2012 Chesley Award Finalist!

Congrats to all of the 2012 Chesley Award finalists!

I'm honored to be a finalist this year in the Best Product Illustration category for my 2012 George R. R. Martin / A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar work. :)

Here's the complete list. Voting by ASFA members ends July 7th. Winners will be announced at Chicon 7.

Best Cover Illustration: Paperback Book

* Mitchell D. Bentley for The Alamo and Zombies by Jean A. Stuntz (Yard Dog Press, Dec. 2011)

* Dan Dos Santos for My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland (DAW, July 2011)

* Justin Gerard for Heart of Smoke & Steam by Andrew P. Mayer (Pyr, November 2011)

* Lucas Graciano for The Goblin Corps by Ari Marmell (Pyr, July 2011)

* David Palumbo for God's War by Kameron Hurley (Night Shade, January 2011)

* Matthew Stewart for The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (Night Shade, February 2011)

* Jon Sullivan for The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Holder (Pyr, March 2011)

* J. P. Targete for The Sword of Darrow by Alex & Hal Malchow (Ben Bella Books, May 2011)

Best Cover Illustration: Hardback Book

* Tom Kidd for Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison (Subterranean Press, March 2011)

* Stephan Martiniere for Prospero Regained by L. Jagi Lamplighter (Tor, September 2011)

* Lee Moyer for Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kieran (Subterranean Press, Sept. 2011)

* Cliff Nielsen for The Tempering of Men by Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear (Tor, August 2011)

* Greg Staples for The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard (Subterranean Press, Feb. 2011)

Best Cover Illustration: Magazine

* Facundo Diaz for Clarkesworld #57, July 2011
* Laura Diehl for Fantasy #53, August 2011
* Lee Moyer for Weird Tales #357, Winter 2010/2011
* Carly B. Sorge for Apex Magazine #28, September 2011
* Dariusz Zawadski for Fantasy #50, May 2011

Best Interior Illustration

* Julie Dillon for “The Dala Horse” by Michael Swanwick (Tor.com, July 2011)

* Scott Gustafson for Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe by Scott Gustafson (Simon & Schuster, Aug. 2011)

* Ryohei Hase for “Narco Americano” by T. J. English (Playboy, February 2011)

* Greg Staples for The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard (Subterranean Press, Feb. 2011)

* J. P. Targete for The Sword of Darrow by Alex & Hal Malchow (BenBella Books, May 2011)

Best Monochrome Work: Unpublished

* Justin Gerard for St. George and the Dragon, pencil
* Stephen Hickman for Siegfried, ink on toned paper
* Joāo Ruas for Migration, graphite on paper, vellum & acetate
* Raoul Vitale for The Yeti, pencil
* Allen Williams for Wood Nymph, pencil

Best Color Work: Unpublished

* Stephen Hickman for The Hero of the Apotheosis, acrylic
* David Palumbo for Through a Blood Red Veil, oil
* Omar Rayyan for The Dragon and the Nightingale, watercolor
* Eric Velhagen for Fantasy Feast, oil
* Raoul Vitale for Turin and Glaurang, oil

Best Three-Dimensional Art

* Gil Bruvel for Dichotomy, cupro nickel
* Thomas S. Kuebler for Baba Yaga, mixed
* Michael Parkes for Moonstruck, bronze
* Virginie Ropars for Autumnnalis Venenata, mixed
* Vincent Villafranca for Robobike, bronze

Best Gaming-Related Illustration

* E.M. Gist for Wandering Elf (Magic the Gathering: Tactics), Sony Online, January 2011

* Lucas Graciano for Pathfinder Player Companion: The Humans of Golarian, Paizo Publishing, July 2011

* Michael C. Hayes for Distress (2012 Core Set Magic card), WotC, July 2011

* Chris Rahn for Glissa, the Traitor (“Mirrodin Beseiged” Magic card), WotC, Jan./Feb. 2011

* Matt Stewart for Creepy Doll (“Innistrad” Magic card), WotC, September 2011

Best Product Illustration

* Stuart Craig for production design for the Harry Potter films, Warner Brothers, 2011

* Lee Moyer for Check These Out, 2012 Literary Pin-up calendar, Worldbuilders, 2011

* John Picacio for George R.R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire, 2012 Calendar, Random House, July 2011

