.

When asked about his favorite characters on the cover, Veve indicated that his preferred moment might be the solitary prairie chicken, appreciating its comically bewildered expression. For those wishing to explore more of Armando Veve’s captivating artwork and stay updated on his latest projects, he can be found on Instagram at @armandoveve or visited via his website at armandoveve.com.

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