In the meantime here is some news::

First: If you haven’t noticed yet, I’ve included a Dungeon Crawl Classics, original art sale section on my home page.

Second: I’ll be at the following Cons in 2012:

Gary Con in Lake Geneva, WI March 22-25
That’s right around the corner. I’ll  probably be in town on the 23rd pending Harley Stroh’s arrival.  I’ll mostly be gaming  but I’ll have some art in the artist’s alcove . I  might have some DCC RPG posters if you ask me for one

Origins Game Fair  in Columbus, OH  May 30-June 3

Gen Con  in Indianapolis,  IN  August 16-19

Over the past couple of months I’ve been consumed finishing the final illustrations for the DCC RPG core book. In fact I just turned over a batch I called  ” the last of the last” yesterday .

The images included here are actually not from the upcoming core book,  but rather  are from the upcoming module Doom of the Savage Kings. It is  to be included with the fake leather gold foil cover version of the book . More is explained about it here: on the Goodman Games site .   The map below  is only as good as it is because of the excellent source material provided by the author, Harley Stroh. Try not to look at it if you plan on playing the adventure in the future.

Here are some thoughts about Vampire’s Vengeance in the form of a dialogue with myself:

DK: How many more 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons adventures does Goodman Games have in the works?

dk:  None. This is the last  one . The next one will be for the new role playing game called DCC RPG. I’ll be doing the covers and maps on those, I’m not sure about other interiors yet. See these posts for more info. I’ve lost track of how many 4E books (more here  & here & here  & here)  I’ve executed for Goodman. I know the first one was back in 2008 .

DK: I didn’t ask you how many you have done or who did them for.

dk: Aren’t you going to ask me about the  stlye difference between what  I’m working with  here  and what I’m doing n the future? I thought you are supposed to be asking me questions. That’s not a question. 

DK: Ok yes, well um….why are there so many frogs in this image?

dk:   Honestly, you would have to ask the writer why there are frogs.  But, anyway, I’ll try  to answer for him and he can correct me if I’m wrong later . How about this:  Giant frogs and other, normal animals, made large, or very big are traditionally part of D&D. Giant ants, giant rats…. just plain Giants? Aren’t stirges just giant misquotes? imagine that.  Come on,  don’t you know anything about the history of D&D or are you going to ask me what D&D means now?

DK: I know what D&D means.

dk; yeah great . Good for you. When did you first start playing D&D?

DK: That’s a good question. When I was about ten years old I guess ….5th grade ….so that  must have been 1983.

dk: must have been? You don’t know how old you are now? Can’t you figure that out?

DK: Well, my birthday is at the end of August, so I turned whatever age just before school started so there wasn’t much attention paid to my, er, um……….. when where you born?

dk: Coincidentally it was in August too.

DK: Enough of that.  What about these illustrations for Vampire’s Vengeance? What medium are you using?

dk: India ink, black water color, and gouache. There is probably some pen work in there too. They might be on water color paper or bristol, you would have to ask me about the individual illustration.

DK: what about this one? (above)

dk: oh, that one was on illustration board, it curled up and I had to put some books on top of the scanner….

DK: I don’t know about this one… I mean they look like greek statues, and what’s that on the arm “Y+B=E” what;’s that?

dk:  Alright so you just made an observation and you think it’s some sort of  criticism? How the fuck do I  know what “Y= whatever” means? This is a handout which should be cool to receive while you play an adventure, and again I illustrated the book, I didn’t write it ……. but why am I even explaining this to you?

DK.  Good question.

Red Door #6

 I’ll post this wrap up in three  parts each consisting of  a different aspect of what I do. The first, this post, is straight Art.  A  painting made to be hung on the wall. The second is Illustration, images created for publication and the third something in between.

Yes I know I still owe the final installment in the Old faeries series, and there are still more installments in the DCC RPG posts as well. You can look forward to them in 2012.

A little bit about Red door #6.

I believe part of the success of this painting is in the fact that I don’t think there is much to write about it. It’s pretty important to say that this painting is concieved as an object itself rather than an image.The texture of the canvas admittedly was best experienced in reality and not as photo.I’ve included several photos  with  slightly different lighting, so as to cover a range of experiences.

The painting was acrylic on canvas, and I’m happy to say sold immediately upon first showing it at the Origins game fair last  summer.

If you are unfamiliar with my red door series you can see 1 through 4 here. And #5 here

Recently I’ve  worked  on several wizards. When  I think of the archetype of the wizard I’m always trying to approach it in a way that is interesting to me personally  and not a rehash of a bored stereotype. The most intriguing wizards in my opinion are those of Clark Ashton Smith and Jake Vance novels, not to mention  those referenced  on various doom metal and Black Sabbath albums.  They are mysterious , dark, and often indefinably beyond human.  They also happen to be the only one of the four iconic classes from the classic role playing game that doesn’t directly translate to an occupation in reality. Are they artists or scientists, or something entirely different ? As long as they are strange outsiders, they remain interesting to me.

