The Art on My Walls
I like art. Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say that I like illustration art. Fine art to me, in a vein of perspective similar to my tastes in reading, smacks entirely too much of the same sort of eclectic elitism that seems to drive "witwawawy" fiction. Not that there aren't any worthy examples of fine art out there. It's simply that my tastes don't really give a rats ass for most of what's being presented as applicable to such nose-bleeding heights (/sarcasm).
In any case, I like what I like and what I like generally falls under the heading of "illustration art". I also like speculative fiction and the art that speculative fiction inspires. However, I never really started collecting anything until I got into anime and manga.
What? And that tracks? Well, yeah, it does. Let me explain.
A while back, the anime "Last Exile" came out. The animation made significant use of CGI effects to create some truly vivid and spectacular imagery. What's more, each volume of the DVD release came with these beautiful "postcards" that illustrated a character or characters.
Somehow I got it into my head that I was going to preserve those cards by framing them. Thus began my descent into "art collecting".
I did get those art cards framed at a local shop called "The Framing Place". Although this was before their time, eventually that relationship led me to meed John and Angie Lianez, who ended up framing pretty much everything that hangs on my walls now. John and Angie are artists by trade and inclination and, before the economic downturn doomed "The Framing Place", there was no one else that I'd trust to do my framing. In all the pictures that illustrate this post, the frames are by John and Angie.
The first image shown in this post was, of course, framed by John and Angie. The art is a signed cover art print that Jana Pannicia and Julie Czerneda teamed up to provide for all the authors who contributed to the Under Cover of Darkness anthology. Much to John and Angie's chagrin, I have a decided taste for "fabric" matting that keeps coming to the fore. Still, I'm very happy with the way such matting sets off many of my pieces like the UCOD cover.
Around the time that I got serious about collecting framed art, I also started my partnership and collaborations with Kevin Wasden. The second photo I'm sharing is my framed copy of "Isolation" by Kevin. He created this artwork specifically at my request so that I could share copies with Jana and Julie. (Yes, I was that excited by my first pro sale.) The image accurately captures the opening scene of the story "Kyri's Gauntlet" and more importantly captures the sense of lonliness and longing that Kyri felt in that moment as well as the unspoken and conditionless love and support she receives from her rodent companion, Eperr.
Working with Kevin on "Isolation", and then for some promo illustrations for "My Girlfriend Fate" hooked me on the power of interlinking prose and illustration. This eventually led to working together with Kevin on his Technosaurs comic and to having him help so critically with establishing the illustrative "feel" of Evolutions (which I intend on striving to maintain despite the fact that real life has taken him out of direct participation with the project.)
In all honesty, I've become something of a "Kevin Wasden" collector/fan. The next two pictures are also Kevin's and they currently grace my youngest daughter's bedroom. Again, framing by John and Angie, art by Kevin. My youngest really is into angels and fairies at the moment and not only treasure's these paintings, but also has a collection of figurines that cover her shelves.
In case you haven't noticed, I will write for art. Kevin has been too generous, honestly, but I'm not going to complain because the pictures are just too beautiful to resist. He's also got one called the "Raven Queen" that I'm desperate to earn.
A sign of Kevin's ability lies in the fact that the "dark" angel really does come across as more "sexy" and alluring and that the "light" angel captures a feeling of purity and innocence. Artists can do this kind of stuff with one picture that might take me an entire book to capture.
The last piece in my current "Kevin" collection is "Hildegard" which is also the first piece I requested as part of our barter agreement for my Technosaurs scripting. I simply love the implied action in her pose although her cuirass seems like it might be pretty darned painful for a well-endowed Viking lass.
I also have been keeping track of the work of Jen Brazas. Jen puts out a webcomic called "Mystic Revolution" which is kind of an American attitude gamer take-off on .hack//SIGN. I found her storytelling solid, her take on VR immerision gaming intriguing, and her artwork, while not overly mature or refined, entertaining. So, I began making some donations and whatnot. Then she did this awesome colored version of one of her scenes and I just had to have it for my wall. The main character, Lourdes, has a somewhat "fiery" temper, and it comes out quite well in this print.
