San Diego Comic-Con 2011 is almost upon us. I’ll be boothing along with fellow artist Dave Seeley at #4600 all weekend at the show. On Wednesday, July 20th (Preview Night), I’ll be at the booth from 7pm to 9pm only. From Thursday onward, I’ll be there most hours from open to close. At the start of each day, I’ll post on Twitter and Facebook the detailed daily hours you can find me there.

Dave Seeley will have a full arsenal of his big, beautiful archival prints for sale.

As for my own goodies, I’ll have the following merchandise:

* 2011 Limited Edition 4-panel accordion booklets: Brand-new items debuting at SDCC! Only $2 each, or free with purchase.

* 2012 George R. R. Martin / A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE Calendars! Debuting next week. I’ll have a limited supply. Get ’em before they’re gone!

* MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ART: A beautiful new art book featuring galleries and interviews with artists such as Donato Giancola, Charles Vess, Brom, Shaun Tan, Greg Manchess, Stephan Martiniere, Dave Seeley and myself. Limited supply! Get yours signed, as many of the artists in the book will be at the show. 🙂

* COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO: A few remaining warehouse copies of my 2006 Hugo-nominated art book.

* Archival prints of my artwork on thick Hahnemuhle paper

* Original interior artworks for sale from ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS and ELRIC: SWORDS AND ROSES

Mark #4600 on your SDCC survival map. (Diagram below is last year’s floor plan, but we’re in the exact same location next to the SPECTRUM booth.) We’ll see you there!

Just got these in this week, hot off the press — a 4-panel accordion fold-out that will debut at Booth #4600 at San Diego Comic-Con next week. It’s 14″ unfolded and folds neatly into 3.5″ x 5.25″ booklet, containing all of the above — front, back, and interior. Price? Tiny. Only $2 each, or one free with purchase. Come and get ’em, while they last.

And what else will I have for you? I’ll have limited supplies of the 2012 George R. R. Martin / A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar. You’ll also find limited supplies of the brand-new MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ART, which includes interviews and galleries with stellar artist Dave Seeley (my boothmate at #4600), and Yours Truly. I’ll have archival prints of recent works for sale, as well as some of the last warehouse copies of my 2006 art book COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO. I’m planning to bring some original Elric interior artwork for sale too.

Take note — Dave and I will be offering discounts on Preview Night. I’m offering 25% on the MASTERS and COVER STORY books. During those select hours, Dave will be discounting much of his merch, including his gorgeous giant prints. Swing by #4600 on Preview Night and save money.

FYI — my merchandise will be available at the booth from 7p to 9p on Preview Night. I won’t be there between 5:30p to 7p, as I’ll be taking my teenage nephew around his first SDCC. I’ll post my Thursday thru Sunday schedule once I get there, but I’ll be around the entire weekend.

Shoutout here if you’re gonna be at SDCC, so I don’t miss you! See you there! 🙂

Melisandre fans — today’s your lucky day. Here’s a cropped, closeup detail from my 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar art featuring the priestess of R’hllor.

And for those who missed the previous ones, here’s a detail from the Arya Stark art. Here’s a cropped detail of Bran Stark. And The Hound. And of course, the cover features Ned Stark. Only three more weeks ’til the calendar releases! It’ll be available the week of San Diego Comic Con.

George R. R. Martin and I will be signing calendars at SDCC. I’ve heard rumor that we might both be signing Friday in the autograph area, but I haven’t heard confirmation yet. I’ll have calendars for sale at my own booth (#4600) that I’ll be sharing with Star Wars artist Dave Seeley. If you can’t make it to SDCC, no problem — Amazon is already taking preorders.

Alright, Melisandre fans — what do you think?

(Art by Worldcon Artist GoH Boris Vallejo.)

I’m stoked about this year’s World Science Fiction Convention in Reno. Kudos to Colin Harris, Anne Gray, Laurie Mann, Jannie Shea, Laura Domitz, Joni Dashoff, Patti Wells and company for working overtime to make this the best Worldcon for sf/f artists in years.

If you’re an established pro, an aspiring pro, or anywhere in between, this is the year to do Worldcon. Don’t wait ’til next year. Don’t wait ’til the year after. This one. Why? Because Worldcon is offering new opportunities for registered, participating Worldcon artists and there’s zero guarantee these features will be carried on in future years.

