"You have your fear, which could become reality...and you have Godzilla, which is reality"

Did this painting last year. Godzilla's "First Appearance" over the mountain on Odo Island in the 1954 film. This painting will be in the Rotofugi Designer Toy and Gallery show, opening Sept 8th in Chicago. It's quite an honor to be in this show, with some very cool artists. The addy is here: Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery 1953 W. Chicago Ave.Chicago, IL 60622 USA phone: 312.491.9501

Meanwhile, I will be in Godzillaland....

Somewhere in Space...

MEMORARE-the Gene Wolfe cover I did. Came out fairly cool and, how I
"saw" it.... anyway, expect not much in the way of new posts for awhile, enjoy the archives, lots of stuff when I get back from the land of Godzilla.

Ready to Launch....

The Blue Rocket(4x10,oils, SOLD at Nippon 07)
Back to another rocket. I do like doing them. This one, again is for display at the Japanese World SF Con, for which I leave for this week. Be ready for posts to be kind of really slow...in fact, maybe a break for a bit.

Drawings...now finished paintings!

Here are the two finished paintings, for covers, from the drawings posted earlier in the week. They came out fairly happy for me, quite large in oils...top is Hunter's Run and the bottom, Dagon from THE TAINT by Brian Lumley. On Hunter's Run, I made a homage to King Kong with that log-across-the-gorge scene. Could not resist. Creates a feeling of tension in the scene...will our heroes be trapped when the Chubacabra attacks? Or will it wait to attack them later? Makes us want to read the book. Also, you'll note in both pieces, I tip more than my hat to the great Hudson River painters I enjoy...

I'll probably be back to paintings-a-day in the Fall sometime. It has been one VERY busy summer, and as I said, this is my painting AND project blog...and the projects lately have been many!

Sketchy musings....

Alternative Roosevelts(charcoal)Memorare(charcoal)

A couple of in-progress works, both covers. Top is for a Mike Resnick collection, and this particular one shows Teddy Roosevelt with an H.G. Wells martian. The idea is to do it much as an old portrait kind of thing.The bottom is for a new publisher and a Gene Wolfe book that deals with huge tombs in space, around Jupiter, made from asteroids. The idea was to convey a sense of mystery and not give too much away.

I did both these sketches in coffee shops. A nice free-flow way of working than in the studio. The ideas seem to come forth better in a public area...

enjoy!

A Rocket on Mars...

(4x10, oils, SOLD at Nippon 07)
Fun little painting, thin format, to fit some interestingly shaped frames I have on hand. One of my pointed rockets on Mars...

Musings...Drawings...

Dagon(charcoal)Hunter's Run Concept Sketch(charcoal)
A couple of sketches for your enjoyment...projects that are upcoming...

The top is a take on H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon, done for the cover to Brian Lumley's new book THE TAINT due out soon from Subterranean Press. Below this is the cover concept to HUNTER'S RUN, a collaborative book by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Dan Abraham. Both are great books and are alot of fun to make into covers. What you see here are some fun drawings done in charcoal, which I love doing, that just kind of suss out the directions of the art. HUNTER'S RUN has this great monster in it, that's kind of lurking, so I didn't want to "spoil" the image of it for the reader. Generally this is how I see images and, get my ideas down....I take one of two approaches. One is to do a fairly elaborate drawing(top) that takes a couple of hours, or, if the image is really strong, then I do a quick 15 minute gesture sketch(Hunter's Run) and just go with it from there working out some of my problems as I paint along and letting sponaneity work for me. It frees up the mind and, in the end, you get a painting that is not boring to do because you are always wondering what the next brushstroke will bring...

Godzilla 1954

Godzilla 1954(8x10 inches, oils.SOLD at Nippon 07)
Yes, I am bringing this guy to Japan soon. Fun little piece that captures the mood of the 1954 classic film(see it on DVD in the way it is supposed to be seen without Raymond Burr!!). My first Godzilla in oils!!! It's supposed to be, in Rhode Island "Victory over Japan Day". The only state in the nation that still "celebrates" it, if you will. Why I will never know. A good excuse for state workers and politicians to get the day off? Perhaps. So here's a little perspective on it, my perspective.... with fiery breath...back at the "holiday"...Gojira!!!!

