Right now I’m working on a lot of covers for a lot of great books and I’ll unveil them here as I’m able. The holidays have flown by. Everyone in the blogosphere is doing their Year-In-Review thing right now. It’s the end of 2006 and I’m swamped, but I’d like to step back and offer a huge “thanks” for everything good that’s happened to me in 2006. It was a terrific year and I’m grateful to all of the friends and associates out there who made it so, and who shared it with me.
So before bidding adieu to 2006…a few good times from my past 12 months…
* I illustrated covers for two of my childhood favorites, the original STAR TREK franchise, and THE X-MEN. So cool. What made the X-MEN cover opportunity even sweeter was that the book was written by my good pal, Chris Roberson. Jennifer Heddle is the editor of the Marvel line for Simon & Schuster’s Pocket division, so it was a great thing to work on a childhood favorite with two of my favorite people.

* In April, Jeffrey Ford’s THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM was released from Golden Gryphon, and I think this is one of my favorite pieces of cover art to date. On top of that, the book is widely heralded as one of the best of the year, and Jeff deserves every ounce of that spotlight and attention.

* That same month, I was Artist Guest of Honor at Minicon 41 in Bloomington, MN. Harlan Ellison was the Author Guest of Honor and Doug Friauf was the Fan Guest of Honor. My fiancee and I had a brilliant time, thanks to Greg Ketter, Bill Christ, and all of the Minicon crew. I love Minneapolis, I love DreamHaven Books, and hot-damn, I love Hell’s Kitchen. Mmmmm…..sausage bread.

* In May, COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO was released. What can I say? It’s my first art book, and I poured my guts into it. I can’t thank MonkeyBrain Books enough for publishing a first-class art book of my work. Thanks to them, the book was available in bookstores everywhere. DreamHaven Books hosted a release party upon the book’s debut, and so did Borderlands Books in San Francisco. Paul Goat Allen gave the book one of the greatest reviews I’ve ever seen over at Barnes & Noble.com, and SCI-FI MAGAZINE not only gave it an “A” review, but selected it as one of three recommended art books for the Xmas buying season.

* It’s terrific to be associated with some of the best new books in the field, like the aforementioned EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM, but when you occasionally get the opportunity to work on an all-time classic like A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, you’re very fortunate. HarperCollins/Eos released their trade paperback edition of Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s classic in May and it’s one of my favorite cover illustrations of the last year or so. Many thanks to Diana Gill and Jennifer Brehl over there at Eos.

* The May/June issue of INTERZONE (#204) featured a cover, gallery and interview with me and I was honored to be a part of this great magazine. Andy Cox, Jetse De Vries, and the IZ crew really do a bang-up job every month and IZ just keeps getting better and better.

* I was a Locus Award finalist for the first time! Wow! The top five artists in this year’s Locus Awards Poll were Michael Whelan (who won his 26th Locus Award in the Artist category), Bob Eggleton, me, Dave McKean, and Charles Vess.

* In August, I completed another cover that became a favorite of mine. This one was for Lou Anders’ FAST FORWARD 1: FUTURE FICTION FROM THE CUTTING EDGE. The anthology will release from Pyr in February 2007, and I was happy with the way this one turned out. And talk about folks who had a great 2006 — Pyr had a huge year. Congrats to Lou and all of the Pyr team.

* Worldcon convened in Anaheim this year, and it was one to remember. I participated in the Worldcon Business Meeting for the first time. It likely won’t be my last time. I spent a lot of time there with Irene Gallo, Dave Seeley and some of the most dedicated SMoFs in the world, debating the issues of Hugo nominating and voting criteria. I learned a lot.

The 20th Annual Chesley Awards were handed out at this year’s Worldcon, and I was fortunate to be nominated for two — Best Interior Illustration, and Artistic Achievement. Brom won Best Interior for his terrific work on THE PLUCKER, but I was blown away to take home this year’s Artistic Achievement Award. Probably one of the greatest honors I could ever receive, and very humbling. Tom Kidd handed the plaque to me, and I think that made it more special because I’ve long had immense respect for Tom and his paintings. The Hugo Awards Ceremony happened two nights later, and I was nominated for the Hugo for Best Professional Artist for the second year in a row. I didn’t win this year, but Donato Giancola did, and that was good to see. He’s one of the best in the business and it’s good for the field to see his name listed amongst the Hugo winners’ roster along with legends like Bob Eggleton and Michael Whelan.

