Mars on my mind...

Martian Dust Storm(8x10,oils SOLD) Phoenix will land on Mars, in the polar region this coming Sunday. It will be fascinating to see what views we see. Mars is an amazing planet. It seems we know it so well with our recent explorations by our roving probes- Spirit and Opportunity-two of the best investments that really went above and beyond everyone's expectations . I'm also fascinated with tornadoes and windstorms...and MArs has it's own versions of that. In this, we see two Martian dust devils towering into the thin atmosphere. While imposing and huge, they're only a breath compared to the tornadoes we see on earth(like the massive one that struck north of Denver, today. I'm planning some bigger Mars paintings of late, this is just a quick taster of things to come.

More Mars! It's Cold Enough!!!

Mars Lift Off (oils, 8x10, $SOLD)Martian Mists (oils, 8x10 SOLD)


See, I am still doing small works! In between the larger commissions now. Energy is low and distraction is high. But, here they be. One sold outright as it was sorta promised awhile ago. I'm also doing two covers with Mars as the theme. I start thinking Mars is my planet!

More Mars....

Dusty Mars 1(8x10 Oils SOLD!)

Dusty Mars 2(8x10, oils, SOLD!.)

Really back into doing the small paintings. I missed them alot. So here are two more! Mars was my theme, as it is such a mysterious and fun planet to paint.

Some More Mars...

Mars Base(Concept for larger painting) 5x7 Oils, SOLD!

Martian Dust(5x7 oils, FRAME included.) $100.

A couple of new Mars pieces. One is for a larger work, and the other to play with lighting concepts. Just back from DRAGON*CON where I had a really good time! Best at a con in a long time!

And yet another...

First Spaceship On Mars(8x10 inches, oils, SOLD!)

I sort of made this ship somewhat like the design of the Cosmostrator from THE SILENT STAR(1960) but this time, I put it on MArs. The painting sold right out of the barn....fun to do!

Illuxcon Paintings Pt 1

Of Late I Think of Mars (6x36 inches oils)So I got a long canvas pretty cheap because the store had a time selling long sized canvases but these always present a challenge to me to create something fun in them. SO I did a long rocket on a long Mars panarama, partly inspired by the recent photos from Spirit and Opportunity and partly what I "saw" in the blank canvas. The result was alot of fun and came out of my hands pretty fast.

I'm bringing it to Illuxcon this weekend in Altoona PA. If you are going you can see it for real, if not and I still have the painting when I get back, pleasde inquire as to the price.

Click on the image if you want a nice close, look. And I do mean close!

New Pieces for the Worldcon!

Golden Dragon(9x12 oils SOLD)

Mars Landing #1(8x10 oils SOLD)

Mars Landing #2(oils, 8x10 SOLD)

Wow. I finally got back to painting some little pieces!!! I missed doing them, but being busy is good too!! In fact, I had to because I wanted to do some small things up for the World SF Con which is in Denver, starting Wednesday! The top dragon was done as a demo at Barnes and Noble and I finished it up, in the studio later. He's probably going to be done for a much bigger painting for the upcoming "Dragon" book I'm doing.

Anyway, enjoy these, it'll be a while before I post again as I'll be "on the move" in various parts of the Rockies. And back later in August. 'Til then!

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...

Getting back to some smaller paintings....

It has been one Hell of a year with emphasis on the "Hell" end of it. I can't believe the holidays are almost upon us again.

I am getting back to some smaller paintings soon. In fact one is drying and waiting to go up(it's a Mars scene, I know I seem to have a fixation with that planet but I suppose it's better than a fixation with flowers). I like these smaller planetary paintings, with a tad of romance thrown in for good measure. I mean, who wants Mars the way it looks? I painting it like I'd like it to look.

Sold a long painting just today(see previous post) and have two left. These things don't last, so if you're hedging...

Taking things a bit easy just to pull back. The effects of stress and the ensuing anxiety have only given me a taste of what could happen, so I'm altering that course now. I have too many more paintings I want to do!!!

New Cover...

This is a cover-30x24 inches- for a Phillip Jose Farmer collection called THE OTHER IN THE MIRROR. It'll be a Subterranean Press book in Spring. The story I did here, was for one called JESUS ON MARS in which a Mars recon crew finds a crashed alien ship in the side of a Martian valley. The imagery was astounding and immediately inspiring and I was able to do a landscape painting, and incorporate the scale of a huge spaceship, or part of it. It will be a semi-wraparound cover as well, with the diagonal fin of the ship leading around the back. I really liked the misty and ethereal feel to it...

A Golden Planet....

The Golden Planet(5x7 inches, oils, framed SOLD!) Did this little tiny painting, and it includes a frame! I have been on a kick lately of showing planets to be almost "Mars like" as we saw them in the 1950's...still the most amazing time of wonder for these kind of settings...

Illuxcon Pt 2

Hit and Run (8x10,oils SOLD!)

The Edge(8x10 oils)

Red Wind(8x10, oils SOLD!)

And you thought I didn't do these paintings anymore. I do, I'm just exhausted. But these I am bringing to Illuxcon. I may have 'em left after, so do write if interested as they'll be framed. I have a recent fixation with Mars as can be seen, so stay tuned!!