Check ’em out:

1. FREE Artist Tables in the Dealers’ Room: Worldcon has reserved two free tables in the Dealer’s Room for artists to interact with fans and the con at-large. Artists can chat, sign and sell artwork (other than what has been placed in the Art Show), sculpt, sketch, or whatever. This space will be in the section of the Dealers’ Room closest to the Art Show, which will be set up as an Artist Alley. Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell and others will have tables there; details here. ONLY Art Show participants are being offered this opportunity to reserve an Artist Alley table for two hours at a time to promote their work – at no cost to the artists (although Nevada sales tax rules apply). Email art@renovationsf.org to schedule a time slot or two at these special tables in Artist Alley.

2. ‘Meet the Artist’ Events: There will be two Meet The Artist events in the Art Show during the convention. The first is part of Art Night and runs from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Thursday. Some artists will be scheduled to do demos and panels at 8:00 PM. The second event will be Saturday morning at 11:00 AM. Should be a lot of fun as it gives Art Show artists and art lovers a chance to visit and hang out.

3. Artist Showcase Booklet: For the first time, Worldcon will print a full-color collectible booklet for sale at the convention, featuring artist info and galleries. Only registered Art Show artists will be featured. Brilliant move by this year’s Worldcon art committee folks. I’m really looking forward to seeing this.

4. Illustration Masterclass taught by Richard Hescox: Learn from a Chesley Award-winning painting master. This opportunity is worth the price of admission by itself for aspiring artists. Spread the word about this one. I think this is a very cool opportunity on the part of Richard and Worldcon. Space is limited. Don’t miss out!

5. Art Portfolio Reviews: Another invaluable opportunity for all job-seeking artists. Portfolio reviews by Guest of Honor Boris Vallejo and a range of industry Art Directors including Jon Schindehette, Lou Anders and David Palumbo. Again, space is limited. Tell your friends, but if I were you, I’d apply as soon as possible.

6. The Chesley Awards: Of course, the Chesleys are not new to the Worldcon effort. They’re a tradition, especially when Worldcon is stateside. And they’ll be the highlight of Worldcon’s Art Night festivities on Thursday evening. The Chesleys are the awards administered by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists and ASFA will again host the Chesleys this year.

I love what Worldcon is doing this year. Amongst the art stars attending: Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Dave Palumbo, Bob Eggleton, Richard Hescox, Lee Moyer, Vincent Villafranca, Martina Pilcerova, Alan Beck, Anthony Palumbo, Winona Nelson, Irene Gallo, Lou Anders, and Jon Schindehette. And many more besides them. Not too late to join the fun. This is gonna be an amazing show. 🙂

(pictured: ELRIC AND STORMBRINGER: REVENGE / full-page interior illustration for Michael Moorcock’s ELRIC: SWORDS AND ROSES. Pencil, acrylic and wash on illustration board. 11″x17″. $1000.)

My pal Sean Lackey has been kind enough to help me post some of my original Elric artwork available for sale. These are my original interior drawings for Michael Moorcock’s ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS and ELRIC: SWORDS AND ROSES. Thanks to all at Moorcock’s Miscellany and elsewhere who have already inquired about, and acquired, pieces. Feel free to comment here if you’re interested or send me an email directly. Thanks very much!

Arya fans — you’ve been clamoring for this. Here you go. You’re looking at a closeup detail from my 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar art featuring Arya Stark.

And for those who missed the previous sneak peeks, here’s a cropped detail of Bran Stark. And The Hound. And of course, the cover features Ned Stark. The calendar will be available the week of San Diego Comic Con. George R. R. Martin and I will be signing calendars at SDCC and I’ll have some for sale at my own booth (#4600) that I’ll be sharing with Star Wars artist Dave Seeley. If you can’t make it to SDCC, no problem — Amazon is already taking preorders for it.

Alright, Arya Stark fans — let me know what you think. 🙂

Was cleaning up the studio and sorting through some Elric artworks for future sale, and found this.

My artwork for Harlan Ellison’s 35th Anniversary of DANGEROUS VISIONS first appeared way back in 2002. Seems like a lifetime ago. Back then, I was still experimenting with photography and collage combinations for my final illustration results. These days, I don’t use photography in my finals but instead rely on drawings and paintings for all of my work.