* My cover art for L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s GHOSTS OF COLUMBIA (Tor) was selected for inclusion in SPECTRUM 13: THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASTIC ART.

* Austin, Texas hosted the World Fantasy Convention this year. The art show featured one of the best selections of artwork in years, including John Jude Palencar, Greg Manchess, Charles Vess, Gary Gianni, Mike Dringenberg, and many more. Because I won the World Fantasy Award in 2005, I was ineligible to win it in 2006, so I got to kick back and root for my friends! I was thrilled to see Chris Roberson, Lou Anders, and Jess Nevins nominated for the WFs this year. Hey, they didn’t win this time, but I suspect their years are coming.

Like I said, it’s been quite a year, and I’ve been very fortunate. Between now and March 17th, 2007, I’ve got a lot of fresh new cover work to accomplish, and then on St. Patrick’s Day, I get to take a break and marry the wonderful Traci Ogden. So I’ll see you on the other side in 2007. 🙂

Happy New Year to all!

MonkeyBrain Books has just released a fresh new edition of the Rudy Rucker adventure classic THE HOLLOW EARTH, with cover illustration and design by me. Note that on Amazon.com and other online venues, you may see a placeholder cover that differs (radically) from the one you see here. Safe to say, I’m glad the final edition looks like this and not like the placeholder.

The second book of David R. George III’s STAR TREK: CRUCIBLE trilogy is now available in stores everywhere. This one is CRUCIBLE: SPOCK — THE FIRE AND THE ROSE, and it’s a mass market paperback from Pocket Books. As with CRUCIBLE: McCOY, I did the cover illustration honors, and when this cover is connected with the McCOY cover and the forthcoming CRUCIBLE: KIRK cover, they form a nifty triptych. Again, kudos to Pocket designer John Vairo for the elegant, minimal typographic design for this series. Of the three covers, this one is my personal favorite!

Nice way to kick off December! (Or technically, finish November.) COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO is Bookpeople’s Top Shelf Pick for the month of December. BookPeople is three stories of literary retail goodness located in the heart of Austin, Texas, and it’s the state’s largest independent bookstore. All of their copies of the book are signed, so if you’re making holiday shopping decisions for literary or art lovers in your life, you might keep that in mind. 🙂

In-store, they’ve got the book displayed on an endcap in the sf/f section, ground level. The majority of stores stock the book in this section, which makes perfect sense. However, BookPeople’s smart. They ALSO stock the book upstairs in their general art book section. Hey, it’s a real kick to see my art book displayed next to Picasso’s books. OK, it’s more good fortune than anything since the store alphabetizes all of their artist monographs by last name, but nevertheless, I enjoyed that. The store prints up a nice newsletter booklet every month and the following review by Revolution SF Books Editor Peggy Hailey will be included in their December issue. I don’t think this review will be on the store’s website, so I’m taking the liberty to run it here, for the benefit of online readers and shoppers.

From Peggy Hailey: “John Picacio is one of my favorite cover artist/book designers working today. In fact, if you know me at all, I’m sure I’ve pointed out my many favorites to you a time or two. He’s creative, talented, a real stand-up guy, and, as it happens, a darned good-looking man to boot. But even if he weren’t all those things, it wouldn’t matter, because John’s work speaks for itself.

On a purely aesthetic level, COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO is a beautiful book. The cover is gorgeous, featuring a triptych of book covers wildly divergent in style but connected by Picacio’s rich palette of colors. Everything comes together with a feel that’s both functional and artistic, from the typeface to the richly colored endpapers to the glossy pages. You can literally feel the quality.

But let’s be honest — pretty covers and a smart layout will only take you so far. What really counts is the content, right?

Luckily the content is top-notch, too. Along with full-page, full-color reproductions of the covers we get sketches and background info about the creation of each cover. This insight into the creative process sets the book apart for me. Knowing that, say, the wings from John’s cover to DANGEROUS VISIONS were actually built and existed in the real world adds to my appreciation of the picture. But the book would be well worth the cover price for the pictures alone. Just pick up the book and thumb through it for a while.

Go on; I’ll wait.

Now I ask you, how can you possibly resist? I love that trenchcoated gorilla on GEEK CONFIDENTIAL. I adore those fantastic tripods hiding out on the back cover of A BLAZING WORLD. I can’t stop looking at the flaming monk on A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ. I am fascinated by the man in homemade wings about to take flight on DANGEROUS VISIONS. And I am transfixed by the sleeping face on GHOSTS OF COLUMBIA.

