Sunday, June 24, 2007

For over a decade, I have been searching for the right place display my art (and that's not easy in my town). However, an opportunity that is beyond wonderful has just fallen into my lap that far exceeds what I had dreamt of! A museum in Switzerland is going to have a "Lovecraftian" (as in H.P. Lovecraft) art exhibit, and they want me to participate. That's a lesson right there about not underestimating the possibilities. But, wait, it gets much better.....

The artists I will be showing with are all top notch sorts, including H.R. Giger (Swiss surrealist, designed the aliens in the Aliens movies, John Howe (well know Tolkien artist, and designed extensively in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy) and a host of other greats. I am beyond humbled, to say the least!

So, I have accepted, of course, and my art will be hanging on the wall with artistic giants. But, if a painting hangs in a gallery and the artist is not there to see it, does it make a sound? As you might imagine, the average fantasy illustrator doesn't have a spare heap of cash sitting around to fund such a trip. How can I make it work? I started brainstorming for ways that I could raise funds for the trip, and preferably a project that would have meaning in it's own right. How poetic would it be to create some Lovecraftian art that would enable me to see my art hang in that museum and meet the other artists in person? To reach such a goal, It'd need to be something I could sell multiples of. castings....

(example of one of my gaming models)

Some of you may not know, but I sculpt as a hobby, and I have been itching for such an excuse to sculpt something of this nature. Perhaps from being an illustrator for so long I seem to require deadlines, otherwise an open ended project will just keep evolving in my head and often never see the light of day. So, now I feel like I have a goal, and a worthy one as well!

To keep in line with the theme, it seems most suiting to sculpt a statue, or bust, of Cthulhu himself (itself?), make a mold of it and sell castings via my site as well as other potential venues (local shops, catalogs, etc). My plan is to sell two versions, one in resin (hand painted) and then a deluxe version cast in something more exotic... cold cast bronze with an oxidized patina or perhaps green marble?

So, in my first blog ever, I invite you to follow the progress of this project. I will share sketches and in-progress photos of the development, I encourage input as well. And, I could really use a cheering section to keep me on the right track!

thank you,

~Paul