Studioscape

Just in case you ever wanted to know what my studio looks like. More or less the same as other artists' studios I suppose. I've got a black metal stool and an "Art Bin" full of markers.(There is also an office chair, not shown.) The flat surface is for mat cutting but it is very unusual to see it empty of papers, fragments, tools, etc. The multi-compartment box is filled with hundreds of markers, the fruit of my marker obsession. Each box has a collection of a different color, such as greens, blues, browns, etc. There's another box you can't see, filled with grey, pale gold, and light blue tones, all to make skyscapes. The Cintiq is in there but you can't see that either, it's reverently covered over with a dust cloth.

This is also a result of Not Having Anything Interesting to SketchBlog.

Tech pen black ink on sketchbook page, 4 1/2" x 7", March 31, 2016.

Kallitechnia Panorama

You may remember (but probably not) the project I worked on with an engineer who made up a fantasy utopian civilization named "Kallitechnia." You can read the story of the project here, so I don't have to re-describe the whole thing. I am surprised that I've never posted most of the black and white illustrations I did for it. Or maybe I have and forgotten about it, duplicating it on this Blog but after 8 years I get forgetful. Anyway this piece was to be the front cover of the magazine-sized book, with the title up at the top in the empty area. The Kallitechnians lived in great big glass-domed climate controlled "arcologies" where the houses backed up on the domed area but also had land outdoors in the front. Kind of a cool idea but in reality it would be very expensive to create. At the center is a big grass playing field where people would play soccer or other games, as well as hold outdoor events and meetings and parties. Most of the people in Kallitechnia were young, healthy, and beautiful, with only a few older people as faculty or counselors, so it was kind of a college atmosphere, or at least a fantasy college atmosphere.

Original art black ink on illustration board, 11" x 14", February 1996. Klik for larger more utopian view.

The Big Creeper

It's a giant head made from industrial debris, walking on huge fuzzy slippers both front and back. Or even worse, it's a legless female torso, made for perverted admiration. These things happen when you have too much clutter in your dwelling and you see things in half-light in the dark hours after midnight. They could be moving. That pile of random stuff? It's looking at you. If you draw its picture, you will never be able to forget or unsee what you drew. It's in your sketchbook creeping up at you. Clutter has an energy all its own and you better defend yourself against it. Dust bunnies or laundry monster? They're already here.

Black ink and marker on sketchbook page, 5" x 4 1/2", March 29, 2016.

Darkover Theatrical Villain

One of the most popular characters in the Darkover fan community was Lord Dyan Ardais, who was a villain dressed in black from a decadent aristocratic family known for their sneaky ways and subterfuges. He was a bad gay man who abused the hero and manipulated anyone in his path. He was part alien, too, as shown by his 6-fingered hands which you can see if you look closely. But he was interesting, unlike the rather bland, pretty, and victimized good boys. Author Marion Zimmer Bradley was well aware of the "good bad guy" character as well as the dashing villains of stage and film. This illustration of Lord Ardais, which was fan art for a Darkover magazine, is based on a publicity photo of Tom Savini, an actor, special effects and 3-D designer, and stuntman who made presentations at a Baltimore science fiction convention, where I met him and bought his photo. Some fans criticized me for copying the character's face too literally, but this was never meant for anything but fan use.

Black ink on illustration board, 8" x 10 1/2", November 1998.

Moon, Cherry Trees, Photoshop

This really happened, just a week ago. It is Cherry Blossom time in the Washington, DC area and people from all over the world have come to see the flowering trees and the stately monuments and the mesh-wrapped Capitol building. There are cherry trees in the landscaping in a lot of places so I don't have to go downtown to see them. I always enjoy hearing the radio announcers at traffic check time talking about "cherry blossom congestion." Quite a lot of congestion is happening now for those who are allergic to tree flower pollen, though not necessarily cherry blossoms. With me it's red maple blossoms and I hope they finish and drop off soon. Last week there was a full moon and clear sky which was a beautifully designed background for the blossoms at twilight and evening. Something to write a haiku about, though it would be one of uncounted similar Japanese expressions. Perhaps to be original I might wax poetically about the "Moon, Cherry, Cintiq," or some other modern non-poetic gadget. "Falling blossoms, petals drop onto my Cintiq, Move Moon with Stylus."

Photoshop on Cintiq and main iMac, 8" x 3 1/2", March 27, 2016.

Noantri town square

Most of my imaginary Noantri people lived around the Mediterranean Sea in their alternative Earth. This square, with its cobblestones and cafe's and central fountain, could be found anywhere in our world, too. Why didn't I create a world radically different from ours? With their psi-powers, you'd think they could create all kinds of special effects as well as practical devices running on psi force. But it has its limitations: psi can only be produced and managed by gifted humanoid beings, and it wears out rather quickly and has to be renewed. Nevertheless, a Noantri village will have things we don't, such as a licensed fortune-teller, a finder's service, or a psionic therapist. Since Noantri are humanoid, with limbs, hands, feet, and senses like ours, their accommodations will probably look like ours. And since Earth's life forms fit their own nutritional needs as colonists, they would eat the same food as ours, minus the spaghetti (no pasta borrowed from China! no tomatoes from the Americas).

Black tech pen ink on sketchbook page, 9 1/2" x 8", mid to late 1990s. Click for larger view.

Winter Vines

A week ago, this picture didn't exist. I thought about it for a long time, had a reference photograph for it all set up (yes, photograph, it was winter, not tailgate art weather), and even took out my watercolors, but only since a week ago have I actually set watercolor brush to paper. This is what grapevines look like in the winter when they are leafless and twiggy. This vineyard is at Fox Meadow Winery in Linden, VA. The vines will not leaf out till late April or May. Meanwhile enthralled tourists are looking at DC's cherry blossoms by the light of a full moon, which seems totally japonais. I hope to feature this picture, titled "Winter Vines," as a seasonal piece in my next wine art picture book, "Virginia Under Vine."

Watercolor, ink, and colored pencil on Arches watercolor paper, 8 1/2" x 11", March 2016.