Chris Merle interviews Conestoga 11’s Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio.

Program 33 (Do a right click and save as to download the file).

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Show notes [show length 38:08]

recorded on sunday 3rd day of the convention

Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio

built up a body of work for well known authors

says is fortunate

got started in small press and commissioned to do Michael Moorcock’s 30th anniversary edition of Behold the Man cover and illustrations cover and interior

job that changed his life

was doing architecture and comic books

designed book all throughout got a crash course

his motif taking something old and making it new again with reissues bring it to a new audience

Canticle for Liebowitz cover favorite of his
trade paper

things go in cycles

has won plenty of accolades

just won the Locus award 2007 had a lot of contenders. honored to be nominated

award 30 years old but only a handful have won

other awards

Int’l Horror Award
ASFA 2005 best paperback cover smoke rose up forever
ASFA 2006 best artist Chesley

appreciates the awards but doesn’t do it for the awards. loves the work.

heading to WorldCon in Japan wasn’t planning to go but got nominated for 2 Hugos

Paul Fischer of Balticon Podcast is going as well.

I give my impressions of his covers. Basically I say it has some Byzantine icon influence

says was influenced by Gustav Klimt

each person interprets art in their own way. people get something different when viewing art or reading books. art takes on a life of its own.

unique is not a superlative
has carved out his own territory

does mixed/media digital for some of his work. conscious response to technology available in his art creation.

artists should push those limits of the art and he doesn’t feel he may be doing that.

considers himself an illustrator and wants to be called an artist.

he’s being modest. he is an artist.

background as an architect.

wanted to do something practical

and his degree in architecture served as a great background.

gave him confidence in process

Went to University of Texas. ‘Hook ‘em horns!’

worked in residential architecture and self publishing own comic books and got noticed by Mojo Press and commissioned to do Behold the Man which changed his life.

indebted to those who got him into the field

Cover Story is put out by MonkeyBrain Books owned by Chris Roberson and Alison Baker

Roberson has 32 hours in a day and is successful on multiple fronts

they came up in the business together and is amutually beneficial partnership with MBB.

Picacio has a who’s who list of authors he’s done covers for

interested in the possibilities of the technology
uses PhotoShop

compositing or as he calls it sandwich making.

interested in surprising himself and  his audience.

went to SF Hall of Fame in Seattle, WA to present Ed Emswhillers’ Hall of Fame award. inducted into.

saw some Jimi Hendrix memoribilia.

was there for Locus awards as well that weekend.

John is a HUGE Jimi Hendrix fan!

Robin Wayne Bailey one of the major people behind the science fiction hall of fame.

Brad Denton plays a mean guitar.

David Lee Anderson is a great singer/player.

does have a strat(ocaster guitar) noodles around with it as a creative tool for when he gets stuck.

I plug my new podcast Escape From Cubicle 17.

what is coming up

collection of illustrations + cover

rerelease of Moorcock’s Elric books starting in Feb 2008 1st book Stealer of Souls, Stormbringer

tradepaper to be more accessible some people want them in hardcover

covers for Sherri Tepper, Bruce McAlister, George Alec Effinger coming out
cover of Moorcock’s Metatemporal Detective on Halloween 2007.

other artists are doing the rest of the Elric books.

Your podcast host is NOT going to Worldcon this year and I butcher some Japanese phrases for those that are:
Kouon wo o-inori shite imasu.
Best of luck to you.

nihongo ga wakarimasen
I don’t understand Japanese.

anata wa eigo o hanashimasu ka?
Do you speak English?

mata atode
See you later