Micahel Whelan’s cover for Brandon Sander’s The Way of Kings

A new Michael Whelan book cover doesn’t come around very often so I am super excited to present his artwork for our upcoming fantasy series,The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson.

If you click over to Tor.com you can see progress shoots and read what Michael had to say about working on the project.

Robert McCall

I am sorry to hear that Robert McCall, 90, has passed away. I don’t think there is a popular artist more intimately connected with NASA and space exploration as McCall. Looking at his work you cannot help but to think that common-place space travel should be both wondrous and possible. He has influenced and inspired millions throughout his lengthy career with his documentary paintings, film concept art (including 2001: A Space Odyssey), postal stamps, and museum murals.

“One of the joys of being an artist is the freedom to create one's own world....Like the real world, these excursions of the imagination are fraught with inaccuracies of perception—it is rare that one glimpses through the veil of time even a hint of tomorrow's reality — nor does it seem important to me whether one's perceptions are right or wrong, the pleasure is in making the predictions and doing the work.”— Robert McCall

Take some time to visit McCall’s work on his comprehensive website. You’ll be glad you did.

For more in depth reading:
CollectSpace.com
Lines and Colors

Spectrum winners announced!

Run over to the the Spectrum site! There you can see all the award winners, plus get an inside look at the judging process.

I’m sorry I couldn't catch all the names from the video so here I’ll just say and extra congrats to award-winning friends:
Sam Weber X2!
Donato Giancola
Chris Buzelli
Omar Rayyan
Eric Fortune
Eric Orchard
Daniel Docui
Michael Deas
Ed Binkley
Craig Elliot
Scott Gustafson

And a congrats to all the artists that participated.

Google’s Olympic 2010 logos?

Speaking of no credit...Who did these?

I luvs them.

Almost as much as I luvs Apollo and the Flying Tomato.

Who’s awesome? Or, Credit the Artists!

Lou Anders started to make some noise, via Twitter, against authors and publishers who put up “Look at my cover! Isn’t it the awesome!?” posts without crediting, you know, the artist.

I have to admit, I shook off the issue as a typical oversight. I remember being upset that Amazon, and other online retailers, didn’t credit the artists — information easily obtained while browsing a a physical store — and there was nothing to be done about that....I guess, I came to expect it from others as well.

But, with Lou’s rallying call in the back of my mind, last week’s Scholastic post on their Mockingjay cover has pushed me into the gently irate crowd. Scholastic posted an article excitedly revealing the cover to a popular series, along with the a refresher on how great the full series looks, without a single mention of the artist or designer. This is from the publisher, not from an author who might be far enough removed from the process not to know better. Just to reiterate, the post is about the cover.

Which is not to pick on Scholastic, it happens all the time. So, dear authors & publishers, when pimping a cover, name names!

Art Departments are constantly being told how important it is to get the cover right. Credit those whose talent, creativity, and hard work get the job done. Turn it into a marketing point. Like writers, artists' careers are built on past success. The more attention paid to good work, the more jobs they get...advancing their worth to me as an art director. Whelan, Donato, Martiniere, these guys are valuable first and foremost because they are good at what they do...but they are also “names” in the field and that furthers our marketing efforts.

Besides, it’s the polite thing to do.

Oh, and: Hey, Tim O’Brien, great series of covers!
Tim’s website, blog, “making of” the first Hunger Games cover

Boskone

A quick shout-out to all the people that make Boskone one of the most pleasant conventions of the year. Thank you, NESFA! It’s always a smoothly run, just-the-right-size convention with a kickin’ art show.

Fuzzy iPhone or “borrowed” photos here.

Great to see John Picacio, Artist Guest of Honor. John is a unique voice in the field and dedicated to the vitality of the genre as a whole. [top image]

Michael Whelan had a 40 painting exhibit. An amazing retrospective that started with his college work and chronological built up to brand new paintings.

Omar Rayyan had a knock out out show. Man, that guy just keeps getting better.

Bob Eggleton and Marianne Plumridge where a delight to share dinner with...And made me think, why not have a Boskone panel meet at one of the nearby art museums?

The now-traditional Rick Berry Studio visit was, as tradition will have it, a mellow blast.


These photos, taken by John Picacio, made me laugh because it reminds that I didn’t leave that seat very much throughout the day...Or weekend, for that matter. Charlie Stross on the left and Michael Whelan on the right.

After the con I was able to convince now-Boston artist Scott Bakal to come out and play while the dead-dog party deaded around us.


....and it’s possible this Rick Berry painting followed me home.

Tyler Jacobson wins the Jack Gaughan Award

Hurray to Tyler Jacobson! He won the New England Science Fiction Society’s Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist given out each year at Boskone.