* William Stout for Zombies 2012, calendar, Andrews McMeel, 2011

* Michael Whelan for Gift from the Sea, Dragon*Con 2011 promo art & program book, 2011

* Michael Zug for IlluXCon 2011 promo poster, 2011

Best Art Director

* Matt Adelsperger for WotC
* Lou Anders for Pyr Books
* Irene Gallo for Tor
* David Palumbo for Night Shade Books
* Jon Schindehette for WotC

Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement

* Jim Burns
* Jean Giraud (“Moebius”)
* Charles Vess

DeepSouthCon 50

Shoutout to all George R. R. Martin / A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones fans -- I'll be appearing at DeepSouthCon 50 next week in Huntsville, Alabama. I'll have some ASoIaF goodies for sale in the Art Show -- and I've got a special giveaway for you too.

One lucky DeepSouthCon attendee is going to walk away with a signed artist's proof print of my Bran Stark artwork from the 2012 George R. R. Martin / A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar. Here's how it can be you:

I'll be presenting a full one-hour slideshow on the making of the 2012 George R. R. Martin / A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar on Friday, June 15th at 8pm in the Madison room at DSC50. Attend this event. Bring your friends. Everyone who attends this slideshow will be eligible for a free raffle giveaway. Numbers will be assigned at the top of the hour. The winner will be announced at the end of the slideshow, and snags the print (and of course, winner must be present to claim the prize).

Spread the word, GRRM and ASoIaF fans of the Deep South. See you there. :)

Dragon*Con & Worldcon 2012

A while back, I was invited to contribute a perspective on "Gender Parity on SF/F Convention Panels" for the forthcoming issue of JOURNEY PLANET. It's caused me to consider my own role as a panel participant at conventions, and as an artist at convention art shows.

I've written my essay on the subject, and I'm proofing it right now. Will submit it to JOURNEY PLANET very soon here. More on that in a minute.

In the meantime, I've got some good news.

Many of you already know that this year's Dragon*Con and Worldcon both happen on Labor Day weekend. So theoretically, pros and fans have to choose one or the other to attend, right?

Well, as it turns out, I've chosen both. I'll be attending Atlanta's Dragon*Con all day/night Friday, August 31, and the initial part of Saturday morning, and then I'll jump on a plane, gain one hour in the process, and attend Chicago's Worldcon for the last half of its run, until it closes.

Hellacious? Yes. Suicidal? Let's hope not.

Anyway -- that's the plan. Two major cons in one weekend. Why? A lot of reasons, both professionally and personally. I've regularly attended Worldcon around the world for many years now. I have many, many friends there and love seeing them. Meanwhile, Dragon*Con is a much larger event, and I wish to continue building a professional presence there.

It's unfortunate that both events occur on the same weekend, but I've decided it's best to try to attend both this year.

In my essay that will soon be published by JOURNEY PLANET, I've announced that I'm foregoing all programming participation and art show presence at this year's Worldcon. By doing so, I hope it opens up my chair, and my art show space, to new female artists who will hopefully present new viewpoints and perspectives. The call for "Gender Parity" has been a controversial one as seen here and here. Admittedly, I'm still unsure to what degree my gender and participation on sf/f panels and art shows has prevented females from participating in the same. Did I have opportunity that they did not because I'm male? Did my gender, and not my fifteen years of hard work, make the programming directors and the art show directors select me over an equally-deserving female? It seems more than a bit far-fetched, to be honest. But that being said, I've heard the discussion, and I'm willing to think beyond myself, and offer a self-imposed experiment. Let's trust the process and see what happens.

In the spirit of big-picture thinking, I'll offer my chair for one year at Worldcon during Saturday and Sunday's prime programming real estate, and see if this outcry for new female voices produces new blood, and if/when it does, I think we all win from that. And that goes for the art show too. Hopefully this will be a proactive and positive step toward allowing more female artists into Worldcon discussion panels and into its art show. I'm confident that the powers-that-be of Chicago's Worldcon, and the advocates of this process, will capitalize on this opportunity.

Do I think all pros should follow suit and do the same? I wouldn't say that. I think what I'm doing is a gesture and an experiment. I want to see what happens. I'm curious. It's my choice -- not a mandate imposed upon me, or a choice that I expect anyone else to follow.

So there you have it -- good news all around. And definitely some frequent flyer miles that weekend. :)