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December 3rd, 2009
11:54 am - West Dingleton Illustration Published
My illustration for my speculative poem "West Dingleton's Loss of Humanity" now appears in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. It is also featured on several items in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store, under the title "Science Fiction Nightmare".
In other illustration news, I have almost finished work on an illustration for my poem "The Haunted Isle". And this one is pretty much a landscape, something I don't get a chance to draw very often. I made sure it was a dynamic, even darkly evocative, landscape.
In case anyone was wondering why I'm doing all this work for nothing but exposure and a cut of the profits from Zazzle merchandise, all these poems and illustrations are slated to be in a future collection. However, the publisher doesn't want a mere chapbook, she wants a major work, chock full of art and poetry. I seem to recall her saying something about 125 pages, truly a daunting proposition.
I think I have enough poems already, although I may still add a poem or two, but I need lots more art. To make this project a reality, I have to illustrate almost every single poem. It won't just be a book of poetry; it will be a book of art as well.
So I had better get drawing, because it may be a daunting task, but it's one I want to see become a reality. I just don't know how long it's going to take. I'm a slow and deliberate artist, not one that can usually whip off several drawings in a day. At least each finished illustration puts me that much closer to reaching my goal.
Current Mood: accomplished
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November 23rd, 2009
11:00 am - Another Illustration Published
Just a quick note: my illustration for "Holiday on Phreetum Prime" now appears alongside the poem in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers.
Now back to composing more art and poetry (I'm currently working on an illustration for my speculative poem "West Dingleton's Loss of Humanity").
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) pleased
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November 22nd, 2009
07:21 pm - Internut
Internut
by Richard H. Fay
Ink on Bristol board, digitally coloured
The above illustration now accompanies Doug Hilton's story "A Brief History of the Internut" in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. It also appears on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store. This merchandise features various "green" phrases and messages in an attempt to use the image to tie-in with environmentally conscious concepts.
I had to dig up pics of an old computer and a peanut plant for this one. Even after I found images to use as references, I wasn't sure at first if the concept requested by the author of the story would work. However, once I drew the computer, the plant, and the roots, I realised that it almost had a "Dali-esque" feel to it. It's certainly on the weird side.
Weird often works for me.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/wink.gif) weird
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November 1st, 2009
03:34 pm - Abandoned Towers Issue #4
Robin in Sherwood Forest
© Copyright 2009 Richard H. Fay
Abandoned Towers Issue #4 is now in print. Within the pages of this zine you can find the above colouring page, "Robin in Sherwood". In addition, my cinquain chain or swirl (I'm not exactly sure which it would technically be) "Amongst Faerie Oaks" and its accompanying illustration also appear in the same issue.
Copies of Abandoned Towers Issue #4 are available for purchase here.
Current Mood: accomplished
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October 3rd, 2009
08:52 pm - Poems & Art Accepted at ABANDONED TOWERS
My speculative poem "The Birth of Sentience on Aggraboth V" and my speculative cinquain "They've Come for me Again", along with their respective illustrations, have been accepted for publication in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. Yes, these are the same poem and art combos that I just posted here yesterday, and they are already featured on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store, but I'll still post a link when they're up at the e-zine.
As much as I've always thought sending out new material was better than sending out reprints, I could get into the reprint habit quite easily. I might have to consider sending out reprints more often, to publications that take reprints, anyway.
Current Mood: pleased
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September 20th, 2009
05:36 pm - Abandoned Towers Magazine On-Line
A while back, Crystalwizard, Managing Editor of Abandoned Towers, asked for help in getting the word out about all the content available at Abandoned Towers on-line. Well, I figured better late than never, so here goes...
Abandoned Towers Magazine has lots of neat reading material on-line, from timeless classics authored by famous names to gems penned by up-and-coming writers, from literature of the fantastic to non-fiction articles, from comics to poetry. Not to mention, you can find plenty of poetry, some art, and even an article by yours truly within the pages of that particular e-zine. There is even an Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store selling cool Abandoned Towers merchandise, much of it featuring my own designs and illustrations. Of course, there is also a print version of Abandoned Towers, but the versions are different. Material appearing in print will not appear on-line, and vice versa. So, even if you purchase print issues, you might still want to browse the on-line version.
