Perhaps I have gravely underestimated the excitement in the life of the basic illustrator. A week’s water under the bridge, and not many ripples or eddies to show for it…
Here goes anyway…
On the Drawing Board…
Just putting the finishing touches to the final images of Fool’s End, by Robin Hobb. Once that is done, the plates washed (simple white dinner plates make the best palettes in the world, you just must make sure they remain in the studio and don’t migrate to the kitchen) and the pens, pencils and brushes put away, it will be time to pack up my sketchbook and camera and take a short trip to see some landscapes.
I am sure I can corner the odd PC here and there with Internet access, so I will do my best to keep up with the forum, but expect silence on the other front – any messages to contact@john-howe.com will wait a while. (So if it’s for dripping taps and such, I suggest trying elsewhere.)
By the way, I’ve realised that it must be annoying to read about new paintings and not be able to see them. I’ll ask the editors when I can post pictures, but given that a book production schedule means delivering the artwork about 6 months before publication, I may not be able to do so as soon as I’d like. Promise I’ll ask though!
Odds and Ends
Just received copies of Fantazia number 24, a fantasy magazine – http://www.fantazia.sk – published in Bratislava, with an interview done when I was at last year’s edition of Istrocon. Naturally, I can’t read my own interview (and never remember what I’ve said 10 minutes after saying it anyway…) but to pick out the odd proper noun and name (Petrovi Jacksonovi and Alanom Leeom, for example) is absolutely delightful. Istrocon, by the way, is an incredibly brave little convention, even more interesting than many of the bigger more well-established ones.
In passing, I’d like to thank all the people who were at the opening of the gallery show at the Canadian Cultural Center in Paris and who have promised to send photos. Hopefully, if I receive enough, we can put them up on the exhibitions page.
Music
There seems to be, if I can judge from the forum, an intimate association of music and imagery in many peoples’ minds. So, I’d like to thank the musicians from Cruachan- http://www.cruachan.cjb.net – for just getting me through a pretty heavy work schedule. I’ve had their music on the stereo all week, and have just discovered the merits of taking an illustration job from start to finish (well, sort of from start; I got the CDs midway into the Robin Hobb cover) with one group or musician in order to maintain a certain level of concentration and to stay in the spirit of a series of images for the duration of the commission. Thanks, guys. I’ll definitely be back.
Dominique and I have been working away at the site, though the results will only now begin to appear. I’ve been scanning masses of images for the portfolio, and Dom is continually installing and refining the new modules. I’ve made the executive decision to delete threads that are over 30 days old, so if you want to keep any particular thread dangling, add a comment. (Adding comments without substance just to keep it going isn’t going to work, by the way. I do actually read them, so idle spiders beware) Which brings me to:
Your Turn Now
There will be a special section where people will be able to post their artwork. Of course, there will be draconian restrictions, totalitarian reglementations and rigorous rules to make sure that it’s fair – and to keep it from growing larger than the site itself – and that everyone has an equal opportunity to display work. I do need some time to elaborate the rules of the game, though, and was presumptuous to assume I could get it done before I left. If someone would like to start a thread or two with relevant comments, I’ll ponder on it a bit and be able to draw up something equitable upon my return.
See you in a couple of weeks!
John
