Earlier this year, I invited all sf/f pro and fan artists to submit links to their 2014 Hugo Award-eligible works. Many responded, and you’ll find the links they submitted, within the comments of this post.
This year’s Hugo Awards nomination deadline is only two weeks away. Here’s a visual glance at the Hugo-eligible artists that responded to that invitation. Good luck to them — and to all! 🙂
This note is for you, Mr. Ross, your wife, daughters, and family members that have been hurt by recent events involving the Hugo Awards Emcee reaction.
I suspect you folks have never heard of me, and that’s quite alright. My name’s John Picacio and I watched from the sidelines this weekend as the Hugo Awards Emcee situation became a debacle on social media. I’ve already expressed publicly that I was very sorry to see the way it played out, even though I had nothing to do with it.
I’m writing this though because that’s essentially not true.
Because I am a working professional within the sf/f publishing field and an artist who has been fortunate enough to win two Hugos, I am a part of the sf/f community by default, whether I chose to speak out or not, and I regret that I didn’t on Saturday. Thus, just by professional association, I DO have something to do with this community when some of its very vocal professionals make emotionally-loaded and potentially hurtful statements that end up reflecting on our entire community.
Watching fellow professionals attack Mr. Ross on Twitter was disappointing, to say the least. They said that Mr. Ross’ performance behaviors were justification for saying that he wasn’t welcome because those behaviors made some of them feel uncomfortable.
Their comfort levels are their prerogative, as are mine. I have the right to not needlessly demonize or vilify a complete stranger, and assume the worst of that individual. I have the right to not be afraid to speak out and instead ask, “Is it really necessary to allow fear to rule the day and indict someone for behavior toward this event that hasn’t even happened yet?”
I didn’t say anything. I don’t suspect it would have changed what happened. The people that were attacking you have bigger microphones than I do. More Twitter followers. More political leverage. Larger armies.
Whether it would have changed things or not — I was wrong to not have said something at the time. Lesson learned.
That said — there has been a lot of good work done by good people in this community to make ‘safer’ environments for fans and pros alike. I endorse and support this work, and will continue to do so.
However, I saw lines crossed this weekend, when personal insecurities seemed to spawn fear-driven and very personal attacks for actions and situations that had not even occurred, but were merely speculated. Those responses were far less than what you deserved, and far, far less than what I expect of my peers, and this field to which I belong.
There is a human cost, and Mrs. Goldman’s tweets illustrate that quite painfully. I post these here not to remind your family of your hurt, but for others who might see this to know that we currently have a large compassion gap in our community — and it has TWO sides, no matter which side you claim as your own.
There are humans on either side of that gap, and when we ignore the humanity of strangers, we are the lesser, and thus, far less than we must be.
This is a series of messages from Mrs. Goldman to Seanan Mcguire, dated about 12 hours ago:
“Reading all your yay!women! tweets this morning, while you rudely ignore a real, live 17 yr old girl….whom you hurt deeply with your words, is jaw-dropping. You falsely accuse her father of sizeism, she gathers the courage to speak to a bullying adult with 12.5k followers….and you IGNORED HER and casually blathered on about the Oscars. Wow. Just.. wow. But don’t worry. Go on. Let’s discuss Disney princesses. Don’t worry about the three real women whose weekend you ruined. (Me and my daughters.) Women like you. Who worry about what to wear, and get called fat. And feel loved and protected by the man you slandered, and who were brought to tears not by imaginary words, but by YOUR self-involved, ill-considered poison. You owe my daughter a reply. Learn some manners and take responsibility for the effect of your words have on real humans.”
I offer this to all — to the Ross and Goldman family, and to you that are reading this — we cannot let fear rule sf/f. It did this weekend, and people were hurt in the process. If we as sf/f professionals (artists, authors, editors, publishers, what-have-you) can’t understand that there’s a human cost to our tweets and public posts when we lash out against people, then we’re not as good as we may think we are. I offer this to Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Charles Stross, Ellen Datlow, Seanan, Farah, and anyone else who was a part of this series of exchanges this weekend.
I’m sorry to all of you that I didn’t speak up, and say what I should have. I think we’re a lesser community for what occurred this weekend.
I feel badly for Farah for being put in a position to voice her concerns publicly, as she alleges she was refused the conduit to express her opinions within reasonable private processes, with due course. That said, the damage is done for Loncon3, for Mr. Ross, his family, for the individuals directly involved in the wordslinging, and for all of us as a part of this community.