CHECK IT OUT!
Current Mood: helpful
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September 8th, 2009
03:35 pm - Holy Cow!
Today, I finally received a couple of copies of Abandoned Towers #3 featuring my cover art "A Leviathan Ascendant". I wanted one to frame, and one to add to my growing collection of contributor's copies (I was sent a contributor's pdf, but I just had to order actual print copies). Plus, my wife wants to take one into work to show off. I believe she thinks that some of her coworkers don't quite get it when she says I did the cover art for a magazine (albeit, a small-press one).
Well, I opened the box, peeled back the plastic, and literally exclaimed "holy cow!". I knew this image happened to be one of my best drawings yet, but seeing it for the first time in its full-colour glossy glory was an amazing sight. I am actually impressed by my own art, which doesn't happen very often. Usually, I'm my worst critic, finding microscopic flaws, discovering non-existent faults. I get so bad at times that my daughter says I have "art-orexia". Not this time. This time I'm quite pleased with my work. And trust me, there is no way to experience the full impact until you hold that zine in your hand.
(And, let me give some credit to Crystalwizard and her Abandoned Towers team, too, because they came up with a title font that goes great with my serpent.)
Current Mood: impressed
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August 30th, 2009
01:29 am - Robert the Bruce Article to be Published
It looks like my historical article about Robert the Bruce, giving a brief overview of Robert's life and his struggles to secure the Scottish throne, as well as describing two surviving swords attributed to the warrior King of Scots, will be published in a forthcoming issue of Abandoned Towers. Of course, Crystalwizard wants me to illustrate the article, too. I'll post more information (like when the piece is actually expected to be in print) when it becomes available.
I want to start writing more articles for publication, and this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Current Mood: accomplished
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August 29th, 2009
11:50 pm - Cosmic Journey Illustration
Copyright © 2009 Richard H. Fay
I created the above weird and wild illustration to accompany my poem "Cosmic Journey", appearing in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. The image already appears on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store, and sooner or later should be published on the Abandoned Towers site.
After drawing quite a few decorated medieval-style letters for another Cyberwizard Productions project, it was nice to take a break from the historical and draw something much more imaginative. And I had the general look of the "green ghungliders" stuck in my head for quite a while now, so I just had to draw them sooner or later. Otherwise, my head might eventually explode. And that would be messy.
Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Astronaut by Duran Duran
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July 20th, 2009
02:04 pm - Amongst Faeries Oaks in AT Zazzle Store
My illustration "Amongst Faerie Oaks" is now available on various items in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store:
http://www.zazzle.com/abandonedtowers
Check it out! And please consider buying items featuring this piece, or items featuring other examples of my art. Any sales will help keep this particular artist from starving (or at least give me more reasons to keep on a drawin').
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July 18th, 2009
04:47 pm - Amongst Faerie Oaks
Amongst Faerie Oaks
Copyright © 2009 Richard H. Fay
A while back, the editor of Abandoned Towers asked if I could compose an illustration to go along with my cinquain series "Amongst Faerie Oaks", slated to appear in Issue 4 of her zine. Although I was awfully busy due to an impending move (since completed), I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to get more of my art published, especially art featuring the Fair Folk in a forest. So, I worked on drawing something appropriate for the poem.
It took me several days to complete (drawing the scene went frustratingly slow), but I think it was pretty much worth the effort. I'm not sure I'm completely happy with the figures (I hate figure drawing), but I'm quite pleased with the way the forest came out. However, I may now want a break from drawing forests (I drew another forest recently for a Robin Hood colouring page for the same issue); my eyes were crossed after drawing this one!
