Malleable Flesh

This rather burdened character appeared at DarkoverCon. She definitely made an amazing presence and one wondered how she could walk. I suppose it is a matter of balance. I might be exaggerating a bit in this drawing, which is from memory....but not by much.

DarkoverCon People and Things

Only a couple hundred people showed up for DarkoverCon so this is a fair sample of the types who attended. I sold unusually well for a small convention (thank you, art-loving friends!) and was on some interesting panels. There were a lot of nice costumes including Victorianoid Steampunkery. Steampunk has gone from cool to cliche' in record time, no more than a year it seems. But wait...I have plans for some Steampunk style art, done from an authentic period-era Victorian fantasy novelist, Marie Corelli, whom no one knows these days. It won't be the same old goggles-and-corset business.

Meanwhile, this is what you do when you have a sketchbook and you are bored after the end of the convention but you can't go home yet. You draw any damn thing including this thrilling (not) desk lamp and empty bottle of Sprite. This is the artist's life. Or perhaps, the unimaginative artist's life. Someone else would be drawing dragons or barbarian warriors or spaceships.

Cyber Pirate

Well well me buckos, time to party hearty. I will be off to DarkoverCon and will not post to the By-Product until I get home next Monday. I'd better make some drawings there. This one here is another fan-related art piece. It is the Holidays card for the staff of BucConeer, which was the World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore in 1998. The theme for that convention, was (could you guess?) pirates, so that's what they asked for on their card. CyberPirate poses with a glass of some hooch, as his cat takes the wheel. Arrr ye mateys, have a fine Thanksgiving and remember it's not ALL about the feasting. Even a pirate has something to be thankful for.

"BucConeer" Holiday Card is ink on Bristol board, 5" x 7", November 1995.

Goblin Market

It's almost that time again, for me to go to "Darkover Grand Council," the annual convention of fantasy fans which once belonged to Marion Zimmer Bradley and her admirers. It might as well be a Goblin Market, full of vendors, entertainment, and unusual costumes. I will have an art show there, along with a few other folks, and maybe if I'm lucky I'll make a few bucks. But if all goes well at least I'll see my friends and enjoy a few parties.

Marion Z. Bradley used to have a fantasy magazine where she and her writer friends and fans could publish short fiction and original art. I did a lot of illustrations for this magazine, whose run ended in 1999. This was one of the later things I did, for a very short tale by Marion featuring her cross-dressing mage, Lythande.

"Goblin Market" is ink on Bristol board, 7 1/2" x 4 1/2", May 1999. Published summer 1999. The lettering was printed out from computer typesetting and pasted directly onto the art.

Studies for Engineer

I never give up hope that I will learn to draw human figures well. These are some practice drawings, some from my Chris Hart learn-figures book (including the peanut-like basic torso form) and others from a reference photo that I found. I searched for ages before I finally found a photo of a man in the position I was looking for. This is the figure with his left arm up and his right hand on his hip. He will eventually be the model for what I am calling the "Heroic Engineer," an Ayn Rand illustration of John Galt standing by the Dieselpunk-style engine he created. Yes, Rand is "dieselpunk," a sort of steampunk advanced into the smoky, crackling age of diesel and electricity. The figure in the lower left is my best try so far but I have a long way to go. Meanwhile I continue to try to do graceful, pretty ladies in drawings too. Now what happens if the lady is an engineer? Does she still have to look like a pin-up in revealing attire while she's cranking the gears? Remember, there are many representations of women which are still taboo in popular art.

Warmth and Wine

Here's one of my latest efforts for Trader Joe's. It is a tiny piece, only about 5 inches by 3 1/2 inches, and it's made to be the price tag template for TJ's featured holiday wines. The blank area is where you write in the name, description, and price of the wine. I added a scene that could be from any of the wineries I've been visiting. As winter arrives, many of the wineries prepare indoor dining and gathering rooms, some of them with a fireplace to give you a homelike atmosphere. Working with food and wine is sort of an archetypal experience. You follow the seasons, not like an agriculturalist would but with the availability of various goods, and the customers' imagination. The world may be cold and harsh and full of bitterness, but indoors there are sweets and wine by a friendly hearth.

"Holiday Wines" is ink on paper, colored in Photoshop, 5 1/2" x 3 1/2", November 2010.

Iconic Mr. Spock

This is one of my most notorious images. I've sold a lot of prints of it nevertheless. I almost never do images of well-known media characters and this is a very rare exception. I did it for my friend Laura J. who at the time was a big Trek fan. Mr. Spock was her favorite character. He is depicted in a meditative pose from the movie STAR TREK II, in an "icon" conception, with halo and inscription. Two candles burn beside him, one red and one green, red for Captain Kirk and Earthling blood, green for Spock and Vulcan blood. Incense rises from a Vulcan incense burner. Some pious types objected to the Christian icon tradition re-adapted to a television and movie character.

Laura J. left this with me when she moved away and I have never returned it. She lost interest in STAR TREK and went on to other things. I know you're reading this, LauraJ, so if you want old Spock back, just say so.

"Saint Spock of the Spaceways" is acrylic on illustration board, 6" x 9", August 1985.