Each of the covers is an evocative piece of art in and of itself, but once you’ve read the book in question you discover just how well the cover complements the content. It’s clear that John actually reads the books he’s working on, God bless him, and if you ask me, that’s why the covers work so well.

Still unconvinced? Really? Well how about this: every single copy we have of COVER STORY is signed by the artist. Surely you know someone who would appreciate a beautiful book full of gorgeous pictures signed by an up-and-coming Texas artist. MonkeyBrain Books has put together a fabulous package to show off Picacio’s talent that has substance (including an introduction by Michael Moorcock and a lengthy interview with the artist) as well as style. John Picacio is a rising talent in his chosen field, and he’s only going to get better. COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO lays a beautiful foundation for the amazing work I know is still to come.”

Andrew Wheeler just reviewed COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO over at his blog, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. He’s the Senior Editor of the (US) Science Fiction Book Club, and I marvel at his efficient, daily consumption of massive amounts of genre reading.

The COVER STORY review is thoughtful and well-considered, and the kind of insight his constant readers are used to. I’m one of them, so it was a nice surprise to see my book reviewed there. If you don’t already have his blog bookmarked, you should. And if you don’t believe me that this guy is one of the most efficient readers anywhere, check out his Fabulous Book-A-Day Index. Staggering!

I’ve been meaning to post a little something in memory of the great Jack Williamson. According to Locus Online, memorial services will be held Thursday in New Mexico.

I recounted this anecdote in my art book, but here’s the short version. A couple of years ago, Amazing Stories Magazine approached me for a feature called “Pictures That Paint 1000 Words.” They paid me to choose an illustration I had already completed and they would then give it to an unknown author to write a story inspired by the piece. I chose the illustration you see here, an oil painting/shadowbox assemblage that I did for the cover of an unpublished graphic novel back in the late ’90s. I was hesitant at first because I didn’t know who the author might be. Weeks later, imagine my surprise when I found out that the author who ended up writing an original story based on my illustration was none other than the legendary Jack Williamson! The story was called “Dream of Earth” and it appeared alongside my illustration in Amazing Stories #605. Thanks again, Jack. Count me as just one more amongst the millions of folks who will never forget you, and were fortunate to be touched by your greatness.

As many of you know, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY has released its list of the 100 Best Books of 2006. Congrats to all, but especially to the five selections in the SF/Fantasy/Horror category. Amongst those elite five, I’m thrilled to see Jeffrey Ford’s THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM (Golden Gryphon, wraparound art pictured above) and Norman Partridge’s DARK HARVEST (Cemetery Dance, see front cover art below). So if you’re scoring at home, of the five superlative sf/f/horror works chosen by PW, I illustrated the covers for two of them, which ain’t a bad ratio, if you know what I’m saying.

Back in the spring, I made no secret that I thought Ford’s collection would be the best of 2006. A few collections may be in its league, but I couldn’t see how any collection could top its embarrassment of storytelling riches. PW must’ve thought the same. DARK HARVEST is a bonafide, dark-horse winner and kudos to Rich Chizmar and all at CD for cracking this list. And of course, huge congrats to Mr. Barbed-Wire Fists himself!

(Above: me, Jo Fletcher, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Ellen Datlow, Stephen Jones)

World Fantasy Con 2006 was epic. It’s probably my favorite con every year, and the Austin event was certainly no different. All the action happened about 2 hours driving distance from my house, so no airplanes for me this time. Despite that, I still felt like I had been slammed by a 2×4 when it was all over. It was five-plus days of sheer pleasure with old and new friends, and seeing everyone there is one of my favorite times of the year. I displayed several works in the Art Show and sold almost half of it, which was very nice. Happily signed a LOT of copies of my art book, COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO. Signed a lot of other books as well, including copies of Mark Finn’s fabulous new Robert E. Howard biography, BLOOD & THUNDER (MonkeyBrain Books), for which I did the cover illustration and design.

I was the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s International Horror Guild Awards on Thursday night of the convention. It was quite an honor, and I’d like to again extend my congrats to all of the nominees and winners in all of the categories. Clive Barker won this year’s IHG Award in the Artist category. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro was honored as the Living Legend. It was a fun evening.

