Welcome to
Science Fiction and Space Art
page. I do most of my SF and Fantasy paintings and drawings on
commission for publication and have illustrated Star trek, Star
Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Dune, Babylon 5, and other topics
for my clients. My work has appeared on books, top SF magazines
like Amazing Stories and Analog, on model kit covers, merchandise
packaging, and collectible card games (CCGs).
I have
always loved good stories of fantastic
things, and embraced the notion that science and technology have
an awesome power to shape our lives and our culture. To me, the
art of Science Fiction is an exploration of this potential and
a peek at what the future might bring. With that glimpse of what
could be, we can consider better what should be. Science
fiction has been used far more by our society to predict social
trends and cultural changes than most people really realize. It
has also been used as satire to comment on contemporary politics,
and human abuses, as well as to show us heroes to be held as role
models. Science Fiction is a safe way to look at ourselves because
the fantastic nature of the story distances us as outside viewers
while allowing us to observe and consider the concepts.
I love to
let my mind race through the
ages, to visit strange worlds, and to try to envision what might
be out there amongst the stars. To me, Science Fiction art is
the ultimate tool of creation and thought because there really
are no limits. No context is bounded, and so the imagination is
completely free to roam. But it is not in me to be haphazard with
my visions. I often paint the details so that the viewer can believe
that they are looking at something that could be real. To me,
a Science Fiction painting is a story, and I believe a story is
most successful when the audience finds it easy and compelling
to suspend their disbelief. I like to paint many of my works
realistically
so that the viewer feels comfortable participating in the vision.
Not all of
my Science Fiction art is for
publication. When I can paint subjects from my own inspiration
I usually find myself using my art to express concepts with some
kind of message. This may be a comment on political or cultural
issues, or the suggestion of a "what-if" situation to
be considered by the viewer. For example, my painting The Young
Explorers is based on a true story of how my nephew,
growing tired of his third birthday party, eventually climbed
into his little electric car and drove across the field and into
the woods. It occurred to me that if he was comfortable doing
this on his third birthday, he must have been doing it as a two-year
old! And then I thought how in the future parents might be buying
"smart" buggies for their children that would be able
to walk into a forest with the whimsical push button direction
of an even younger child. The machine might walk through any terrain
while being smart enough to stay in the family's own back yard.The painting is about how in the future
children will be learning
to interface with technology at even younger ages, and how parents
might tend to allow machines to take charge of their kids rather
than taking the time to be with them themselves. Will the ultimate
toy/babysitter remove the parent from the responsibility of
participating
in their child's formative years?
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