Coloring outside the usual cosmos...

 "Arch City"

(Size: 8.5x11", Oils on Linen, Framed)  PRICE: $ 480.00

The inspiration for this painting came from image research for something completely different. I was flipping through thumbnails of some of Frank Frazetta's barbarian images for color palette ideas for one of my figurative pieces that I had drawn up. The idea hadn't fully jelled, yet, though, so I just mindlessly looked at gorgeous art. I thought I saw one of Frank's space pieces with a giant blue planet in it...and his are very distinctive planets in ANY painting. I didn't save it off, thinking I could come back to it when I'd finished looking at something else. Three days later and I failed to ever find the image of that painting ever again. And still no luck to this date. I'm not sure that it wasn't a figment of my imagination. After awhile, I said bugger it and just started painting my own versions of a retro blue planet and the now requisite pointy rocket ship and space city. I did two nearly identical thumbnail drawings in my teeny, tiny sketchbook and in the end combined the two to make a whole. I wanted the planet off-center as it felt a better composition. These are the two tiny sketches, below.

 

 

 

"Last Rocket Out"

 (Size: 8.5x11", Oils on Linen, Framed)  PRICE: $ 480.00

Not sure what inspired me to think about painting a black hole, or black sun as they are also referred to as. But the shape and pure array of light was extremely appealing, especially since I've watched my hubby paint them so extraordinarily well over the last 25 years in his signature blazing array of spectacular colors. I thought I'd give it a go. I doodled a design in my miniature sketchbook and off I went. I even added the blues and purples of other spectrum light being draw in along with the space station which has gotten to close to danger and is breaking up. The rocket is speeding away while it still can. Well, I finished the painting and posted the results on Facebook and up popped author, Patrick Chiles with a question. "Is that my next book cover from BAEN? It's absolutely perfect...and rather eerie that you captured the opening of it so well." I answered hesitantly, "Er, no. But I'll send it along to the publisher if you like in case they need something." So, I did so and then promptly forgot about it. While I was at Illuxcon for the week, I didn't get around to looking at my emails, and painted my days away at the show, instead (more on that in a later post) so when I got home and downloaded them, a message from Toni at BAEN was there along with an offer to license the image for Patrick's new book. I was both elated and gobsmacked as it had been a lean year. So, 'Last Rocket Out' is set to be the cover of Patrick's next book, THE LONG WAY HOME. Not sure of the release date, yet. Sometimes, the inspiration and timing are everything. Meanwhile, here is the tiny design sketch for it...

 

 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. I'll be posting more rockets soon, including the three very different paintings I created as demo pieces at Illuxcon.
Cheers,

Marianne