In search of the Necronomicon...
Hello!
I recently had two commissions that dovetail nicely together in theme, that being the Wilbur Whateley character from H.P. Lovecraft's famous 'the Dunwich Horror'. For those unfamiliar (and shame on you, by the way), Wilbur is the hybrid offspring of a human mother and a father which is an alien entity from some other dimension. He grew and developed quite rapidly into a very formidable being (he's not all human, so I'm not quite certain what to call him), and soon started looking for a way to bring his father into our world, which would most certainly spell doom for the rest of us.
The first commission is the cover for Chaosium's upcoming Miskatonic University sourcebook. This painting depicts the point in time when Wilbur breaks into the Orne Library at M.U. in order to steal a copy of the dreaded Necronomicon- a necessary tool for his quest. Warning, there are spoilers ahead if you have not yet read the story.....
Wilbur does manage to break into the library, but unfortunately (for him) he is taken down by a guard dog and then we get to witness how inhuman his anatomy truly is...
"Their arrangement was odd, and seemed to follow the symmetries of
some cosmic geometry unknown to earth or the solar system. On each of
the hips, deep set in a kind of pinkish, ciliated orbit, was what seemed
to be a rudimentary eye; whilst in lieu of a tail there depended a kind
of trunk or feeler with purple annular markings, and with many
evidences of being an undeveloped mouth or throat. The limbs, save for
their black fur, roughly resembled the hind legs of prehistoric earth's
giant saurians, and terminated in ridgy-veined pads that were neither hooves nor claws"
It confuses me how he would suffer such a simple fate, so the concept of the painting emerged out of my attempt to make sense of it. I imagined that if someone were to find this book, especially one so desperate to acquire it, may be tempted to take a quick look out of burning curiosity. This cursed tome is infamous for driving it's readers over the brink of sanity, and I can certainly imagine it having an hypnotic effect to any who view it. From his rather unique perspective, he might be witnessing the highest form of alien beauty. This would certainly put Wilbur in a far more vulnerable state, it may even prevent him from even being aware of any impending threat. That said, here is how I imagined his last moment....
Next up, an interior illustration for the upcoming release from metal band CRUXITER whose new music will contain Lovecraftian themes. I don't want to give too much away, but it involves an alternate storyline in which Wilbur gives up on Miskatonic University and instead travels to Innsmouth (of the famed "Shadow over Innsmouth" story by Lovecraft) in search of an alternate copy of the Necronomicon...
The synchronicity of these two commissions was quite nice, as is imagining alternate interpretations and explanations.
cheers!
~Paul
I recently had two commissions that dovetail nicely together in theme, that being the Wilbur Whateley character from H.P. Lovecraft's famous 'the Dunwich Horror'. For those unfamiliar (and shame on you, by the way), Wilbur is the hybrid offspring of a human mother and a father which is an alien entity from some other dimension. He grew and developed quite rapidly into a very formidable being (he's not all human, so I'm not quite certain what to call him), and soon started looking for a way to bring his father into our world, which would most certainly spell doom for the rest of us.
The first commission is the cover for Chaosium's upcoming Miskatonic University sourcebook. This painting depicts the point in time when Wilbur breaks into the Orne Library at M.U. in order to steal a copy of the dreaded Necronomicon- a necessary tool for his quest. Warning, there are spoilers ahead if you have not yet read the story.....
Wilbur does manage to break into the library, but unfortunately (for him) he is taken down by a guard dog and then we get to witness how inhuman his anatomy truly is...
- "The thing that lay half-bent on its side in a foetid pool of greenish-yellow ichor
and tarry stickiness was almost nine feet tall, and the dog had torn
off all the clothing and some of the skin.... It was partly human,
beyond a doubt, with very manlike hands and head, and the goatish,
chinless face had the stamp of the Whateleys upon it. But the torso and
lower parts of the body were teratologically fabulous, so that only
generous clothing could ever have enabled it to walk on earth
unchallenged or uneradicated.
It confuses me how he would suffer such a simple fate, so the concept of the painting emerged out of my attempt to make sense of it. I imagined that if someone were to find this book, especially one so desperate to acquire it, may be tempted to take a quick look out of burning curiosity. This cursed tome is infamous for driving it's readers over the brink of sanity, and I can certainly imagine it having an hypnotic effect to any who view it. From his rather unique perspective, he might be witnessing the highest form of alien beauty. This would certainly put Wilbur in a far more vulnerable state, it may even prevent him from even being aware of any impending threat. That said, here is how I imagined his last moment....
Next up, an interior illustration for the upcoming release from metal band CRUXITER whose new music will contain Lovecraftian themes. I don't want to give too much away, but it involves an alternate storyline in which Wilbur gives up on Miskatonic University and instead travels to Innsmouth (of the famed "Shadow over Innsmouth" story by Lovecraft) in search of an alternate copy of the Necronomicon...
The synchronicity of these two commissions was quite nice, as is imagining alternate interpretations and explanations.
cheers!
~Paul
Nice paintings, boss. Ol Wilbur is being good to you.
He looks suitable enthralled with the book. Maybe someone doodle in the margins?
I like the shadow of the figure in the second pic. It reminds me of a promo poster I saw for The Phantom Menace.
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