Included in this post are the sketch and final ink of an illustration (above) , showing the corruption involved in the pursuit of magic over a lifetime. This is a key aspect of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing game scheduled for release in Feb. 2012.

Following these, are the initial inking of the art to appear on he spine of the DCC RPG (above) and finally (below) a wizard inspired one night by a discarded sketch for the above corruption illustration and a pure indulgence into the ink used for the spine art. Although the bottle of Higgins Ink  is labeled “brown” you can see the true color is not exactly so uninspiring. I’m not sure why this is, but I’m happy with the resulting art.

………and while I’m at here are a couple more Gnomish spell caster types, which I might explain more about later.

…………and here are a  few more spellcaster/wizard related images from the archives:

Daughter of Will to Power

Both works are acrylic on paper. The Original Nature vs. Culture is 11″ x14″  and Daughter of WTP is narrower, but roughly as tall.  Both are suggestive of real body types in subject.  I would hazard to say they are both life size, though scale might not be as obvious in the Daughter of WTP.
Nature Vs. Culture

Nature vs. Culture seems fairly straight forward in comparison to some of my other faerie images. It also seems to go without saying which element represents nature and which culture. It might be an interesting experiment in pondering to reverse the obvious  and somehow reconcile the idea.

This is the third of a four post series  concerning “The Old Faeries” For more background on the genesis of this series refer to:  The Old Faeries (part I : The Antique Faerie) and (part II: The Untitled Green Man)

Melencolia is a curious piece in my history as an artist as it is (and was) a side track from another long term project which remains incomplete to this day.

Outside of the Larger story of how Melenocolia I is a side track from a larger cycle, it is probably worth saying a few things about the piece within it’s own parameters first . I’ll get back to the more expansive story later.
Melencolia I was executed on a warm gray paper with india ink, and gouache. Brushes, pens and pencil were used alternately. It was produced at about the same time as the Untitled Green man so much of what has already been said about that peice can be applied to this one as well.

The text I had posted  along with the image for years prior to the revamp of my website reads as follows:
“This piece is a reinterpretation of Durer’s engraving: Melancolia I. It is easy to equate melancholy with depression, but is it really the same thing?
note: the spelling of Melancolia differs between the way it is commonly spelled now and the way it was spelled by Durer (Melancholia). The misspelling is due to the fact that I am a shitty speller, and feel if there is anywhere I should be allowed to spell words the way I want it must be in titling my own artwork.”

Durer’s Melencolia I
The text above seems to still hold up to me, so anything I write further on it will be an expansion, more so than a revision of my original interpretation.  That is, baring my note about spelling. I’d say ignore that now. I’m not sure it even makes sense. I’m still a shitty speller, but it looks like I’ve reverted to spelling “Melencolia I” the same way Durer did. If this saddens you be comforted by the fact I will have more bad spelling for you in the future as well as more things to say that are thoroughly confusing.

At the time of it’s creation I had some ideas of the abandonment of one’s own personal art in the purist of a vague possibly more domestic life. The violin is abandoned and it’s bow has been overgrown by a stump which itself has ended its growth, an imposition of the saw.  To me,  personally,  this leaving of the path of the individual was inconceivable , though I saw it was possible in the lives of others . The seduction of the superhighway of the mundane and conformity will always exist and the real individual that succumbs to it will always feel some amount of melancholy. Though this might be one path to melencolia, the artist certainly has his own even inside of his own individuality.

Concerning the larger story of Melencolia I; read on while keeping in mind that I wrote the following text sometime around 2002 or 03.

The Four Temperaments
The major uncomissioned project on which I am currently working , is a series of medium sized paintings based on the medieval concept of the four temperaments. Each will consider one of the temperaments (Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic). Each will include the iconic symbol of the faerie, and a contemporary urban environment. There are a number of other concepts that may end up being consistent over the four pieces, but at this time I prefer to remain uncommitted to them.I knew from the beginning when I was first brewing the idea that it might take a number of years to realize this series fully. My prophecy is already coming true, it’s been two years now since I first conceived of the project and the drawing for the first painting is still being worked out. The above piece is from a sort of divergent alternative melancholia concept which I completed last summer. It can be seen in the faeries section of the Gallery, or by clicking on the face above. Though I know it could be confusing, I’ve titled the above Melencholia I after Durer’s master engraving of the same name. I will title the four temperaments piece simply: Melancholy.

What happened? Did I complete those paintings or what? The answer as I said above is NO.

Here is a glimpse of the current state of the painting. No comments please from the peanut gallery; it is not done.

Maybe I’ll finish it in the next 8 years.

Spoiler: If you plan on playing the free rpg day adventure in the Dungeon Crawl Classics quick start don’t look at the last image . If you  don’t know what I’m talking about go ahead and look or read more here.

