“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” – Gautama Buddha
1978: Dion Fortune’s Moon Magic, the companion volume to The Sea Priestess, provided the inspiration for what I consider to be my finest illustration published as a book cover. Certainly it was the most challenging airbrush project I had attempted to date. The
resulting art was tremendously satisfying to see in print, combining as it did the best of my fashion illustration experience with the naturism that was emerging in my painting. Above, the printed cover; at left, the complete artwork showing that a left figure was cropped out in the final printing. Miscalculation on my part when I was first plotting out the composition? A change of plans? Despite the lack of crystal clear memories surrounding the event, retrospect tells me that it was all part of a plan I hatched, but never pursued. The idea: to create a panoramic piece of art, the majority of which would be printed on the cover, with the complete scene available as a printed poster, sold separately. Nothing came of the poster idea; however, there must have been a slight miscalculation while determining the trim of the wrap-around book cover, as the nose of the figure on the left didn’t get cropped out; it hovers on the edge, like a mystery object floating in space. Needless to say, it was all part of the learning process. “There are no mistakes, only lessons.”
“There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.” – George Carlin (1937-2008)
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