Conan the Barbarian is one of my favorite characters, whether from the original Robert Howard tales or in the movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger or in the long-running Marvel Comic. (I haven't seen the new Conan movie.) I love the Hyborian Age and all its epic and comic richness. In 1979, when I was just an amateur artist freezing in my quarters in Cambridge, Mass., I got a commission from a friend to do a portrait of Conan. My friend is a rare book dealer who specializes in fantasy and science fiction, and he loves Conan too. I produced this "action portrait" and 32 years later it is not so bad. It is not so good, either, since the foreshortening in the legs is all wrong and looks out of proportion. And when would Conan wear sweat pants? But still, back in 1979, before Arnie played him, you could take liberties. And I could do a picture of Conan without being too self-conscious of all the other artists, to do even a mediocre job.
Conan is watercolor on illustration board, about 8" x 10, Summer 1979.
2 comments:
Looks very Native American and yes, the sweat pants should go!
I have a 150% size Conan Marvel "comic book" from about 1976....i'll need to dig it up now since you reminded me!
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