The piece was selected for inclusion in SPECTRUM: THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASTIC ART #10, and in fact was included in the first Spectrum Exhibition. The framed print you’re looking at it here was a one-of-a-kind that was exhibited in that show.

It’s an archival print, professionally framed with UV-resistant museum glass. Signed and dated on the back, with the SPECTRUM Exhibition tag still attached.

I don’t really have a use for this piece as it doesn’t even feel like what I do anymore. Willing to part with it for a mere $325 to the first taker, shipping included if you live in the continental United States. Either email me or comment here. Have at it. 🙂

Attention sf/f art lovers: there’s a new feast of fabulous art for you in stores now. It’s called MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ART by Hugo-nominated sf/f art critic, journalist and author Karen Haber. It’s loaded cover to cover with amazing artists, genius art tips, techniques, insights, and of course, brilliant artwork. Here’s the list of artists featured inside:

Combined Traditional & Digital Tools (Hybrids)

Jim Burns
Shaun Tan
Dave Seeley
Avi Katz
John Picacio
Pavel Mikhailenko
Ken Wong
Brom
Greg Spalenka
Bruce Jensen
Scott M. Fischer
Todd Lockwood

Digital Tools and Techniques

Stephan Martiniere
Tomasz Maronski
Camille Kuo
Galan Pang
Marta Dahlig

Traditional Tools and Techniques

James Gurney
Kinuko Y. Craft
Charles Vess
Donato Giancola
Rebecca Guay
Dan Dos Santos
Petar Meseldzija
Terese Nielsen
Bob Eggleton
Don Maitz
Gregory Manchess

There’s a lot to love, but one of my favorite things is that this book’s perhaps the first sf/f art volume to cohesively document the dynamic combinations of traditional and digital methods. It doesn’t treat them as an ‘either/or’ proposition. Some of the most fertile ground in today’s art is found in those combinations and experiments.

This is a book to savor slowly page by page. Very honored to be one of the twenty-eight featured, and especially honored that my artwork was chosen for the cover. 🙂

Behold Sandor Clegane — the Hound! You’re looking at a closeup detail from my 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar art featuring him with Sansa Stark (not pictured here). This sneak peek’s for the legions of rabid Sandor Clegane fans. The Hound beat out Arya and Melisandre in this past weekend’s fan poll, but fans of the latter shouldn’t fret. I think there’s an excellent chance you may see sneak peeks of both before the end of June. Keep your eyes peeled to my Twitter feed for when that might happen.

And for those who missed last week’s preview of Bran Stark, here it is. And of course, the cover features Ned Stark. The calendar will be available the week of San Diego Comic Con. George R. R. Martin and I will be signing calendars at the Bantam booth at SDCC and I’ll have some for sale at my own booth (#4600) that I’ll be sharing with Star Wars artist Dave Seeley. If you can’t make it to SDCC, no problem — Amazon is already taking preorders for it.

Can anyone guess what month Sansa and the Hound will be in the calendar?

Can anyone guess why the green and orange light on his face?

Lemme know what you think of Sandor here!

Wanted to give a belated shoutout to a few cons, and hard-working con teams. I’ve been the Artist GoH at all three of these this year. While I’ve been able to thank each of them privately, I haven’t had a chance to thank them publicly (thanks to tiny pesky things like Juggling Multiple Major Deadlines, Putting Out Fires, and Working 18-Hour Days). 😉 LOL

CAPRICON 2011

Back in February, I was Artist GoH at Capricon, which was chaired by Erik Olson. John Scalzi was Author Guest of Honor and packed the rooms wherever he went. Janice Gelb and Stephen Boucher are two of the coolest fans you will ever meet. Helen Montgomery ran a phenomenal slate of programming for all of us. Panels were well-attended and well-executed. Tammy Coxen ran the Green Room like a four-star gourmet kitchen (not kidding). I regret not spending more time there. Steven Silver and Samantha King took care of me as Guest Liaisons. Dave McCarty was terrific and turned me on to the greatness of Chicago-style Italian roast beef sandwiches. He’ll also be chairing the 2012 Worldcon. I have very high hopes for that show because of Big Dave’s enthusiasm and fresh ideas, and because of Helen. I signed up for that Worldcon onsite, almost purely because I believe in them.