The great thing was that Austin’s WFC Art Show was full of A-list talent. Gary Gianni and John Jude Palencar were the Artist GOHs and they both hung phenomenal displays of their work. Both consummate gentlemen. Gregory Manchess has long been one of my favorite painters and he displayed at a WFC Art Show for the first time, with some of his Conan paintings from Robert E. Howard’s THE CONQUERING SWORD OF CONAN. Greg’s an amazing human being, and I was especially gratified to see his presence at this year’s show. I think his participation this weekend gained him a lot of new fans who will follow his work from here forth. He’s quite simply one of The Great American Artists. Mike Dringenberg hung another great set of works and he had a piece he kept working on and re-hanging every day. We shared some time on a panel together, and every time I see him in that situation, he always offers solid insights. Charles Vess, Gary Lippincott, Lisa Snellings-Clark, and Vincent Villafranca were amongst the many with world-class displays of their work. 15-year-old Derek Ford had an amazing weekend. He sold several of his Dali-esque ballpoint pen masterpieces and stunned congoers all weekend with his invention of free-flowing form. The whole show was rock-solid across the board, and I heard many veteran congoers say they thought its overall content quality ranked amongst the best WFC Art Shows ever.

Unfortunately, the layout and spatial design for the Art Show were very disappointing. The layout seemed like a bit of a dark rat tunnel, and relative to the other con function spaces, it seemed (on the surface) that the Art Show got the shaft in that regard. Hopefully future con committees will give more careful consideration to the spatial needs of the Art Show and especially its lighting needs. It’s not cool for it to be given a left-over space, as it appeared to many who walked through the show. It’s a shame that such a world-class array of art wasn’t celebrated better by the layout, especially when you consider the considerable cost and effort many artists undertake to participate in this show. Fortunately, the Art Show was in the same function space as the Dealers’ Room, so that helped gain the show its traffic. It’s a credit to the con committee though that despite this critical letdown, it was still a very successful convention. Kudos to Renee Babcock, Scott Zrubek, Kimm Antell, Fred Duarte, Kim Kofmel, Willie and Charles Siros, and all of the hard-working committee folks who made the entire con happen. I heard rave reviews all weekend for hospitality and overall fabulousness by congoers left and right. I can’t imagine how much work it is to put a con like this together. Thanks to all, and congrats to the entire committee on the overall success.

I’m sure many blogs will discuss the results of this year’s World Fantasy Awards in great detail, so I’ll leave that fun to them. However, I’d like to offer congrats to James Jean, who won the World Fantasy Award in the Artist category. It surprised many that he won (admittedly, including me), but the sheer excellence of this guy’s past 12 months’ worth of work speaks for itself. I was honored to win the World Fantasy Award in this category last year, so congratulations and welcome to the club, as it were, James. I love the diversity of the World Fantasy Artist winners list over the years (Frank Frazetta, Michael Whelan, Edward Gorey, Moebius, Alan Lee, Dave McKean, Donato Giancola, just to name a few), and that diversity of excellence is part of why the award is so significant to me.

So on to Saratoga Springs for next year’s WFC.

One final note — to any World Fantasy board members, or members of next year’s con committee — if by chance, the committee hasn’t yet resolved who will be the Artist Guest of Honor, I offer a recommendation.

Jeffrey Jones. He’s a past winner of the World Fantasy Award and one of the all-time legends of the field. He continues to be an inspiration to artists worldwide. I think he’s had some tough recent years, but he’s located in that part of the country and I think collectors of his work could potentially rally a beautiful Art Show celebration of his oeuvre. Offering him an Artist Guest of Honor/Special Guest position would be a tremendous tribute and a real drawing card for pros and fans to attend. Taking a cue from this year’s show, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have another prominent artist from the area as Artist Guest of Honor as well, especially in case Jeff’s situation potentially prohibits him from attending at the last minute. Just a thought….

Back to work over here.

Thanks to Max Smolev for the usage of the photo above! Here’s his gallery of IHG photos from this year. Here’s John Klima’s gallery of WFC photos. Irene Gallo has a terrific report over at The Art Department.

Good news — SCI FI Magazine just released their 2006 Gift Guide issue and they’ve selected COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO as one of three art books to look for when you’re giving (or receiving) this coming holiday season. Besides my book, they also shined the spotlight on REVOLUTION: THE ART OF JON FOSTER and THE ART OF RAY HARRYHAUSEN. I believe the issue just hit newsstands everywhere, so check it out, the next time you’re at the bookstore. I found some pretty sweet Xmas gift ideas in the mag, and my fiancee devoured the article on Joe Hill, who is one of her favorite new authors. Thanks to Brian Murphy for giving me the heads-up!