My words will not change people’s minds about what they want, or what they fear.
What I do hope is that this note will let Mr. Ross, Mrs. Goldman, and their family know that this sf/f community crossed lines that should never be crossed, and acted less than professionally in the reaction. Should you later choose to attend Loncon3 in a civilian capacity, I’ll be happy to take some time for us to tour the Art Show together, and share a meal on my dime, at your convenience. Please don’t feel obligated, but the offer is there for you, unconditionally. Let me know and I’ll be there.
Beyond that, it’s time to get back to work. If you ever need anything, I’m here for you. Come as you are — any time, any place.
Very best,
John
UPDATE: Thank you to Sunil Patel for sharing Seanan’s reply on the matter. (Sunil’s comment is the 2nd one from the top.)
Here’s the final color version of my latest Loteria card, ‘El Mundo’. In English, ‘El Mundo’ means ‘The World’. Those who scored the 2014 John Picacio Calendar will notice that they possess a progress version of this artwork that won’t be available elsewhere. I retained the concept of that version, but completely re-did the art from scratch. Here’s the new, improved pencil drawing, created for the revised final.
And for those of you unfamiliar with the traditional game of Loteria, here’s the Don Clemente/Pasatiempos Gallo version of the card. This is the version from the deck I played with as a kid. I always loved this icon, but as you can see, I’ve definitely taken ‘El Mundo’ in a new direction.
Currently calling ‘time out’ on Loteria, and working on cover art for Dan Simmons’ ENDYMION for Subterranean Press. When that’s finished, I’ll jump back to revising my ‘La Escalera’ card art for Loteria.
‘El Mundo’ and ‘La Escalera’ will be part of my 54-card Loteria deck that I’ll be releasing from Lone Boy. Big Loteria product news coming very soon (and the word ‘big’ is definitely a hint here)!
The EMP Museum in Seattle is currently featuring a terrific exhibition called Fantasy: Worlds of Myth & Magic. If you love fantasy art, literature or film, it’s a must-see.
One of my Elric of Melnibone preliminary drawings is on exhibit next to Michael Moorcock’s prototype for Elric’s legendary sword Stormbringer.
A couple of my artworks for the 2012 George R. R. Martin / A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE Calendar are represented, alongside a fabulous Hildebrandt painting here.
While you’re at the EMP, check out the Icons of Science Fiction exhibit too.
One of my favorite details of the collection is this wall. Look closely and you’ll see Yoda’s walking stick as used by Frank Oz in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. That spiky sphere is the Kryptonian ship that launches Kal-El to Earth in 1978’s SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. And yup, that’s hanging next to one of the original suits that Christopher Reeve wore for the Superman movies. In the middle of all of that — one of my cover artworks. This one is for Nancy Kress’ classic BEGGARS IN SPAIN.
It’s just a paperback with my art on it. No big deal.
But seeing it on a museum wall in the middle of iconic objects that defined my childhood (with Moebius and WATCHMEN on the wall, to boot)?
It was definitely a full-circle moment.
It reminded me how grateful I am to do what I do for a living, and it makes me want to do more, do better, and dream bigger.
A few more pics of characters, real and imaginary, that you might recognize from the Museum’s collection:
If you plan to travel to the Pacific Northwest anytime soon, or if you’ll be coming to Norwescon this year — make sure you check it out!
Here’s a one-stop visual list of highlights from my 2013 published works. The awards nomination season is upon us again (Hugos, Chesleys, World Fantasy Awards, etc.), and it helps to know which works from a creator are eligible for 2014 consideration. If you wish to reference this list for future deliberation and sharing, I hope it proves helpful. Enjoy! 🙂
(above)
THE 2014 JOHN PICACIO CALENDAR
Published by Lone Boy
December 2013
(eligible for the Hugo Award / Best Related Work
and Professional Artist categories)
(above)
EL ARPA
Loteria card illustration
Published by Lone Boy
December 2013
(eligible for the Hugo Best Professional Artist category
and Chesley Award / Best Product Illustration category)
(above)
December 2013
(above)
This is an open thread to all artists, professional or fan, who would like to post links or summaries of their awards-eligible art from 2013. Bear in mind that for the Hugo Awards and the Chesley Awards, this means that your work must have been published in 2013 (except for Chesley categories such as ‘Unpublished’, of course).
