Last month, I had the opportunity to try my hand at trying to get my art into a book based on the 1982 film The Thing. Now, if you’ve known me at all over the years, you know that John Carpenter’s version of The Thing is one of my very Read more…
After a bit of a hiatus on fully illustrating a digital piece, I’ve created my new, creepy image, “A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed.” I’ve been doing digital manipulations here and there, but I’ve shied away from full digital illustrations for most of this year. New times bring Read more…
I’m a big fan of the recent Mad Max: Fury Road film, especially many of the characters. Furiosa was a great character, and I really liked the character of Immortan Joe. So, when I was thinking of a new piece of art to create, I decided that Joe would be Read more…
Last fall, Thunderstorm Books asked if I could create cover art for author Ronald Kelly’s new short novella, Strong Steps. Anytime I get to work with Thunderstorm is a great time, so I jumped right into it. In the months just before I started working on the cover, I was Read more…
Last week, I was sketching while I was on the mass transit (which I’m apt to do). Typically, I end up with the strangest and weirdest sketches, even more so than my typical artwork. I’ve learned over time that when I’m sketching in my Moleskine, I just have to let Read more…
I spent a couple of hours last weekend trying to will a new ink into existence. It was an idea that I’d had for a few weeks, and something that I was really looking forward to. It would have been something like this: But it was one of those times Read more…
As an artist, what resonates with me is the idea of creating something that hits a little deeper than simply showing a scene. Sure, as an illustrator especially, there are plenty of times where I need to paint the scene as it is. Much of the time, illustrations are visual Read more…
I’ve come to really love painting the traditional way, though I still love digital art as well. But traditional art, such as inks and acrylics, give me a different sense compared to digital. It’s not just that I see my art differently from medium to medium, it’s that my whole Read more…
Awhile back, I did a number of illustrations for author Ray Garton’s book Vortex. It recently was released from publisher Cemetery Dance, and I thought I’d show both of you (there are still two of you that read my blog, right?) the artwork for the book. To get us started, Read more…
A couple of years ago, I did illustrations for a book from Cemetery Dance called Four Ghosts. I found out earlier this year that it had been published, and I put the artwork for it on my Tumblr (here! Go visit it!). I realized just today that I never posted Read more…
No, I didn’t misspell that title, it actually is spelled “valravn”. The valravn is my new artwork, and new Alphabeast. From Danish folklore, a valravn is a half-wolf, half-raven creature. From Wikipedia (and a couple of other sites): “The valravns appear in traditional Danish folksongs, where they are described as Read more…
For some time, I’ve been wanting to create another “loose” piece, using scratchboard, ink, acrylic, and seemingly everything else I can find in my office. Quite a few people like the previous piece like this, last year’s The Lost Nightmare, and I thought today would be a good time to Read more…
Recently, I’ve had a couple of commissions to do ebook covers. Which is great, because I really am a starving artist (unemployed and all), so commissions help me survive. But that’s only part of why we’re here, the other side of it (and the point of this article) is designing Read more…
Man, that’s a terrible title. But it does, somehow, convey the idea that I’ve taken three each of my ink cards and framed/matted them together.
I started out to make a new sketchcard (same size and specs as the others, 5″x7″ inked), with the idea of doing one of Lon Chaney Sr.’s famous monsters. I chose his Phantom of the Opera, basing it off of a couple of photos. As I worked though, for some Read more…
I was hoping to do quite a few more small inked cards (I’ve been calling them “sketchcards”), but I haven’t had as much time as I’d hoped. But, tonight, I managed to get one finished. I call it Phibes, and it’s based on the character from the “Dr. Phibes” movies. Read more…
Here is the new painting, an 18″ x 24″ acrylic painting. I named it “The Apotheosis of War”.
This cover is a bit unlike Kelli’s, and many that I’ve done, in that the story was already available to the public.
I’ve been lucky over the past few weeks to get to work with the fantastic Thunderstorm Books. I’ve been working on three books for their Maelstrom imprint, beginning with tonight’s showcase, the cover for author Kelli Owen’s Six Days. For me, this first book is special because it’s Kelli’s first Read more…
Being a graphic designer as well as an artist can lead to some fun projects. When I’m working with authors, I tend to try to help them with what they need to push the books I’m doing the covers or other artwork for. After all, if they do well then Read more…