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Illustration


Illustrations, paintings, book covers and collectable card game illustrations in the fantasy genre.


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Troll Warrior
Orc Scout
Gollum and the Ring		Otisen, a more human character from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings.
Otisen
An elder Bilbo Baggins sits at his breakfast table enjoying a simple meal and contemplating the One, True and Only Ring... from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings. The redware mug was modeled after a reproduction of a 17th century English style vessel created by well-known historic potter, Julia Smith. The knife, plate, egg cup and coffeepot are actually a bit of an anachronism. They are all art-deco era objects, whose colors and shapes I thought somehow fitting for use by Hobbits.
Old Bilbo		Lobelia Bracegirdle Sackville-Baggins, a cousin to Bilbo Baggins and very covetous of Bilbo's box of silver spoons, from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings.
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins		A Dwarf Warrior with his armor and with his battleaxe from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings.
Dwarf Warrior		Barliman Butterbur, the owner of the Inn of the Prancing Pony from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings. The pottery you see Barliman holding is painted from examples of authentic 18th and 17th century reproduction ceramics created by historic potter Julia Smith, and can be found at historic sites across the country.
Barliman Butterbur
"Fletcher" Created for a collectable card game that was cancelled by the publishers while in production, this artwork was a great deal of fun to create even though it never saw print. This painting, to be reproduced at only a 1" x 2" size on a playing card, shows a "fletcher" eyeing his handiwork. A fletcher was a very specialized craftsperson who attached the feathers to an arrow in order to ensure that their flight would be true. The feathers' arrangement on the shaft in the proper position can give an arrow spin and therefore greater accuracy.
Fletcher		"Templar Aid" Created for a collectable card game that was unfortunately cancelled before it saw print, this painting to be reproduced at a very small size portrays a squire being helpful to his knight by supplying him with a large broadsword. I wanted to accentuate the difference in physical sizes that these two guys might possess.
Templar Aid		"Fine Healer" Created for a collectable card game that was cancelled by the publishers while in production, this artwork was a great deal of fun to create even though it would never be used. It would have been printed at approximately 1" x 2" on a gaming card, so it needed to clearly show the iconic representation of a person well versed in the arcane medical arts. An attractive and mysterious protagonist, dramatic lighting, a tiny homunculus in a flask, an ancient medical cabinet, a skull...all help to set the scene clearly.
Fine Healer		"Artifact Analyst" Created for a collectable game that was cancelled by the publishers while in production, this artwork was a great deal of fun to create anyway. I was given great freedom to develop the concept for the card as long as the meaning and symbolism remained true to the mechanics of the game. Keep in mind that the artwork was to appear on a small gaming card and printed at approximately a 1" x 2" size.
Artifact Analyst
"Printer's Devil" Oil, Approx 36"H X 24"W This was one of a bunch of collaborations with illustrator Tom Kidd. We each learned from the other and at times were painting side-by-side at the canvas. My familiarity with period clothing, furnishings and objects came in very handy and parts of my collection appears in the painting. Before he became a film director, Larry Blamire posed for the figure. Tom signed the painting "NC" for his "Newell Convers" pseudonym, an homage to the golden age illustrator, N.C. Wyeth.
Printer's Devil		"Through a Brazen Mirror" Oil, 11.25" W X 17" "H It was a joy to do the cover illustration for one of my favorite folks, Delia Sherman. The publication of her book by Circlet Press gave me the chance to paint the classic illustrator's subject of rich fabrics, medieval settings, castles, and royal personages entwined in intrigue. The interesting thing here was that the figure standing symbolically behind the throne is a female in the guise of a male. I wanted to make the character believable as a male, but still allow some female aspects to be discernible.
Through a Brazen Mirror		"Lancelot" Oil, 11"H X 17.5"W This was created for a set of gaming cards portraying mythical characters and subjects. This fun project was cancelled unfortunately but I finished the painting anyway. That is, of course, Camelot in the distance. The bit of heraldry on Lancelot's chest and the flower he grasps in his hand were all symbolic of his story.
Lancelot		"Interstellar Mermaid" Oil, 13"H X 19.75"W Created for the Arisia Science Fiction Convention. This particular year, I was the artist guest of honor and was asked to create an original piece of art for the cover of the convention program book. I designed the wraparound cover painting so that the right half (front cover of the book) had only "fantasy" elements in it and the left half (back of the cover) had only "science fiction" elements. Once opened up to its full size, both elements would be combined to tell the full story of the painting; a race of mer-people returning by spaceship to Earth, the planet of their birth, where only a dim recollection of their existence had transformed that memory into myth.
Interstellar Mermaid
SCYTHIAN AMAZON - Oil on gilded wood panel This painting depicts an "Amazon" warrior and is based on objects and remains excavated in Russia between the Caspian Sea and the Stone Belt Mountains in Asia. About 20% of Scythian-Sarmatian "warrior graves" on the lower Don and lower Volga contained females dressed for battle as if they were men, a phenomenon that probably inspired the Greek tales about the Amazons. Up to 25% of military burials there were of armed Sarmatian women usually including bows, arrows, bronze-hilted swords, scaled body armor and woven rattan shields. The Amazon's facial features are based on the basic physiognomy of the present-day inhabitants of that area of Russia. The battered bronze Corinthian helm is a nod to the mythical raid of the Amazons on Athens which was supposed to have occurred about 700 b.Chr.
Scythian Amazon