I was honored to be on the jury with Todd Lockwood and Bob Eggleton. I first met Tyler last May during the Academy of the Arts University student exhibit and was immediately struck by his bold brushwork. (In fact, I believe I emailed Jon Schindehette that night from my hotel room, “Dude, you gotta check this guy out.”) Todd, Bob, and I looked over a number of really great portfolios—so much good talent coming up—but in the end thought that Tyler was an exemplary representation of the award — newly in the field but with work beyond-his-years, a deep portfolio of consistent work, and a motivated professional who has already established himself with clients.

Congrats, Tyler!

Check out his website and blog.
(And be sure to look at the sketches section..love those bold black and whites.)

The Society of Illustrators student sholarship ehxibit posted.

The Society of Illustrators has posted all of the artworks juried into the student scholarship exhibit.

Congrats to all the students! I look forward to seeing these drawings and paintings, and meeting some of the students, at the opening in May.

TOP ROW: Ligia Teodosiu, Grant Hanna, Leon Doucette
BOTTOM ROW: Jim Tierney, Stephanie Georgopoulos, Mike Puncekar

Picture Book Report

Meg Hunt and colleagues have started a literary illustration blog, Picture Book Report — fifteen artists will be create illustrations inspired by a favorite book. Many, in fact, most, of the titles are science fiction/fantasy, including A Wrinkle in Time, Hitchhikers Guide, Robin Hood, The Hobbit, Tarzan, Peter Pan, among others.

From the mission statement:
There is a certain kind of magic to books and stories that is hard to beat .... At the same time, there’s this stigma against books with pictures, that they’re something you leave behind after you get to a certain age. The urge to make our own mark upon this format is immense. To give back to that tradition of storytelling and share our own along the way.”

They began last week with a great series of bookplates to set the stage. I’m looking forward to checking in often and seeing fresh interpretations on so many classic titles.

(In addition to all the great talent involved, I love anything vaguely Robin Hood or Tarzan-y — color me psyched.)

Dan Dos Santos and the Wheel of Time ebook cover: The Fires of Heaven

Presenting!...The next of our Wheel of Time ebook covers: The Fires of Heaven with art by Dan Dos Santos.

Dan had the unenviable task of having to paint a preternaturally beautiful and ageless woman. He did a wonderful job of it, I’d say.

Head over to the Tor.com post to see his sketches, progress shots of the painting, and our initial thought process.

RELATED:
All Wheel of Time ebook posts are archived here.
Which include:
David Grove on The Eye of the World
Kekai Kotaki on The Great Hunt
Donato Giancola on The Dragon Reborn
Sam Weber on The Shadow Rising

Two excellent articles on the vaule of work.

As Milton Glaser reminds us, art is work. Here are two excellent articles on the value of work. One funny, the other less so, both important.

(Written by and about writers but applies to artists of all kinds)

Charlie Stross: Information, Freedom, Flame-bait

John Scalzi: Why Publishing Will Not Go Away Anytime Soon: A Deeply Slanted Play in Three Acts

ZOMG, Dino app!

From the American Museum of Natural History, which I love. But where is my Carl Akeley Hall of African Mamals app!

Greg Manchess and The Irish Country...

Designer Jamie Stafford-hill had reason to email me the full gamut (so far) of our “Irish Country” It made me go “ahhhh....” The day needed a calming influence.

Layout by Jamie, art by Greg Manchess.

Thank you!

Have I said how amazing my friends are? They are amazing.

And my life is so enriched to know each and everyone one of you.

Thank you all for the incredible party. I can’t imagine anyone has ever had such a blast turning forty. There were balloons. And shrimp. And a chocolate fountain. And friendship and love. All under the watchful eye of Rockwell, Fuchs, and Pyle. My only regret was not being able to talk to everyone more.

A special thanks to Tim O’Brien for putting the kibosh on my plan to spend the evening watching reruns of Glee. And to the Society for pulling out all the stops. And did I mention a chocolate fountain?

John Jude Palencar wins the Hamilton King!

I am proud to announce that John Jude Palencar has won this year’s Society of Illustrators’ Hamilton King Award for his artwork on Charles de Lint’s Muse and Reverie.

The Hamilton King is arguably one of the most prestigious awards in the illustration community. It is given to the best painting in the Illustrators annual, as judged by past Hamilton King award–winners. While given to a specific work, it has, unofficially, come to signify a mid-career achievement award. Previous winners include Bernie Fuchs, Leo and Diane Dillon, James McMullan, Mark English, Brad Holland, Greg Manchess, Bob Peak, Donato Giancola....A “who’s who” of illustration since 1965.

The award ceremony and black-tie dinner will take place at the Society of Illustrators in June in conjunction with the Illustrators Fall of Fame inductions.

Not only is John an amazing artist, he is a caring individual deeply dedicated to his craft. I am thrilled for him and proud of Tor’s small part in this honor.

...with Love and Squalor

The photo is my office doorway. I pass this Jillian Tamaki drawing from the New York Times countless times a day.

About once every ten years I rediscover J. D Salinger. The order of my favorite stories changes, but my love for Salinger doesn’t.