And last but not least, I am a Kerry Kuhn fan. She ran the Art Show at Capricon, and took care of her artists as well as any Art Show director I’ve ever seen. When Kerry runs an Art Show, the show scratches the Artists’ checks onsite, and the artists are handed their check as they walk out the door. Brilliant. Kerry is amongst the few that manages this detail perfectly. Capricon’s Art Show was a big success. She ensured that traffic kept pouring through the doors and that big money was spent. Big applause for her, and for all of the Capricon team.

LEPRECON 2011

I was Artist GoH at Leprecon one month ago, and it was located at one of my favorite con hotels ever, the Tempe Mission Palms. It’s very hard to have a bad con when you have a great locale like this one. Lee Whiteside chaired. Mike Willmoth was Treasurer and Guest Liaison. There seemed to always be 17 Mike Willmoths doing 17 jobs simultaneously. He’s very good at that. So is Lee. Kate Moor looked out for me as well, while Cathy Book ran programming. Had a blast with the Darrell K. Sweet family, Ellen Klages, Chris Merle, Glenn Glazer, and Tina Worley. Mad shoutout to the hard-working Dave Gish and Niels McLellan. Both were terrific and took good care of the artists in the Art Show. Dave’s father Ray Gish was a long-time beloved Art Show director in the Southwest and Dave continues the tradition of excellence. Very grateful for everyone’s efforts and hard work.

BAYCON 2011

Just got back yesterday from BayCon in Santa Clara, CA. The printing on their program book cover may be amongst the finest I’ve ever seen. Made me do a double-take when I first saw it. I think chairman Robert Toland had a big hand in this, and that was one of many things he got right. He’s also hilarious. Wish we would’ve had more time to hang out, but we both had our duties and they were many. Big thanks to Michael Siladi, Alison Stern, Tycho Petersen, Cruz Arellanes, Albert Baker, Sally Rose, and all of the Art Show and Tech heads and teams that worked with me.

When I walked into the Art Show room, there was a super-high ceiling that would’ve defeated most cons, but not Baycon. Thanks to the Art Show and Tech teams combined efforts, they rigged a drop ceiling grid of lights that was genius and well-done. Big applause to all of them and the gofers for pulling that off. It was literally the difference between night and day.

BayCon also had one of the coolest con t-shirts I’ve yet seen using my artwork. Very well done, thanks to Scott Dennis.

I loved the bar area at this con, and the way it circulated into an outer seating area toward the pool. It’s a near-perfect diagram for a social bar, and again, Tycho was brilliant as Hotel Liaison.

2011 Hugo nominee Christopher J. Garcia was in the house and is quite frankly one of my favorite people on the planet. The big family-style Chinese dinner we had with his girlfriend Linda, Author Guest of Honor Mary Robinette Kowal, Sandra Tayler, Marty & Diane Halpern, and Jacob & Rina Weisman was one of my con highlights.

I previewed some sneak peeks of a few 2012 A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE Calendar artworks and was gratified to hear cheers and applause from the audiences that got to see them. Thanks, folks!

Shoutouts to Dani and Eytan Kollin, Jaym Gates, Josephine Gray, Glen Barrett, Kent Brewster, Anders Hudson, Jeremy Lassen, and Francesca Myman.

Last but not least though — mad shoutout to Tobi Schneider who completely rocked this con. She was the MVP because she joined as Guest Liaison less than a month before con, and worked tirelessly to make everything right. There was nothing she couldn’t do, and she never lost her cool. Her hard work and efforts will be one of my enduring memories of this con. Tobi — take a bow!!

Bay Area science fiction/fantasy fans have the reputation of being amongst the sharpest and most literate sf/f fans anywhere in the US. They are. They know their stuff backwards and forwards, and it was an honor to be amongst them. Bartenders extraordinaire Kevin Roche and Andy Trembley invited Mary and I to a BASFA meeting on the last night of the con, and it was a good cap to the weekend. Thanks to the BASFAns for their kindness and hospitality.

