Here are some of the highlights: I'm currently working on two book projects. The first is an illustrated edition of 20 original short stories with accompanying illustrations. The stories range from being set in the modern day to fantasy.
The second project has been ongoing for a while, but has really taken shape over the summer and fall, being a retelling of the Tales and Legends of Robin Hood, fully illustrated with some 80+ images. It's been loads of fun, as I've been getting to draw trees, trees and more trees. Oh, and all the classic characters like Robin, Marian, Little John, and of course, Friar Tuck. I decided to go with the older tradition of Tuck, complete with his pack of barely domesticated hounds! The publisher and I are in negotiations at this point about format and such. More on this as it develops.
This past month I begun writing a strange little tale that I'm not sure where it's headed. Into the land of Fey, probably, but at this point I'm working on the character sketches and trying to nail down the plot, which keeps shifting into unintended directions.
For me, inspiration and ideas come from unlikely sources, and the mixing of genres has always held a fascination. In this particular instance, it's been A Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin, the 2008 movie with Jackie Chan and Jet Li called The Forbidden Kingdom, Little, Big by John Crowley, and last but, instrumental in bringing these quite different sources together, repeated watchings of Lazy Town, the children's show created by Magnus Scheving and filmed in Iceland.
As Solomon wrote: "There is nothing new under the sun," but the twisting of genres can sure lead to some interesting situations! How all of these will play out in the mix remains to be seen.
In early '09 The Fantasy Artists Guide to Witches will be released by David and Charles in the UK. I'll have three images in it. Two full page inks and a color double-page spread rendition of the Salem Witch Trials. The color was done digitally.
Also, I'll be featured in the February or March (not sure, yet) edition of ImagineFX magazine. Primarily it's dedicated to digital art, but they also do features on traditional artists in each issue. Four pieces of work will be spotlighted as well as the obligatory bio and photo.
Which is a good point to say that I'm enjoying my new Wacom graphics tablet! For the time being I've just been coloring some of my ink compositions, but a few weeks ago I finished my first "painting," and am already planning a new one.
New art coming next post, but for now I'll leave you with a song that I've been singing lately:
Cya.
2 comments:
You know, I would almost pay the author of this blog to make regular updates ;-)
And he would probably accept it!
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