Sad news today. For some good reading, check out the Salinger website Dead Caufields.

Sam Weber on Sidebar

Sam Weber is interviewed on podcast site Sidebar Nation.

...keeping me up well past my bedtime ’cause I’m way too impatient to wait until tomorrow to listen in.

Vance Kovacks and Michael Morcock's Hawkmoon

Since I have shown off volumes one and two, I thought I’d share the latest Hawkmoon cover from Vance Kovacs.

Only one more to go...I’ll be sad to see them go.

I Speak Fluent Giraffe, the reluanch

I am super excited to be continuing Jason Henninger’s I Speak Fluent Giraffe, beyond his previous Cthulhu inspirations. He will be writing a series of crazy-but-in-the-good-way poems, stories, autobiographical oddities, and various undefinables.

Much thanks to Greg Manchess for the logo above, with an assist from Jamie Stafford-Hill. (Hmm, maybe another process post is in order?)

Brain Elig will continue to illustrate each story. Jason and Brian have never met but they make a great pair. If anyone could, Brian seems to “get” Jason.

J. W. Waterhouse, Biodomes, and some great times

A bunch of artist friends and I took advantage of the long weekend and headed up to Montreal to see the J. W. Waterhouse exhibit — the largest-ever collection of Waterhouse work, it is on display until February 7th. Montreal will be its only North American venue.

Typically seeing a full body of one artist’s work, being able to view a life-time’s worth of progression, picking up on reoccurring symbols and learning their visual language, makes me appreciate the individual pieces more. I have to admit, in this case I felt I may have gotten more out of the paintings if I had stumbled upon them slowly over time. They are all beautiful, to be sure, but the effect of so many depictions of wistful women as an ideal of “feminine whatever” eventually got me a little eye-rolly. That said, my four or five favorite paintings of the show are amazing and well worth the trip all on their own.

The scale of the paintings was surprising – major works reaching 6 to 9 feet -- and it added to the otherworldliness of the mythological themes he often depicted. The application of paint is loose and wonderful to look at up close. (We were thankful to guards that never seemed to mind us standing nose-close to the works.) It was as easy to get lost in the folds of a woman’s dress as it was the beauty of their faces.

Among my favorites...

TOP:
“The Lady of Shallot”, his most famous work, is heartbreaking. We see her embarking in what is soon to be her funeral barge. A sense of longing, freedom, and doom woven into her breath. The tapestries dragging in the water, at last a direct connection to the earth. Her face is in sharp focus while everything else softens around her…a moment of clarity within a dream.

BOTTOM LEFT:
“The Magic Circle”, perhaps my favorite of the exhibit, shows a woman of real strength and depth. I love the slightly out-turned knee required to cut through the earth. Each crows looks like they have a part to play in the incantation. And, let’s face it, the live snake oroborus around her neck is just badass.

BOTTOM RIGHT:
“Mariamne” Another woman of strength and confidence. She stands strong as a marble column amongst so much judgment, the only figure able to look at the other players in the eye. The glow of her dress is striking but even more evocative is the shadow across her face – she is much more beautiful and mysterious because we can’t quite see her.

I didn’t know Waterhouse’s work nearly as well as others on the trip but once there I realized how many of his paintings are icons. After a while, women standing on their toes with titled heads doesn’t quite do it for me, but individually they are great and it was a treat to see them. Also on display was a room full of his sketch books and color studies.

Unfortunately the museum gets no marks for exhibition design. Matte black walls and glossy black signage gave the place a “welcome to my sexy-den” vibe, and being in darkness meant that the paintings had to be spotlit, causing a lot of reflections.

The rest of the museum is smallish but with some real gems. We ran across this Pascal Dangan-Bouverete painting and fell in love with it. These women are beautifull – stark, formal, honest and direct – without the need of a “feminine ideal.” We also became enamored with this crazy sculpture of a woman embraced by Death. It might be the kind of thing you’d expect tattooed to a biker’s arm, but it had us all entranced.

Day two: Back to the museum for a little refresher and then off to the Biodome. Lynx! Two lynxes. We heart the lynxes.

And the great part about winter travel?: depth of field. The train ride was a blast. I know it would be just as spectacular in the summer and heartbreaking in the fall, but being able to see through the trees and deep into snow covered fields and frozen lakes was mesmerizing. The downside: All the reading and work I thought I would do sat in my bag, mocking me, while I stared out the window for twelve hours straight.

It was amazing to be up there with so many friends, all passionate about art. The combined experience between them must have be in the hundreds of years. Between the conversation, artwork, lynxes, and landscapes, we are all excited to get back to work. Greg, Scott, Scott, Boris, Julie, Kurt, Zelda, Dan, Chris, Kristina, Tony, Nonie, Rebbecca, Rebbecca, Mat, Marc, Chloe, Alex, Elizabeth…it was awesome! What’s next?