The Four Iconic Classes… they are not heros  they don’t care about you

Hue Heftblade.

He might care about you but he also cares about his pants.

This is a Map

This is a stuff chart

use it to add flavor to your zero level game

Random Stuff Chart

1. Bramble Staff
2 . Friendly Cat
3. Backpack
4 Rusty Dagger
5 Old Helm
6. Poodle
7. Chicken
8. Spade
9. 3 Gallon Iron Pot
10. Wineskin
11 Bag of Klartesh
12. Small cage with three blind mice
13 Book, Ink. Pen
14 Holy Symbol
15 Skeleton Key
16 Crowbar
17 Longsword
18 Mustard Jar
19 Bag of Marbles
20 10ft Rope
21 20ft Rope
22 Spiked belt
23 Strong Wire ball
24 cleats
25 Pony
26 White flag
27 Potion of what?
28 Spear
29 Bugle
30 step ladder
31 cookies wrapped in paper
32 Rusty Manacles but NO key
33 Wheel Barrow
34 Bag of broken glass
35 Telescope
36 Basket of Eggs
37 Pipe and Tobacco
38 Ceramic Spoon
39 Compass
40 Boar Spear
41 Book of Monster identification
42 Silk Spider Sniper Scarf
43 Giraffe skull
44 Ornate Club
45 Ornate chair leg
46 Shield
47 Rattle
48 10 foot chain
49 wooden short sword
50 6 torches in hemp bag
51 Bear trap
52 Bag of Cotton
53 3d4 cp
54 1d 30  sp
55 Goat
56 Needle and thread
57 Hourglass
58 3 legged dog
59 fighting rock
60 collection of sharpened sticks
61 scrawny cur
62 small trinket
63 meat cleaver
64 pitch fork
65 fishing net
66 cudgel
67 rope  (3d6 x10 ft)
68  canvas sack filled with alien rocks
69 steak knife & great fork
70 wooden shield
71 holy symbol
72 skull cap
73 leather apron
74 hatchet
75 sling
76 extra large banded leather
77 lantern
78 smithing hammer
79 stout staff
80 sack of yams
81 leather braziers
82 girdle of matrimony
83 mule
84 stretcher or thimble
85 roll twice or roll three times for someone else
86 snare supplies
87 heavy insulated mats
88 face scarf
89 push broom
90 dagger
91 torch
92 spiked glove
93 wheat thresher
94 scythe
95 bamboo spear
96 grandma’s ring
97 flask of bad wine
98 backpack
99 eyes of the overworld
100 small flawed garnet

What this game is all about is best explained on the Goodman Games website here. I particularly recommend reading the Designer”s Dairies.

The Beta version of The DCC RPG is available for download, and will be open to feedback from play-testing through the next couple months. There are even more of my b&w interior works on the pdf. All of the chapter starts were of my creation. One example of the chapter starts  is below (the final image posted). To see all of the chapter starts  Download the PDF of the beta rules.

Here’s some of the work :

More art is constantly in the works so check back in.

First the News:
Green men #20 and #17 will be on display as part of a group show this Friday at Simply Chicago Art in Evanston, IL. Come see them in reality because photos never really do them complete justice.

Also in the news

I’ve still been really busy with varied and sundry projects, but a couple of posts to expect in the (hopefully) near future are:

1. The next remaining two  in the “old Faeries” series
2. A list of 2011 Appearances with links, but for now; Yes I am going to both Gen Con and Origins this year.
3. A post about Art for the upcoming Dungeon Crawl Classics game for which I’ve been painting covers, working on black and white interiors and providing wise artistic, and anarchistic counsel to its writers and publisher. For now you can check out these links: DCC RPG preview and a good review from Gary Con 3 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin this past weekend

Green Man #20

(still for sale)

Here some images of the newest green men, women, and cats that have thus far not appeared on the website.

They are in descending order.

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Green Man #19

(still for sale)

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Green Man #18

(sold)

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Green Man #17

(still for sale)

Though #17 has made a previous appearance in public and on this blog, it has been worked on further in the last few months

____________________________________________________________

Green Man #13

(sold)

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There are more Green Men in the pipeline so keep checking in. At some point I will post a complete chronology of Green Man plates going back to the first one in 1999. Anyone reading this who owns one might think about sending me a photo of it in it’s home. If I can get enough to be interesting  I might also post them as well.

(click on image for larger version)

Each drawing is fairly small; less than 8″ by 11″. They are either pencil, or china marker, and sometimes a combination of the two. Most of the 25 min poses employ watercolor as well.

I’m always interested in tracking my thoughts while figure drawing and comparing them to how I think differently when going about my daily work. Curiously it seems, especially in the shortest poses, I’m at my best when I’m almost not thinking about drawing at all though my mind might be wandering into other realms.  My hand seems to keep drawing on it’s own even when I feel like I’m really not paying that much attention.

This last one  is an example of artistic license. Guess which parts I made up.

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