The LONG Views....

The Red Dust 1(oils, 6x36, SOLD)

The Red Dust 2(oils, 6x36 $600)

The Ice Moon(oils, 6x36m SOLD!)

Back to some art blogging....

A trinary of space art images. Alot of fun to do. The first image is highly re-worked from before and I like the misty fog in it. Mars' mist is always intriguing.

Anyway, these are $600 each(think of them as 4x the length of four of my smaller images). And if you want all three, inquire as to a special price on that!!!!

Click on any to see a larger image....

New planetary paintings...

The Ice Moon Europa(9x12 inches, oils, SOLD)

Misty Mars #4 (9x12 inches, oils SOLD!)

Martian Dust #3(9x12 inches, Oils SOLD!)

STILL PAINTING...here are three done in recent days. The top one was sorta sold before it got to the blog, but that's how it goes with these things. They don't last long! The small works are a joy to do, and priced right for everyone(these are a little larger hence the price a tad higher) so I will continue to do them. Sort of my "romantics" view of space. I'll be out to Australia for a bit, soon, but if interested, write me!!

I've been at blogging three years now! Wow! Where did time go to?

On the Road in Malibu...after Worldcon

The Denver World SF Con was a blast. A smaller crowd but it was really easy going and I wasn't exhausted as I normally am. Considering also the "thin" air there. I sold a bunch of paintings(I made the highest sales for the con artshow) and I met a whole bunch of cool people, several of whom are buyers of my work, and these blog paintings. Speaking of, I sold the two below Mars images. Thanks to whoever bought them and only have the dragon left. Congrats go to Hugo winner for Best Pro Artist, Stephan Martineire(who I have known a long time in fact!)-his work is all over the place and, he really deserved it with his revolutionary work done on computer.

This week is teaching an illustrator's workshop in Malibu!! Nice digs here too!!! I managed to do this whole trip as one big "triangle" around the west. I am due to be Artist Guest of Honor at Bubonicon next week and I didn't want to go all the way to Denver from Rhode Island only to come back again the following week the same path and, I'd always wanted to see New Mexico and the dinosaur/volcano and rock formations there, galleries in Santa Fe and such. So we did it all as one big trip.

That's an update, more to come....

Double Heinlein

"The Rolling Stones"

"The Puppet Masters"

Two new Heinlein covers. The top one is for one of his juveniles, called THE ROLLING STONES and it's not about the group. It's a family in space. Except not lost, if you get my drift. I wanted to emulate the Chesley Bonestell feel to it, with a 1950's "rocket" ship in the full light of the sun whilst two characters are exploring the dark side of Phobos, the inner moon of Mars. The bottom is the re-issue of THE PUPPET MASTERS. So many versions of the covers used someone on strings so many times, it was kind of a habit I wanted to break. So after some consultation with the publisher, she determined a "really weird and kind of creepy city" would look good. And that I could do what I wanted in the sky. So my approach-it's a heady book with alot of human interaction- was to show earth literally being enveloped and covered with the "slugs" as they are, all sort of attaching themselves as they do to the human hosts.

Both covers are designed for Big Type in mind. That is, the covers have to have big type on the top and sometimes the bottom. As being Heinlein they have to look pretty spectacular so this is designed to work with the type. On a recent message board about my art, I my work was accused of looking "So much like bookcovers" which, duh, that's what they are!!! Several others dutifully defended me on this point.

More long Mars...

Marscape #2(oils 36x6 inches)(Price: Inquire) Back with painting, these days. Here's a long painting done on a long(36 inch). I love this format. When I did an earlier concept on this length of canvas I could have sold it three times. I'll be painting more but, if you like this one, write me on the price. You can also click on the image for a larger view.

Concepts! Concepts! Concepts!!!

See? I have been busy! Here's some concept sketches to some upcoming covers I am doing. Top: The Dinosaurs of Mars-cover to a great Caitlin Kiernan book. The idea was to make an almost 1950's view of dinosaurs-you'll have to read the story to get the context, 2nd down: Dragon Done It-combine hard boiled detective mysteries and, magic in a book edited by Mike Resnick and Eric Flint and this is what you get! 3rd& 4th down, two Heinlein books I am doing. All these will eventually become covers, all the sketches were approved on the first shot-which means it's my best idea and thus, they'll be good pieces. I visualize things in my mind, and "see" the compositions and sketch them down with charcoal....it's a nice spontanious way to work.

More Mars...!!!

Marsdust(8x10, oils. SOLD)

Marscape (8x10, oils SOLD)

Couple of nice little Marscapes. People seemed to really like them so here I am doing some more. I love landscapes, and I tend to take a romantic's view, rather than the "reality" as it were.

SOme sketches for the offering....

Sketch for a "Mars" piece with the "Cosmostrator" rocket in it. About 11 x17. $50.

 

Sketch for BEYOND THIS HORIZON by R.A. Heinlein. 11x 17 inch sized paper. $40.SOLD

 

GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE.  11 x14 inches. Pencil. $50.SOLD

14 x17 sized paper. Preliminary Sketch for a Kaiju anthology due out later this year. $50.SOLD

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