By 1984 I had switched to acrylic and also had a finer-spraying airbrush which allowed me to do nice space scenes and special effects. From the number of artworks which I am cataloguing from that year, it seems I was quite busy in 1984. Part of this was that I was preparing a show for the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention in the Los Angeles area so I was making art that would be suitable for a large audience.
This piece is originally titled "Dark Contemplation," a title taken from the literature of Christian mysticism. I was quite fascinated by that in those years, and I read some of the great texts such as Saint John of the Cross, the Byzantine Saint Symeon, and the anonymous "Cloud of Unknowing." But as I can admit now, I was more interested in the phenomena of altered consciousness and mystical visions presented in these authors, than actually following that mystical path myself. I was no good at meditation or humility, and I had no impulse to help my fellow human beings in charitable work. Yet those texts were really inspiring to me when it came to images, and I guess they still are.
"Dark Contemplation" is dated April 1984. It is acrylic on illustration board and is 8" x 8". It was sold at LA-Con 1984 for a very modest sum.
1 comment:
Nice! I like the colors used (black and blues). If I were doing this I think there would have been more strong white stars showingh in the gallaxy...but yours is probobly more correct.
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