Current Mood: artistic
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May 30th, 2009
11:34 pm - "The Faces" Illustration in ABANDONED TOWERS
© 2009 Richard H. Fay
The above illustration has just been published in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers, alongside my dark speculative poem "The Faces" (published in Abandoned Towers October 2008). Eventually, I want to illustrate many of my poems appearing in the e-zine, in part because black-and-white versions of these same illustrations will also be appearing in a work-in-progress (if all goes according to plan). Submitting them for publication in Abandoned Towers gives me a chance to showcase the full-colour versions as well. Of course, I could just post the colour versions to my blogs, web site, and DeviantArt gallery, but I find the idea of zine publication more appealing somehow. Besides, Crystalwizard can always slap the images on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle store, too.
My illustration for "The Faces" also shows the benefit of a change in tools. Instead of using Pitt artist's pens for all of my inking, I've switched to Pigma micron pens for most of my line work. The Pigma microns produce finer lines, and yet their ink seems to scan better than that in the Pitt pens, leaving less "touch-up" of poorly scanned lines in the colouring phase. It makes my job that much easier.
By the way, in case anyone is interested in something weird and creepy, "The Faces" is actually available on several types of merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store (just click on "Artist Richard H. Fay", and then click on "Recent").
Current Mood: weird
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May 7th, 2009
09:54 pm - Cover and Colouring Page
While I was working on the divider art for Abandoned Towers/Cyberwizard Productions, Crystalwizard suggested that I should do a cover for Abandoned Towers. Not one to turn down a golden opportunity, I began work on a cover image as soon as I had a chance. It took me some time to work out exactly what to do, but at the core of the drawing I always knew I wanted to have a sea serpent similar to the one I did for the divider art. Since Crystalwizard brought up the whole idea of a cover right after I sent her the coloured in sea serpent for use in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store, my mind continued down that road, artistically speaking.
I finished inking the drawing yesterday. I e-mailed Crystalwizard the line drawing today, as a preview to what I intended to do for the cover. She likes the line drawing so much that she wants to use it in the magazine as a colouring page. That is in addition to my full-colour art on the cover! And Crystalwizard has suggested we do a colouring page as a regular feature. Considering I possess a collection of Dover and Bellerophon colouring books that I use as reference and inspiration, I find the idea of doing such images myself to be quite exciting.
My art is certainly going places I never dreamed it would go. And that's a good feeling indeed. I would feel even better about it if I wasn't currently suffering from a cold. My daughter is always good about sharing, at least when it comes to her germs!
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Fresh Aire II by Mannheim Steamroller
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March 28th, 2009
12:09 am - Two Poems Published in ABANDONED TOWERS
Hoping to get a mainstream literary poem or two (or three) alongside my speculative poetry already published in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers, I sent Crystalwizard three pieces for consideration. "Worrying" originally appeared in the Autumn 2007 issue of Skyline Magazine. My haiku "heaven's bright jewels" originally appeared in the July 7-8, 2007 issue of the Asahi Haikuist Network. Earlier versions of "Mother Earth's Children" appeared on various forums, but never in an actual zine-type publication.
Well, Crystalwizard accepted all three. It was decided that "Worrying" and "Mother Earth's Children" would appear in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers, while the haiku would be held for use in a forthcoming print issue.
Sometimes it pays to go through your older material, just to see what can be sent out as reprints or what can be revised, re-polished, and resurrected.
Current Mood: accomplished
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January 19th, 2009
11:27 am - Warring Ants and the Maginot Line
Two of my illustrations are now up at the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. "Warring Ants" and "Maginot Line Fortification Cross-Section" accompany Doug Hilton's story "The Maginot Line", found in the General Fiction section of the site. To access the story, just click on the General Fiction link, click on the book, then click on the story title.
Check 'em out!
When Crystalwizard asked me to illustrate the story, the first image that popped into my head was ants in army helmets fighting atop and around an earthen rampart and pebble tower. The idea came like a flash, but making that idea a reality took a few days' work. And afterward, I told Crystalwizard I may never want to draw another ant again!
Since Doug inserted an expositional interlude about the historic Maginot Line, I figured I must also draw a diagram of a Maginot Line fort. A cross-sectional view of one of those elaborate underground fortifications does look a wee bit like the cross section of an ant colony. I tried to create some visual parallels between the pebble-earth-and-twig design created by the ants and France's expensive defensive folly.
