Book excerpt: Once the enfant terrible of New York's art world, Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) depicts both natural subjects (birds and butterflies) and portraits (voodoo saints and Abraham Lincoln). Using multiplicity as a governing principle, Slonem has created a wildly colorful and recognizable body of work. This in-depth monograph, which spans Slonem's boyhood in Hawaii to his training at Tulane University and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture to his life today, split between New York and New Orleans, features more than 600 vibrant illustrations. The author delves deep beneath the decorative surface of Slonem's work to reveal what informs and influences this original and enigmatic artist.