Back home now and time to get back to work. And again — huge thanks to all at Capricon, Leprecon and BayCon for their hard work and great efforts. Very honored and grateful that we’re all in this community together. Looking forward to seeing many of the above at Worldcon in Reno.:)

Wow! I’m a 2011 Chesley Awards finalist! Just landed home from BayCon 2011. Thanks to Dani Kollin, I just discovered that I’m a finalist in three Chesley categories this year. Wow, wow, wow. Thanks to all ASFA voters for these noms. I’m very grateful to be amongst this year’s stellar list of works. Here are my three nominated works, followed by this year’s complete list of nominees.

Finalist for Best Paperback Cover Illustration:


John Picacio
Elric: Swords and Roses
by Michael Moorcock
Del Rey
December 2010

************

Finalist for Best Hardcover Illustration:

John Picacio
The Waters Rising
by Sheri S. Tepper
Harper Voyager
August 2010

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Finalist for Best Interior Illustration:

John Picacio
Elric: Swords and Roses
by Michael Moorcock
Del Rey, December 2010

************

Big thanks to my art directors on the above works — David Stevenson (Del Rey), Richard Aquan (HarperCollins), and Betsy Mitchell (Ballantine/Del Rey).

Here’s the complete list of 2011 Chesley Awards nominees. Congrats to all! Very honored and grateful to be in your company!

***Paperback

Volkan Baga, for The Zombies of Oz by Christian Endres; Atlantis, November 2010

Jason Chan, for Geist by Phillipa Ballantine; Ace, November 2010

Jon Foster, for Dreadnought by Cherie Priest; Tor, September 2010

Todd Lockwood, for The Ragged Man by Tom Lloyd; Pyr, August 2010

Stephan Martiniere, for Ares Express by Ian McDonald; Pyr, August 2010

Anthony Palumbo, for Yarn by Jon Armstrong; Night Shade Books, 12/2010

John Picacio, for Elric: Swords and Roses by Michael Moorcock; Del Rey, December 2010

Dan Dos Santos, for Alien Tango by Gini Koch; DAW, December 2010

***Hardcover

Kinuko Y. Craft, for Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington; Tor, November 2010

Don Maitz, for Blasphemy by Mike Resnick Golden Gryphon Press, 08/2010

Gregory Manchess, for Spectrum 17 edited by Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner;Underwood Books, Nov. 2010

John Picacio, for The Waters Risingby Sheri S. Tepper; Harper Voyager, August 2010

Michael Whelan, for The Way of the Kings by Brandon Sanderson; Tor, August 2010

***Magazine

Julie Dillon, for Clarkesworld #48; September 2010

Nick Greenwood, for Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show #17; June 2010

David A. Hardy, forAnalog; April 2010

Audrey Lazarev, forClarkesworld #50; November 2010

Sergio Rebolledo, forClarkesworld #40; January 2010

James Ryman, for Heavy Metal; January 2010

***Three-Dimensional

Thomas S. Kuebler, Scream Queen; mixed media

David Meng, Amphibiana; mixed media

Mark Newman, Eel Walker; bronze

Michael Parkes, The Letter; bronze

Jordu Schell, Ixana; mixed media

Vincent Villafranca, The Dogs of War; bronze

***Interior Illustration

Jason Chan, Vilcabamba by Harry Turtledove; Tor.com, 2010

Jon Foster, Four Horsemen, at Their Leisure by Richard Parks; Tor.com, April 2010

Donato Giancola, Middle Earth: Visions of a Modern Myth by Donato Giancola; Underwood Books, 10/2010

John Picacio, Elric: Swords and Roses by Michael Moorcock; Del Rey, December 2010

Keith Thompson, Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld; Simon Pulse, October 2010

***Unpublished Color

Daren Bader, Isis; oil

Julie Dillon, Planetary Alignment; digital

David A. Hardy, Portals to Infinity; acrylic

Omar Rayyan, The Favorite; oil

Matthew Stewart, Waterfall Dragons; oil

Raoul Vitale, Torin’s Quest; oil

***Unpublished Monochrome

Eric Braddock, Highborne; graphite & white charcoal on toned paper

Anthony Francisco, Tikbalang; digital

Ed Ko, Drawing for Beautiful Grim; pencil

Petar Meseldžija, UNK!; pencil

Ian Miller, Triptych; ink

David Palumbo, Zombie Girl; acrylic

***Product

Bob Eggleton, Dragon’s Domain: The Ultimate Dragon Painting Workshop; Impact, September 2010

