The Boys of Darkover

Here I am again, preparing to go to DarkoverCon this weekend, in the northern suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. This convention has lasted 32 years. I have been to every one of them since 1980 (I also went to the ones in 1978 and 1979.). There are other people like me who have gone to this convention every year. It is like a family reunion. Sometimes I sell art, sometimes I don't. I will have a fairly nice exhibition this year, both of originals and prints.

Inside the aging hippies who attend this convention are eternal swashbucklers, Renaissance bravos and red-haired Celtic babes, Regency damsels and occult adepts. Most of them, including me, have lived their lives as much in fantasy worlds as in the "real" world. This has both good and bad sides. They are harmless people, but they are also on the margins of society. Marion Zimmer Bradley, the original inspiration for this convention, died ten years ago, and I thought this gathering would have been long gone by now. But it is a nice time to get together with old friends and party. I won't be bringing my computer so there will be no Art By-Products until Monday or Tuesday of next week.

The picture shown here is a portrait of Marion Zimmer Bradley's heroic gay lovers, Regis and Danilo. It is acrylic on illustration board, 7" x 10", May 1984. I went to DarkoverCon that year, too.