Inside Gustavo Novoa's New Book, Jungle Fables

Gustavo Novoa’s is a renowned artist whose paintings can be seen in the homes of royalty across the world. First families including the Reagans’ and Bushes’ have collections of his work in their home; in addition to Prince Charles of England, Victoria Eugenia of Spain, and even fashion icons such as Valentino, Versace, and Caroline Herrera. While many know him as a renowned artist whose work seamlessly blends primitive style and jungle subjects together, today, he’s painting a new picture, and this time, with words.

In his new book titled “Jungle Fable,” he personifies the age-old conflict of vice and virtue. With animals such as lions, leopards, monkeys and peacocks, Novoa uses his poetic rhymes as his medium to deliver an eloquent message of righteousness. Novoa front-runs a niche group of individuals who have successfully managed to transition over from the visually artistic field to the written one. What’s most significant about this transition, is that he tailors his work to an audience of diverse backgrounds. Novoa manages to write his poems in English as well as Spanish in efforts to include a larger demographic of people. In addition to the culturally fluid text, he also utilizes his first skill as a painter to illustrate his work.

Novoa’s book is sponsored by ArtesMiami, a non-profit literary foundation whose goal is to showcase Hispanic poets within the city. Novoa will be showing his works, including “Jungle Fables,” at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden from Oct. 30 – Nov. 25 from 9-5 p.m.