Why post your stuff on a thread like this?
Voters tend to rely on memory when they fill out ballots. It’s a challenge for any voter to remember the work of an entire year and recall not just their favorites, but what was actually published in that given year. If this thread helps voters remember which of your stuff is eligible for consideration, that’s a good thing.
If you’re worried that posting here is campaigning for yourself, don’t sweat it. It’s not cool to pound your chest and campaign for yourself, but it is alright to inform the public about which works of yours are awards-eligible. That’s not just OK — it’s common sense.
Posting your stuff here is not campaigning — and after all — you’re being invited to post. So go for it. 🙂
Final note: this thread is a place for artists to post their own work. It’s not a forum to argue about who should win, or make comments. Let’s keep it streamlined.
And if you really want to be a rock star — it’s super-helpful if you post the awards categories where your work is eligible this year.
Have at it, and good luck, everyone! 🙂
(Shoutout to John Scalzi for inspiring this post.)
You were a year I will not soon forget.
Grateful.
Here’s to a bigger, better year for all friends and family — and for our fragile blue marble — in 2014.
Happy New Year, everyone.
(Pictured above: ‘The Good Life’. Art © John Picacio / first published in the June 2013 issue of POPULAR SCIENCE.)
Of all the results of the 2014 Calendar’s Kickstarter campaign, the most gratifying for me is seeing the Grande Loteria prototype cards take shape. To the left of the color front and pencil back of my Grande Loteria cards pictured above, you see the traditional Loteria cards from the classic set by Don Clemente Inc. / Pasatiempos Gallo.
There were six Grande cards in the set produced by my recent Kickstarter campaign and to all backers who scored them — THANK YOU. I appreciate you being here. You’ll be able to look back and say, “I was there in the beginning.”
The cards for the game deck will be smaller than these Grande prototypes, but I love the way these big cards fill your hand. These six are art objects, more than playing cards, and that’s why they were designed this big.
I will spend much of my 2014 creating new Loteria artwork and will continue until I achieve forty-eight more finished artworks, so that eventually there will be fifty-four cards of artwork for a new Loteria game.
Right now, I’m packaging up more rewards deliveries for my backers and hoping to have two big shipments heading out today and tomorrow.
Onward!
You’re looking at the finished products for my 2014 Calendar, companion sketchbook, and six Grande Loteria prototype cards!
Currently packaging and shipping deliveries to all of my Kickstarter backers. In a little more than four days since receiving the goods from the printer, Lone Boy has shipped out 73% of the campaign’s packages. I’m rather proud of that turnaround. More packages shipping today, Monday and Tuesday.
Back to work here.
Great news — I won an Art Order Challenge! Very cool, but there’s something much larger here than my work being selected in a juried competition.
I’d like to share that view with those who care about the future of sf/f art.
How many of you have loved the work that Arnie and Cathy Fenner have done on the SPECTRUM annuals over these last twenty years? They built an incredible, definitive legacy. This year, they handed the book over to John Fleskes of Flesk Publications, and he’ll continue to evolve the tradition.
Those books are a juried archive of some of the best in sf/f art for the last two decades. Over that time, they inspired a number of fantasy art retrospectives — some juried, some not — that have brought untold amounts of awareness to the sf/f art industries.
These books share a model where artists submit their work to the publication for juried review. These annuals not only have publication and printing costs, but have to pay for their juries’ time and expenses. And don’t forget about the cost of time to manage a publication of this magnitude. Those artist fees presumably help to cover some of those cumulative costs. The SPECTRUM Annual has credibility within the artist community because of the Fenners’ integrity and track record. (Ditto John Fleskes.)
Other art retrospectives simply expect pro artists to contribute their work for nothing more than ‘exposure’. Some of these books are credible. Many are not. None of them offer a dime of royalty back to the artists, even though their lone selling point is the inclusion of the artists’ work. Many pros choose not to contribute to this model because it’s not good business for artists.
Along comes Jon Schindehette.
For many years, he was a senior art director at Wizards of the Coast, and he’s now the creative director of Treehouse Brands. He’s won a Chesley Award for Best Art Director and has built a rep as one of the most respected ADs in the genre art business.
He runs an ongoing mentorship blog called Art Order and through that network, he creates art ‘challenges’ that encourage new works and build community.
