John Harris – and Homeworld 3
We can now reveal that John's been working on a painting for a very enterprising outfit, Cook and Becker, who produce prints in association with certain game producers. To celebrate the launch of the real-time strategy epic Homeworld 3, they have partnered with Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive, so prints of 'The Gate' will soon be available. On being invited to work with them, John's comment was:
'When I saw the footage from the existing Homeworld game I was struck by how my early work had influenced the designers. Seeing how enriched the imagery became when it translated to motion and sound was hugely enjoyable. The image that I came up with was a direct result of that.' Here is what was given to John, amongst an abundance of rich material including video.
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Cook and Becker's comment: 'This all-new work by Harris titled 'The Gate' combines his signature colossal ship designs and visually striking oil technique with Homeworld's own deep lore, depicting an ancient, gigantic spacecraft emerging from a jumpgate, flanked by escort ships from the Hiigaran fleet.'
Find out more, from their short film.
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The Parable of the Independent Bakers
If you'd asked me a year ago if I thought Neil Packer would now be being whisked around Italy to meet queues of people who wanted him to sign his book I'd have said it was very much deserved but not that likely. However, it's happened.
The Parable of the Independent Bakers may, on the surface, be a story of two elderly bakers who need a break but in reality it's about the threat of individuals whose passion is in their artisan industry, being swamped by the corporate world.
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How typical of Italy then, originators of the 'Slow Movement' to be the people who recognised Neil's idea for what it was, arranged for the book to be printed in the last surviving artisan printer in Venice, and have produced a beautiful book which is very much of our time, and is drawing queues to bookshops around the country. Neil is a happy man. You can find out more about the backstory here.
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Ian Miller – that interview, and a new print
Ian Miller is also a happy man in many ways, even if the world can be a baffling place. If you haven't already watched this interview I heartily recommend it. Jordan Sorcery invited him to a rather special location in Brighton, and their conversation is to be treasured.
A Life of Fantasy | Ian Miller in Conversation
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We have one new print of Ian's which is a classic H P Lovecraft one, The Black Seas of Infinity 2. Of course we have some other major book cover art of Ian's which we produce as prints so here (below) is a reminder of a few of them.
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Fred Gambino – that interview, and his own novel
Fred Gambino was also interviewed this month, by Shaun McClure, who's tracking down many of the best artists to talk about their careers. Of course, however modest Fred is, his conversation is rich with stories and covers much ground, not just as a traditional illustrator of book covers and much more, but also as a concept artist who's travelled the world working in different studios.
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Fred interview with Shaun McClure
Not only that, but he is now also a novelist. His debut novel, Dark Shepherd is available from Newcon Press.
And here you can see Fred's art book Dark Shepherd, which is where it all started.
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In other news . . .
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Talking of the huge amount of original art that illustrators can produce in the professional lifetimes, I now understand that Christie's are planning to hold an auction of science fiction and fantasy art and manuscripts, in autumn 2024.
They are calling all artists and writers out there who may have material which would enable them to build an exciting collection, first to be displayed in their London exhibition space, and then sold. If you have work or artefacts which you think would be of interest, do get in touch with Thais Hitchins, email: THitchins@christies.com
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