Space Yacht miniature

This nametag miniature depicts what could be either a dual ship or a single larger ship, perhaps a private "yacht" with a small "tender" ship attached to it by cords. I was not going for practical use but just for interesting shape, color, and design possibilities. The large fins look like they will open like a fan, either for catching stellar radiation for power or perhaps as a wing in an atmospheric flight. In my early years as a science fiction illustrator I was often asked to justify a design feature in terms of technology: "what does THAT do?" or "what is that there for?" In the science fiction world, you can always find some reason for it being there. I didn't usually paint pictures of existing satellites or space equipment.

"Space Yacht" is watercolor on Fabriano paper, 3 1/2" x 2 1/4", February 1978.

Balticon Characters 2011

Balticon is a family gathering where only the eccentric members are invited to attend. For the weekend, it doesn't matter what your level of sanity is, only that you adhere to some basic level of civilization. There were lots of splendid costumes to look at, especially those neo-Victorian getups inspired by the Steampunk genre. The con suite, where all con-goers were welcome to partake of snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, was decorated (by the hotel, not by the convention) in shiny 1950s diner style. I had my sketchbook in hand and was able to capture some of the members and even dialogue of Clan Balticon, including a very well-attired Jedi (right foreground) with his light saber.

Angel of Geometry

I didn't think I'd get this finished in time for Balticon, but favorable circumstances at work allowed me to have an extra studio day to work on it. This is actually a sketch and a test run for a piece I've planned for later this year. The background, with its heavenly blend of sky blue and gold, is something I've had in my studio for years and years, and I'm glad I was finally able to use it. That gold-to-blue background is a solution to a painting problem in which I was faced with trying to put my colors on a white background. As it is, when I do the final version there will be a lot of airbrushing to do. After that, I'll paint my colors over this blended background, which will look much nicer, and I won't have to pile up the color in little heaps in order to make it cover and look evenly painted.

This picture is influenced by the work of Paul Klee and Rene Magritte. The top sphere looks vaguely like a head, in the whimsical style of Klee. I love these artists, Modernists and Surrealists. As of yet I don't know where to bring this art to sell it, other than at a science fiction convention, where it will sit looking cool and Modernist among the dragons, barbarians, spaceships, babes, and vampires.

I am off to Balticon and I will not be posting to the By-Product until I return on Sunday.

"Angel of Geometry" is acrylic on illustration board, 9" x 12", May 2011.

Breasts Are Good

This drawing is from the May 18 life drawing session at Falls Church Arts. I was happy to have a model who had nice large breasts. This is the most important part of the female figure if I am to make images of fantasy women for a (straight) male audience. If I am making images of fantasy women for a female audience, it isn't the breasts but the flowing hair and dreamy eyes. I left that out of this drawing because I only had twenty minutes to draw it. Do the breasts first, right after I've established the basic proportions. But fantasy breasts don't hang like real flesh. They are perfectly spherical and look like they are inflated with helium so they float and have no weight. Implants give real women this look if they want it. So if I turn a live model into fantasy I have to make sure that the breasts are suitably artificial. Fantasy women warriors rush into battle wearing peculiar armor that covers the arms and legs heavily but leaves the torso bare. Presumably the enemy will be so dazzled by the woman warrior's perfectly round breasts that he will forget to attack or fire.

Spacewarp Miniature

I thought I didn't do much abstract art back in the 70s but I did quite a lot. Most of it was in miniature form which is why I probably don't remember it. But transcribing these old slides brings it back. This one is another nametag miniature blank. The purple area in the lower right was where the name was supposed to go. I don't remember whether this was sold or not and I never put a name on it. Note the "impossible" spacewarp ship with its filigree halo. I did all those tiny dots by hand. I had a lot more patience (and time) back then, and computers were still something that only a university could afford.

Spacewarp nametag miniature, watercolor and gouache on Fabriano paper, 3 1/2" x 2 1/4", February 1978.

Jack Vance Dragons miniature

Sometime in 1977 I read some fantasy tales by Jack Vance. I read "The Dragon Masters" and "The Dying Earth." I read these books mostly to get ideas for illustrations, though they were entertaining enough. I did some nametag miniatures from "Dragon Masters" which I marketed at conventions. This one shows the mutated dinosauroid "dragons" from the book, having at each other. They were semi-intelligent and knew how to use weapons as well as their inborn fighting abilities. Vance used dinosaurs as the models for these "dragons," adding an extra pair of legs in the midsection. I also used dinosaurs as models, especially the "old-style" Tyrannosaurus Rex, who doesn't look like that any more. Back in those days, I depicted dinosaurs and dragons if I felt like it. Nowadays I would hardly do any pictures of dinosaurs as they have been pretty much monopolized by professional artists like James "Dinotopia" Gurney or Bob "Godzilla" Eggleton. Any dinosaur or dragon I did now would look exactly like the well-known version of one, because these creatures are "standardized." Back in 1977 I was an amateur and I didn't know that, so I did whatever I thought fit the illustration.

The Dragons nametag miniature is ink and watercolor on Fabriano paper, 3 1/2" x 2 1/4", summer 1977.

Wine and Craft Festival

"Wine Saturday" was spent with a whole lot of different wineries, all of them offering their wares at the Virginia Wine and Craft Festival in Front Royal. I have been going to this festival every May for twenty years, minus one or two which had bad weather or were rained out. The wine quality in general continues to improve year after year. In the old days twenty years ago, Virginia red wines were bad. But now, the reds are often delicious, in ways quite different from the French or California ideal. I tasted a lot and afterwards drew this quick sketch of the tasting booth of Mattaponi Winery, which crafts Native grape varieties as well as sweet fruit wines.

Sketch is Pitt black technical pen on sketchbook page, about 9" x 6".