This fall, he presented the ‘Inspiration’ challenge. The objective was straight-forward. “Choose something that inspires you — it can be an artist, an event, a product or brand, an item, or a particular model. Once you have chosen your muse for the challenge, then write up a short article (no more than 100 words) about your inspiration, and then do a piece based upon your inspiration.”
Great, but here’s the part where Jon is doing something maverick and potentially game-changing.
No submission fees for the artists AND each artist that’s selected by the blue-ribbon jury shares in the book’s profits.
THAT’S a new one.
How is he going to fund the publication of this book? Crowdfunding. (Most likely, he’ll use Kickstarter.)
Will the book happen? The community will decide, but like the Fenners, Jon has credibility, and the respect of the field. Will this book become an annual event? No way to know. I bet Jon doesn’t even know. He may not even care at this point. I suspect he just wants to see if this thing can fly on the first try.
My guess — it WILL fly. If given a few years, I think it has the potential to soar, as more artists, pro and up-and-coming, submit their best. I think Jon could potentially unlock a game-changing art book model that adds even more vitality and awareness for sf/f art and artists, around the globe.
That’s a very good thing.
For now, I suspect this first book will be a slim volume, based on the number of submissions and winners. There’s a LOT of quality work in those winners though.
I encourage all to watch what Jon does with this. He’s doing something that could be a BIG win for the sf/f art community. He might be creating a new model — and new standard — for how art annuals operate. When his Kickstarter for this new art book happens, please be sure to give it your consideration.
For now here are the results of this year’s competition! Grateful to be selected, and honored to be included! 🙂
Congrats to Arnie and Cathy Fenner on TWENTY years of founding, shaping, and masterminding one of the premier art annuals on the planet. A gorgeous copy of the brand-new SPECTRUM volume just arrived on my porch the other day, and it’s a masterpiece.
Also — it’s a swan song. They’re retiring from the book, and have handed the reins to Flesk Publications.
I’m gonna take my sweet time savoring the pages of #20 and I hope that the industry will recognize what a monster legacy the Fenners have created. They didn’t just change the game. They elevated it.
That’s what great ones do.
They’ll be running the 3rd Spectrum Fantastic Art Live in Kansas City this year. If you care at all about science fiction and fantasy art of any shape or form, this is Art Woodstock. You need to be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Thanks for twenty amazing years, Cathy and Arnie!
(And hey — I garnered a full-page in the Book section for my cover art for Brenda Cooper’s THE CREATIVE FIRE (pictured left, with layout mate Dave Seeley on the right! Hooray! My Tars Tarkas art for John Joseph Adams’ UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS also made it too. :))
Apologies in advance for the rounded math there, folks — but I think that’s the approximate number of times I tweeted, FBed, blogged, interviewed, pimped, mentioned, namedropped, and screamed from the rooftops about the 2014 John Picacio Calendar and its rewards, and the fact that they were exclusive to our 30-day Kickstarter Campaign. 🙂
Clearly stated that they would not be available anywhere else? Check.
Clearly stated that they would not be available in stores? Check.
Implored everyone every day to please come aboard and join our campaign before the 30 days expired?
And yet.
I’ve already handled scores of you AFTER the deadline expired today who are now asking how to purchase calendars and rewards. What happened, people? How did we miss each other?
The best I can do for you is this — email us at info (at) lone-boy (dot) com. We’ll put you on our list so that next time, you won’t miss out on the news. If you’re really wanting one of these 2014 calendars, let us know and if someone’s credit card defaults and they depledge (happens to every campaign), then maybe a spot or two will open up. You never know. It’s unlikely, but stranger things can happen.
Or if you prefer, you can follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and you won’t miss one of the 3,987,548 times that I share the news of the next exclusive offering on those conduits.
You can’t say that we didn’t try. 🙂
I’ve known Jay Lake for most of my professional career. He’s one of my generation’s most prolific and beloved writers in the science fiction/fantasy literary scene. For me, his formidable bibliography and the critical respect he commands are not the first things I think about when I hear his name.
It’s the color blue.
As in blue collar.
All of us work hard in this sf/f business. You have to, if you want to sustain a pro career. Hard work is not special. Being ‘blue’ is beyond just being hard-working, but possessing a seemingly bottomless wellspring of willpower to overcome long odds and to keep succeeding, despite setbacks, while being true to self.
That’s Jay.
