I was very excited to go to my first Boskone in February of 1977. I was even more excited when a friend of one of my new-found fan friends commissioned a nametag miniature from me. His name was "Griffin" and that's what he wanted on his nametag. I was commuting to the convention so I went home that night and in a rush, created this piece for Griffin. I brought it back the next day and presented it to him. He said that the design was not what he was hoping for and that I had tossed it off too quickly. Could I take more time and make him a nametag miniature that would really be impressive?
This was the first attempt, the one Griffin rejected:
And a few weeks later, this is what I sent to Griffin as a final. This second Griffin was derived not from heraldic drawings as the first one was, but from a fantastic engraving by Albrecht Durer. I copied from the best. Mr. Client was very pleased. This is how I learned my lesson early, not to rush things on a job when I didn't have to, and not to present art that was too simple and quickly done.
Both miniatures are the usual size, ink and watercolor on Fabriano paper, February and March 1977.
Haste makes waste, er, at least not as good of product!
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