I guess my biology degree and past bio lab experience, as well as my interest in World War II, actually came in handy. This certainly isn't the first time I've drawn somewhat realistic invertebrates, and I had a cross-sectional view of a Maginot Line fort in one of my various history books to use as a guide for the diagram. I just simplified it and rendered it in my own style.
Current Mood: artistic
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January 9th, 2009
03:00 pm - Dragon Design
© 2009 Richard H. Fay
Crystalwizard of Cyberwizard Productions, managing editor of Abandoned Towers, has asked me to compose some illustrations to be used as divider art in her publications. She sent me a special request recently asking for at least one piece to be used in Abandoned Towers Issue 2. Since we had already discussed dragons as one possibility, and since I've been drawing dragons as long as I can remember, I decided upon a design based loosely on a twelfth century French manuscript illumination.
After I scanned in my completed line drawing, I just knew I had to give it some colour. I sent the line drawing and a black and white version of the coloured dragon to Crystawizard, and decided to post the full-colour version here. I'll probably add it to my web site as well.
I hope Crystalwizard likes the dragon enough to use it. I happen to like dragons an awful lot.
Current Mood: artistic
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January 7th, 2009
07:23 pm - Speculative Poetry Article Published!
My non-fiction article "Speculative Poetry: Past, Present, and Future" has been published in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. To access the article, click on "Non-Fiction" on the Abandoned Towers front page. Then click on the stack of books, which takes you to the non-fiction table of contents. Click on the title of my article and read away!
In an effort to show how speculative poetry can be seen as a historically valid genre, I took a broad view of that particular type of verse. I include all past fantastic poetry, including some of Shakespeare's dramatic verse, in the family tree of speculative poetry.
This article took quite a bit of research to complete, but I think the results were worth it. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the things I discovered while putting this piece together.
Check it out!
By the way, this happens to be my first publication for 2009. My web site's 2009 "List of Publications" will no longer be a blank page, as soon as I get a chance to update the site.
Current Mood: accomplished
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January 4th, 2009
12:43 pm - The Professor Speaks
© 2008 Richard H. Fay
More art! The above illustration, "The Professor Speaks", appeared in Issue 1 of the print version of Abandoned Towers. It accompanied Aaron French's story "The Mentor and the Apprentice". It is also listed in the Preditors & Editors Artwork Published in 2008 Poll.
Current Mood: artistic
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December 18th, 2008
03:22 pm - Article Accepted
The editor of Abandoned Towers has accepted my article "Speculative Poetry: Past, Present, and Future" for publication in the on-line version of her 'zine. Which is good news, considering that she was the one that suggested I write the article in the first place!
Some may disagree with my rather broad definition of speculative poetry, but I don't think squabbles over definitions are overly productive. Using my broad definition as a jumping off point, I try to show how many past literary classics could be considered to fall under the umbrella of speculative poetry. I argue that speculative poetry need not be seen as a lesser art compared to its mainstream kin, that it has a rich past and potentially bright future.
Anyway, you can read all of this in my article. I'll post another entry when I know it's on-line.
Current Mood: accomplished
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November 1st, 2008
02:50 pm - Bunch 'O Brags
I have lots of stuff out, or coming out, this month. My poems "Chupa-Chupas" and "Midnight Encounter on Merais Minor", along with my article "Vampiric UFOs", appear in Issue 7 of Hungur. Two of my illustrations appear in the November Issue of Abandoned Towers (print version). "Unicorn Enwreathed" accompanies the story "Minkus, the Masterful Magic-Mender" by Hannah Steenbock, and "The Professor Speaks" accompanies the story "The Mentor and the Apprentice" by Aaron French.
And that's not all for November! I've got more due out later this month. I will have a poem coming out in Every Day Poets on November 9th, and my contest-winning poem will appear in the special edition of The Monsters Next Door on November 15th. I'll post links when they're on-line.
And the roll rolls on...
Current Mood: crazy
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rhfay's journal