This Week’s Art: Schoonover’s “Hopalong Takes Command”
I’ve always loved this piece by Frank Schoonover, though that can be said for many of the pieces I’ve seen by the artist. He was one of the classic illustrators, and being primarily an illustrator myself it’s easy to see why he’s always been one of my favorites. Hopalong Takes Command is an exceptional example of Schoonover’s […]
It is truly interesting that fan art is this week’s topic, since it is something I am not only intimately familiar with as an illustrator, but this week my freelance life centers around that very idea. One of the things I enjoy doing is interviewing the cover artists for Apex Magazine, and I am sending several […]
One thing I love about art is seeing the different interpretations that artists have. A different take on a sunset, or a new way to paint buildings, and even new ways to paint monsters. These new methods and creative views drive what I love in art. Let’s face it, especially where monsters are involved. It […]
As it turns out, I’m an artist. An artist that has, luckily, convinced others that he can do art. Thus, I produce covers, interior illustrations, and whatever else folks need. I’ve mentioned it before, and I’m not done beating it into the ground just yet, but it can be an up and down game. One […]
I get asked a few times a month for my current commission rates, for folks interested in having me do cover work, or maybe an ink or acrylic piece. Sometimes they hire, sometimes they don’t, that’s just business. But there’s an underlying element often of folks who don’t want to pay anything. Ever. They just […]
I love the illustrators of the early-mid 20th century. Rockwell, Wyeth, Pyle, and many more, they just have this great sense of drama and storytelling in their work. Even without knowing the stories that they went with, as is sometimes the case, the images still cause a reaction. Case in point, this image by one […]
I’ve been a published artist for 15 years this week, for both cover art and interior art. I don’t say that to brag, I just want to set the stage for a discussion about the rights that go along with using my artwork. Now, to get the obvious out of the way, I own the […]
I’m gradually starting to get caught back up, after a disastrous few months. I decided that I didn’t want to end 2011 with nothing completed, so I manged to kick out two pieces of art in the last couple of days. The first was the skatedeck art, The All-Mighty Dollar (see it here), and below […]
For awhile now, I’ve been interested in trying new materials to work with, something other than canvas or paper. A few artists that I know paint on wooden skateboard decks, and I thought that would be something very interesting to try. My friend at the local Rendition Gallery (go check it out folks) ordered a […]
I’ve been busy for some time now, and I haven’t been able to post the newest ebook cover that I created a couple of months back. I thought it was time to show it off, so here it is. For those that follow this blog (both of you), a few months back I was in […]
For many years, coming from both illustration and graphic design, I’ve heard different discussions about what people charge to do their work. Sometimes it even sounds like a big, secret mystery, as if you aren’t supposed to talk about it in front of anyone. Which, as all of you who are consumers would be quick […]
My good friend Patrick Douglas has a new book coming soon, and I created a new art piece for him to use as a signature sheet. The book itself is great, and tells the story of an outcast girl who has stumbled into a lost tribe in a cave system. Signature sheets, at their base […]
A few years back, I wrote an article about the art technique books I have (it’s here). I thought it might be a good time to revisit that, as well as post some of the artist books that I have as well. However, reading a bunch of text is probably pretty boring, and artists are […]
In The Wrong World; Digital, story illustration for Peter Straub’s story Variations on a theme from Seinfeld Published in Cemetery Dance Magazine, 2009
Rising After Dark; Digital, based on the book The Rising: Deliverance by Brian Keene; Published in the book as the signature sheet; by the Maelstrom imprint of Thunderstorm Books, 2010
Death From Below; Digital; published as the second endpaper for the novella Scratch by Brian Keene (Cemetery Dance, 2009); Companion piece to “Death From on High”, also on this site.
Death From On High; Digital; published as the first endpaper for the novella Scratch by Brian Keene (Cemetery Dance, 2009); Companion piece to “Death From Below”, also on this site.
As a designer (not just an artist!), I run into all sorts of different projects. Everything from very simple designs up to extremely complex ones. Sometimes it’s web design, and other times it’s graphic design. Sometimes, when I’m lucky, it’s graphic art and illustration. A few years ago, my freelance client asked me to design […]
Graphic Design and Art: My cover for A Gathering of Crows
Some time ago, I discussed the genesis of the cover art that I created for Maelstrom’s edition of author Brian Keene’s A Gathering of Crows (check it out here!). For that article, I talked about the content of the art, what it meant for the book, and in general the idea behind what’s going on […]
Most years, when I can spare a little extra money, I try to enter a couple of competitions. First on the list is always the annual Spectrum competition, for the best of the current year’s fantasy/genre art. I was lucky enough to have been chosen for Spectrum 9 many years ago, and I’ve always wanted […]
Now, before we begin, let’s just say that my years of being an engineering student are way, WAY behind me. But I was looking at a couple of sites today that discussed the Golden Ratio or the Fibonacci Spiral, a quasi-magical scientific idea (let that roll around in your head for a minute) by which […]
Over the busy weekend, I’ve still managed to create two new ink cards, both based on ancient stone sculptures. They are also both ink on 5″ x 7″ 140 lb. Cold Press paper. The first is a gargoyle, based on one that I have here in my office. I’m having fun toying with the close-up […]
From start to finish: The Cover of Brian Keene’s Scratch
I like seeing how art evolves, from the beginning of the thumbnail sketches all the way through the final product. I think you can literally see an artist’s though processes as they work through issues, try new things, and complete what their vision is. In my case, it might be more like watching chaos unfold […]
I never just charge into a piece for the sake of doing art, I always let it mull around in my head some first. Sometimes I have a pretty good idea and I just need to smooth things out. Other times, there’s a lot of thought in what the scene portrays, who’s in it, what’s […]
I’ve been very anxious to show everyone this, and now, upon the release of the novella, I can do just that. Below I’ve attached a number of pieces of art that I did for author Brian Keene’s book Scratch, just released from Cemetery Dance Publications. Scratch, if you don’t follow Keene’s work (and his followers […]
Sometimes, I shudder to post new ideas or new techniques that I try. I never know if they really work out, if they are ok but just need work, or if they are so awful that the sun will shrivel up and we’ll all die. But, I also think that as an artist I always […]
While I was helping my daughter with my homework, I decided to work out some Monday sort of frustrations with new artwork. I don’t think it turned out too bad actually. I call it, “Asylum Days”.