Getting in "Japan Mood"

What you see here, is part of a matte shot I did for a film, THE iDOL, shot in Japan, directed and written by my very good friend Norman England. Norman is a writer for FANGORIA magazine,doing excellent interviews and articles about Japanese horror films, Godzilla, etc. He then decided to make his own film on a shoestring budget, and, asked his friends to help out. I did some conceptualization of several scenes and, in the end, this "pink planet" matte painting. The actor, is real, but the flying saucer is a CG generated element that looks incredible when moving, and the background is my painting. I had specific directions to pay homage to that end shot Chesley Bonestell did in WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. This is a slightly unfinished test shot, but you get the idea.

Some of the most talented people in Japan, and the US collaborated on THE iDOL, and the result is a fun, catchy film that's played some film festivals, and has gotten some really good critical praise. MY advice to all artists is have your hands in LOTS of different things!!! If you want to see and read more, go here-it's a fun site:

http://www.theidol-movie.com/index.htm

I'm doing more work with Norman on his next project as well. That is really exciting so far, so stay tuned.

The evenings grow shorter...

The Glowing(8x10, oils, SOLD!)The evenings have grown noticably shorter. I like longer days. That nice, subtle glow that forms on the horizon about 8-8:30pm depending on where you are. Once again, a painting for the Nippon artshow.

Taking flight!!!

Flight(8x10, oils, SOLD!)
Well, flight...but not just yet. This painting IS going to Japan. If it doesn't sell, no worries it will be here for sale. Again, my fixation with clouds and light through a dragon's wings. I liked the shape of this dragon most of any I have done along these lines, and the clouds came out particularly nice. All in all....fun. I'm planning on making a LARGE painting like this someday using these paintings as a guide.

Speaking of dragons...check out the kick-ass trailer for D-WAR. South Korean film that looks to be a blast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ2paDoZ--g

More info on it can be seen at Sci Fi Japan-http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/11/12/afm-afi-fest-report-2-d-war/

COOOOOOL! Or...Kewl...however it's said these days!

You think it's HOT?

The Hot Sun(8x10, oils SOLD!)A spacecraft lifts off from a baking planet, in close orbit to a red sun. Kind of feels like that now with the weather out! Nice little oil painting, done for the show in Japan, if it doesn't sell it'll be up here for sale, so check back. Hard to believe I didn't blog for almost a week. It's been a wild ride. I also notice other blogs are "thin" these summer weeks. Blogs are more of a winter thing...why? Because we stay IN alot in winter...speaking of...I long for a nice crisp Fall.....

Nothing like The Moody Blues!!!

Quick note here....just back from seeing The Moody Blues in the quaint town of Hyannis Massachusetts at the Cape Cod Melody Tent(a scant 80 miles). It really IS a tent!!! As always the Moodies were terrific. Like time travellers, the music never grows old. Only three of the original Moodies are rocking on-Justin Hayward, Graham Edge, John Lodge, but they do it with style, fun and class. Last time I caught the Moodies was last year in Sept in Plymouth, England on a storm-lashed day. I often paint to them playing, so they're sort of a group that inspires me on a daily basis. Anyway, more pix soon....

If you think it's hot out....

A quick movie plug. I saw SUNSHINE, the new film by Danny Boyle(28 Days Later, Trainspotting) that may be one of the best "hard" SF pictures I have seen in a long time. They don't make 'em like this much in a vast sea of fantasy films(not that there is anything wrong with that, but good hard SF is vastly ignored these days). Essentially-the theory is that a "Q-ball" of dark matter has destabilized the sun(it's a theory by one of the science advisors to the film) causing the sun to become weak and thus, earth starts to freeze(not much time is spent on this, it's backstory). The spaceship Icarus 2 is headed toward the sun with a massive "solar bomb" designed to act like a small "Big Bang" and disperse the dark matter and re-ignite the sun. From an acting, and character point of view, this is one of the best casts I have seen-multinational, and it shows that even in space, on a vast ship with all the comforts of home, the effects of confinement and isolation take their toll in subtle and eventually dangerous ways. The CG visual effects-particularly the Icarus ship- are stunning and, while dazzling, they never take away from the characters who, from the get-go, you feel like you know personally. No spoilers, only to say, go see this one while it's still in a mere 400 theaters in the US. It's getting great reviews and, there hasn't been anything quite like it in a long time. It pays homage to both Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and, Ridley Scott's ALIEN film in places and in overall tone but only to logical ends. But that works for the good in this case. I saw it twice it left me with such images and resonance. The film stars Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanda, Cliff Curtis and Benedict Wong.