He’s very publicly battled terminal cancer in recent years. He’s allowed all of us to share in his journey in an uncommonly transparent way. He’s a shaman, a showman, a magician, a poet.
He’s a force of nature.
As many of you know, I’m working on one of the major art feats of my career as I create 54 new artworks that re-engineer and reimagine the Mexican game of chance called Loteria for modern audiences. The first dozen of those artworks will appear in my 2014 John Picacio Calendar.
‘El Arbol’ means ‘tree’ in Spanish, and that icon is one of the 54 in the traditional Loteria game, as pictured here, from the classic Pasatiempos Gallo / Don Clemente version that I played when I was a kid.
Jay has agreed to be the inspiration for my version of this icon.
Tomorrow, the terrific D. Scott Frey has very graciously agreed to be an accomplice in this act of madness, as he shoots a few reference photos of Jay for me long-distance, so that I can use those as a springboard toward creating an original drawn/painted illustration. I’ll work like a demon in the coming days to make this art a reality before the calendar goes to press.
I can’t say what needs to be said to Jay in words, so I’ll try to do it in an illustration.
Jay’s days are numbered. Same for you. Same for me. Life is a deadline.
The Tree of Life lives forever.
El Arbol.
Let’s do this.
We’ve all seen famous and not so-famous people glorified and celebrated in paintings, statues and artwork throughout history and pop culture.
Why shouldn’t one of those people be you? Or someone you love?
I’m offering that opportunity for the next four days in my 2014 John Picacio Calendar Kickstarter. Check out the Loteria Legend level.
You, or a consenting someone that you select, receives the opportunity to model for one of my 54 Loteria card artworks, and will be immortalized forever as a piece of art. We’ll have fun discussing choices, and then I’ll utilize their likeness for reference and incorporate them into a unique drawn and painted mixed-media Loteria artwork to be included in the final game deck.
The buyer also receives:
• An original 6″ x 9″ pencil sketch of the artwork
• One 17″ x 22″ archival print of the final artwork
• Your name printed on your birthday in the printed version of the 2014 Calendar
• Five signed 12″ x 12″ 2014 John Picacio Calendars
• Five Grande ‘La Sirena’ Loteria cards
• Five signed 2014 John Picacio Calendar sketchbooks
• One signed pencil
• One remarque (a small, simple drawing of a Loteria icon of the artist’s choosing)
Free shipping within the continental USA. For international destinations — please add $25 for shipping.
Have a look at the selections pictured above and see which ones strike your fancy. These are the ones available for this opportunity. There are other Loteria cards available that are not shown because I have ideas for them. However, if you have a particular passion for a card not-shown, please feel free to inquire and let’s discuss availability and possibilities.
Opportunities like this do not occur often in life. I’m asked all the time to take on a private commission, and this is one way to fulfill some of those inquiries via the conduit of a major passion project. A win-win!
PLEASE NOTE though — the campaign is over this Thursday, November 14th at 11:58pm, and with it, so is this opportunity! Inquire today. Reserve your place in art immortality. 🙂
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1143812835/the-2014-john-picacio-calendar
There are barely SEVEN(!!) days remaining to score a 2014 John Picacio Calendar, and begin collecting your very own giant Mexican Tarot cards (AKA ‘Grandes’).
After November 14th?
You’re out of luck. 🙁
They won’t be available in any retail outlet or via any online dealer. Lone Boy will print as many as are ordered. We’ll spend the holiday season fulfilling orders for all of our backers.
Where do you get your calendars and rewards?
Exclusively, and nowhere else but here.
One of the toughest parts about running last year’s Kickstarter campaign was saying ‘no’ to all of the people who come looking to buy calendars AFTER the campaign is over. Time will be of the essence this year because we’ll be too busy fulfilling orders for holiday giftgiving, and I’ll be busy working on new art to complete an entire 54-card Loteria deck by the end of 2014. One of the reasons I’m using Kickstarter to share these calendars and collectibles is because it provides a simple way of managing preorders. We’re using that to make sure we print just enough of this item, within budget, as we did last year. Once the campaign is over, that preorder system is closed, and I’m unable to add anyone to the funding number.
I’ve seen last year’s calendar selling on the collectible market for up to $100. I suspect the 2014 Calendar will have similar collectibility down the road — and the Grande Loteria cards? THOSE collectibles are going to be very hard for non-Kickstarter backers to acquire.
Jump aboard today! 🙂