So, that's some of the art on my walls. There's more and I'll probably post about it sometime if there's any interest. What do you have on your walls?
In any case, I like what I like and what I like generally falls under the heading of "illustration art". I also like speculative fiction and the art that speculative fiction inspires. However, I never really started collecting anything until I got into anime and manga.
What? And that tracks? Well, yeah, it does. Let me explain.
A while back, the anime "Last Exile" came out. The animation made significant use of CGI effects to create some truly vivid and spectacular imagery. What's more, each volume of the DVD release came with these beautiful "postcards" that illustrated a character or characters.
Somehow I got it into my head that I was going to preserve those cards by framing them. Thus began my descent into "art collecting".
I did get those art cards framed at a local shop called "The Framing Place". Although this was before their time, eventually that relationship led me to meed John and Angie Lianez, who ended up framing pretty much everything that hangs on my walls now. John and Angie are artists by trade and inclination and, before the economic downturn doomed "The Framing Place", there was no one else that I'd trust to do my framing. In all the pictures that illustrate this post, the frames are by John and Angie.
The first image shown in this post was, of course, framed by John and Angie. The art is a signed cover art print that Jana Pannicia and Julie Czerneda teamed up to provide for all the authors who contributed to the Under Cover of Darkness anthology. Much to John and Angie's chagrin, I have a decided taste for "fabric" matting that keeps coming to the fore. Still, I'm very happy with the way such matting sets off many of my pieces like the UCOD cover.
Around the time that I got serious about collecting framed art, I also started my partnership and collaborations with Kevin Wasden. The second photo I'm sharing is my framed copy of "Isolation" by Kevin. He created this artwork specifically at my request so that I could share copies with Jana and Julie. (Yes, I was that excited by my first pro sale.) The image accurately captures the opening scene of the story "Kyri's Gauntlet" and more importantly captures the sense of lonliness and longing that Kyri felt in that moment as well as the unspoken and conditionless love and support she receives from her rodent companion, Eperr.
Working with Kevin on "Isolation", and then for some promo illustrations for "My Girlfriend Fate" hooked me on the power of interlinking prose and illustration. This eventually led to working together with Kevin on his Technosaurs comic and to having him help so critically with establishing the illustrative "feel" of Evolutions (which I intend on striving to maintain despite the fact that real life has taken him out of direct participation with the project.)
In all honesty, I've become something of a "Kevin Wasden" collector/fan. The next two pictures are also Kevin's and they currently grace my youngest daughter's bedroom. Again, framing by John and Angie, art by Kevin. My youngest really is into angels and fairies at the moment and not only treasure's these paintings, but also has a collection of figurines that cover her shelves.
In case you haven't noticed, I will write for art. Kevin has been too generous, honestly, but I'm not going to complain because the pictures are just too beautiful to resist. He's also got one called the "Raven Queen" that I'm desperate to earn.
A sign of Kevin's ability lies in the fact that the "dark" angel really does come across as more "sexy" and alluring and that the "light" angel captures a feeling of purity and innocence. Artists can do this kind of stuff with one picture that might take me an entire book to capture.
The last piece in my current "Kevin" collection is "Hildegard" which is also the first piece I requested as part of our barter agreement for my Technosaurs scripting. I simply love the implied action in her pose although her cuirass seems like it might be pretty darned painful for a well-endowed Viking lass.
I also have been keeping track of the work of Jen Brazas. Jen puts out a webcomic called "Mystic Revolution" which is kind of an American attitude gamer take-off on .hack//SIGN. I found her storytelling solid, her take on VR immerision gaming intriguing, and her artwork, while not overly mature or refined, entertaining. So, I began making some donations and whatnot. Then she did this awesome colored version of one of her scenes and I just had to have it for my wall. The main character, Lourdes, has a somewhat "fiery" temper, and it comes out quite well in this print.
So, that's some of the art on my walls. There's more and I'll probably post about it sometime if there's any interest. What do you have on your walls?