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...