Donato Giancola, St. George and the Dragon, promo art for Dragon*Con 2010

Lars Grant-West, Pact of the Blind, promo art for IlluXCon 3

David Palumbo, Transcend (aka Judgment), Heavy Metal tarot card; 2010

Sam Weber, Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, promo art for Tor ebook; January 2010

***Gaming

Daarken, Harbor Serpent (Magic card, Magic 2011 core set); WotC, July 2010

Lucas Graciano, Amorphous Drake (Legends of Norrath); Sony Online Entertainment, 2010

Kekai Kotaki, Gaea’s Revenge (Magic card, Magic 2011 core set); WotC, July 2010

Howard Lyon, Eel Umbra (Magic card, “Rise of the Eldrazi” set); WotC, April 2010

Matthew Stewart, Bloodshot Trainee (Magic card, “Scars of Mirrodin” set); WotC, October 2010

L. A. Williams, Maritime Guard (Magic card, Magic 2011 core set); WotC, July 2010

***Art Director

Lou Anders — Pyr Books

Irene Gallo — Tor

William Schafer — Subterranean Press

Jon Schindehette — Wizards of the Coast

David Stevenson — Ballantine / Del Rey

***Lifetime Artistic Acheivement

Brom

Jeffrey / Catherine Jones

Ian Miller

Moebius/Jean Giraud

Darrell K. Sweet

Boris Vallejo

ASFA has full galleries of all of the nominated works! Check ’em out!

I’m Artist Guest of Honor at BayCon this weekend, along with Author GoH & 2011 Hugo Award finalist Mary Robinette Kowal as well as Fan GoH Bobbie DuFault & Toastmaster Martin Young. Highlights of my schedule include:

**** Saturday 2:30p: Artist GoH Interview

As acquiring editor for Golden Gryphon Press from 1999 through 2007, Marty Halpern acquired eleven book covers from artist John Picacio. Some of these covers were for books by such well-known authors as Jeffrey Ford, George Alec Effinger, and Lucius Shepard. This talk will be about the process of developing covers for books from the perspective of an artist working with an editor.
Marty Halpern, John Picacio

**** Saturday 4:00p: The Worlds of George R. R. Martin

Artist John Picacio, who has done the artwork for the 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar, speaks about his work in that universe, and Kevin Andrew Murphy talks about writing in the Wild Card universe.
Kevin Andrew Murphy, John Picacio (M)

(Note to GRRM / Game of Thrones / 2012 Calendar fans — I highly recommend you show up at this panel. You’ll be glad you did. That’s all I’m sayin’…:))

**** Sunday 4:00p: The Art of John Picacio

Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio presents a slideshow and question-&-answer session discussing recent artworks from his Hugo Award-nominated body of book cover and institutional work, and the process and ideas behind their making.
John Picacio

(Again, GRRM & ASOIAF fans — same note as above. :))

***********

I’ll be on several other panels as well, plus I’ll have plenty of work hanging in the Art Show. Don’t be a stranger!

This is for all of you good and persistent folks who have been emailing and messaging me to show you something… ANYTHING… from inside the 2012 A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE Calendar.

Ask and ye shall receive. Give thanks to Bantam‘s Anne Groell (GRRM’s editor) and George himself for giving the nod on this as well.

Presenting, a cropped sneak peek of my artwork for Bran Stark. He’s January of the 2012 Calendar. There’s more to this image than what you’re seeing here, but hey — that’s why they call ’em sneak peeks, rather than the whole enchilada. 🙂

Most of you have already seen the cover featuring Ned Stark, but if not, here you go. Again, the calendar will debut at San Diego Comic Con this July. You can already preorder it right now (which still amazes me considering we’re not even halfway to 2012 yet).

Multiple choice question for you. Of the following, if Bantam greenlights more sneak peeks like this, who would you most want to see next?

A. Arya Stark
B. Melisandre
C. Sandor Clegane, The Hound

Hard to believe because it’s May in South Texas, but I think Winter isn’t just coming but in fact, has arrived. Behold the advance copies of the 2012 George R. R. Martin / A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar, featuring Ned Stark on the cover.

