Satellite Dragon

This will be my first modern, digital contest entry when I am done with it. There is still a bit to be done on this piece, mainly in shadows and light definition. The contest is on deviantART and the theme is "Fantasy/Science Fiction Fusion." I came up with the idea of a dracoform satellite. Satellites aren't too science-fictiony these days, but a mechanical orbiting dragon might be. Its wings are solar panels and it has a nuclear reactor inside the body cylinder. Dracoform, depending on its level of aggression or belligerence, would either destroy space junk with its atomic fiery breath, or go after enemy satellites or even astronauts.

"Satellite Dragon" is all digital, Photoshop CS4, 11" x 8 1/2", July 2010. Click on the picture for a larger image.

Prophetic Filaments

I called this image "Prophet's Hair," for some forgotten reason. Perhaps I had seen a picture of a religious devotee with flowing, flying hair. But it's another nebula picture and so I had the opportunity to make an obscure but poetic title for it. It's glowing hydrogen with two fresh bright stars in the mix.

In 1991 I had already heard of friends of mine using their computers to connect on a "bulletin board" system where they sent "electronic mail" to each other, using clever symbols made out of punctuation such as ^^^^^^^^ or :-). 1991 was also the year I first did any digital art.

The usual, November 1991.

The Diamond Throne

I collect visionary narratives, as some of you know. These are written, or channeled, or compiled by and from people who have seen Heaven, Hell, or other regions of the endless Inner Worlds. One of the most famous and amusing of these visionaries was Ruth Norman, who founded the "Unarius" UFO contact group in California along with her husband Earnest. They have both "Transitioned into the Spiritual Worlds of Light," but they left behind a fantastic legacy of visionary texts. I also have older texts from the 19th and early 20th century. People have been visiting the Inner World since the dawn of human time, so there's a vast amount of vision for me to appreciate and illustrate.

This picture, "The Diamond Throne," is inspired not only by Ruth Norman's visions but by the more psychedelic passages of the Bible and other revealed literature. God sits on a diamond throne, so bright he cannot be seen by ordinary eyes, under a crystal canopy with a prismatic halo. Unfortunately my art skills were not up to depicting this but I gave it a try nevertheless. At that time, in 1989, I was very much into occult mythology and ritual.

These magical apocalyptic visions are out of fashion nowadays, except for the usual eccentrics and modern shaman types. But in their day these visions energized whole cultures, from the Jews of Jesus' time to the Sufi mystics of Islam to the Theosophists of the late 19th century. Nowadays fantasy illustration is full of buxom winged angel and devil women with no religious content whatsoever. As for me, I follow some of the more radical ideas about the other worlds and speculate that Heaven and Hell are the same place, that you can be tortured in Heaven and happy in Hell.

"The Diamond Throne" is watercolor on illustration board, 9" x 13", June 1989.

Flame Traceries

I like lava. Flaming streams of fire flowing down a volcanic slope is one of the greatest glories of Nature. But in space there is no up or down and no flowing lava. But there is glowing gas, which shapes itself into all sorts of shapes and forms, including these twisted threads and filaments. The name of this piece is "Flame Traceries." This would probably be a supernova remnant, under pressure not only from the original explosion but from nearby new stars. If you are into explosive events and eruptions of cosmic fire, a supernova beats a volcano any day.

"Flame Traceries" is acrylic on illustration board, 10" x 7", November 1991.

Co-worker color study

My co-workers are my models. Not models of behavior or achievement necessarily, but models for my artistic studies. I need to learn to render clothing, including ordinary current street clothing, in digital media. Since I cannot (at least for now) drag my laptop into a public place and sketch people, I commandeer my co-workers and have them pose for photographs which I will then render on Bizmac at home. You've seen this guy before, in my entry for June 11, 2010. This time I bypassed a pencil and ink sketch and did the entire thing in Photoshop with my tablet and stylus. It took more than 2 hours as I still don't have the skill, especially with the face. But I will get better at it. My intention is to be able to do character portraits and concept studies for games, books, comics, or whatever wants them.

My male co-workers pose. I don't ask my female co-workers to pose, even though there are quite a lot of really good-looking ones this summer. I don't want to be accused of harassment, even though I am only drawing clothed models. I will probably get some face shots anyway as I usually photograph each co-worker for "endorsements," where they have their photo and a personal note in front of a product they like. However, that bit of marketing seems to be out of fashion right now in our store. By the way the face on this figure is not a good likeness, so his identity is safely concealed.

Stars of Hollywood

Why are movie players called "stars?" Because they shine brightly, of course. There are astronomical celebrities too, and they radiate in nebulas and active areas of radio-intense galaxies. These stars emit lots of glow. They even explode sometimes, like real movie stars. I don't watch many movies, but I love to see the star fashions that they parade around in. I say, the glitzier the better.

If you had a spaceship and it had to pass through this area of intense radiation, you'd want to go as fast as possible so you wouldn't get fried. Hence the title of this small picture, "Escape from Hollywood." Would you like to trade your life for that of a Hollywood celebrity, even for one day? I wouldn't be able to walk in those super high heeled shoes. But the sequins and shine would be kinda cool. Sorry, the only dazzle I have is in the paint containers.

"Escape from Hollywood" is acrylic on illustration board, 7" x 10", November 1991. Will I ever leave 1991??

The ambition of a techno-mage

There he was, Mereth Kahn the architect and techno-mage, posing for publicity in the ruins of earthquake-stricken Eridu. He came there on his own, attaching himself to the Surakosan relief team, and performed heroically, using his powers to free people who were trapped in debris. But he also has great ambitions for Eridu. The ruined city, which was built with hardly any earthquake resistance, will need to be rebuilt. He intends to be chosen to do as much rebuilding as he can, making his mark as the premier architect of a new Eridu risen from the old ruins.

Mereth face, close up. It's one of my better digital portrait faces so far, though people often tell me that all my faces look alike, especially of good-looking men.

See my Noantri Weblog for more about the Eridanian earthquake, in the April postings.

Mereth's portrait is in Photoshop, original about 6" x 9 1/2", July 2010.