I flipped through the whole, beautiful, finished printed thing last night for the first time. Whew. Still processing it all, but needless to say, I’m extremely proud of it. I hope you folks out there dig it too. I’ll have MUCH, MUCH more on this in the coming days and weeks, including (I hope) some sneak peeks.

The calendar will first go on sale at San Diego Comic Con this July where George and I will be signing them at the Bantam booth. I’ll also have calendars available at my own booth too (#4600, I believe?). And then shortly thereafter, I expect the calendars will be available in bookstores everywhere. If you can’t make it to SDCC, Amazon will have it in your hands as soon as it releases in July.

Today’s my tenth anniversary. April 26, 2001 was the day that I began life as a fulltime freelance illustrator in the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and horror publishing. That was my last day of what many would call a promising and safe professional career in architecture, and pursued what many would call an extremely risky career as a fulltime freelancer. Why do something so boneheaded? Pure and simple, I wanted to be a fulltime professional artist more than anything in the whole world. That simple. Still do.

I always say that I’m an illustrator trying his best every day to be an artist. I don’t think you get to be an artist just because you can paint or draw well. It also takes years of seeing and shaping a fresh vision of the world that others can share too. It’s more than just mechanical skill. And I never believed the stereotype that all artists are flakes. Some of the savviest, strongest people I know are pro artists. It takes guts to take chances, which is what the best ones do. And it takes time and experience to build a life like that.

Being a fulltime pro artist is my world. Back on April 26, 2001, I had a mortgage, car payment, credit card debt, and the needs of adult survival. The chances of living in a town like San Antonio, Texas while all of my clients were in New York City, and trying to build a client list, on the fly, while not losing my livelihood was…daunting. Understatement of a decade. Advice for those trying to emulate the same? Have a strong stomach, and if not, get one fast. 🙂

I’m not interested in reminiscing here about these past ten years. I’d prefer my last ten years of work to do the talking. Hopefully it’s done some already. I could list the trusted friends and associates I’ve grown up with in this field, but they know who they are. And yup, I’ve been fortunate to win a few awards and recognitions along the way. Grateful for all, and actually THAT might be the understatement of the decade. 🙂

But here’s a hard truth I can proudly say today that I couldn’t until now — at last count, over this last ten years, I’ve produced over 120 cover illustrations for major science fiction, fantasy and horror books. In other words, I’ve averaged one major published piece of cover art in sf/f/h for every single month of the last ten years. I don’t know how many pro artists can match that book cover ratio in that span, but I suspect the number is….tiny. And by the way, that’s not counting the piles of magazine covers and interior artworks and dozens of book interior illos that I did while producing those 120+ covers in ten years.

What that number means to me is I came to work every single day, blue-collar all the way, and never quit for even a day. Nothing more, nothing less. And yeah, that may be the thing I’m most proud of.

What happens in the next ten years? No idea. I didn’t go into the previous ten with 120+ sf/f/h covers as a goal. I hope I can continue to make art, and continue to get better at it. I want to be a great artist. That’s what I wanted more than anything in the world on April 26, 2001. That’s what I want today.

Great news announced yesterday: I’m a 2011 Hugo Award finalist in the Best Professional Artist category. Huge thanks to all who nominated me. Deeply appreciated! 🙂 Heard a few questions yesterday from people who couldn’t remember if I’d won one of these already, and in one case, believed that I already had. LOL

For the record, this is my seventh consecutive Hugo nomination for Best Pro Artist, but no, I have not previously won a Hugo. I’ve finished in second place the last three years. Will this be the magic year? I have no idea, and no say in the matter. That’s up to you, the voters.

My 2010 published work can be found here and includes cover art and over 20 interior illustrations for ELRIC: SWORDS AND ROSES (pictured here, pub. by Ballantine/Del Rey); cover art for Lauren Beukes’ Clarke Award-finalist ZOO CITY (Angry Robot); and covers for Mark Chadbourn’s DARK AGE trilogy (such as THE DEVIL IN GREEN), amongst several more.

Very grateful and honored to be in the esteemed company of fellow Pro Artist nominees Daniel Dos Santos, Bob Eggleton, Stephan Martiniere, and Shaun Tan.

The full list of 2011 Hugo nominees is here. Congrats to all! I’ll be in Reno for Renovation: the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention this August. Will be a great time and hope to see many of you out there.