Waste Not

Waste Not

oil on paper mounted to board, 12" x 16" 

©Wizards of the Coast

Over at Daily MTG, the final image for Waste Not has been revealed. Back in July I was asked to create an image for a magic card where that was created by the fans.
Below are the sketches of the three options, without the digital color I added to them for the voting.

 Waste Not A

pencil on paper, 8.5 x 11"

 Waste Not B

pencil on paper, 8.5 x 11"

 Waste Not C

pencil on paper, 8.5 x 11"

Insatiable Harpy

Insatiable Harpy
oil on paper mounted to board, 12" x 16"
©Wizards of the Coast

Last but not least, Insatiable Harpy rounds out my contribution to the Theros expansion set. I love the flavor text for this one.

Gold coin, battered helmet, broken wrist bone-all have the same value in the eyes of a harpy.

Agent of the Fates

 Agent of the Fates

oil on paper mounted on board, 12" x 16"

©Wizards of the Coast

Another piece for Theros. Probably my personal favorite of the pieces I did for this set. After seeing some great Egyptian ceremonial knives in the Louvre on our trip to Paris last year, the daggers in the sketch looked a bit medieval, so I repainted them when I got back.

 The submitted sketch

Fanatic of Mogis

Fanatic of Mogis

oil on paper mounted to board, 12"x 16"

©Wizards of the Coast

Here's another one from Theros. A minotaur acolyte of the deity Mogis. I tried to render some really matted and greasy looking fur. 

 The sketch, done in red pencil

Also, click here to read me blather on in an interview for MassiveFantastic.com.  It's a cool website that celebrates Fantastic art. Thanks to Eric Super Villan for the pub! 

The Voice of Isengard

The Voice of Isengard

oil on panel, 20" x 40"

©Fantasy Flight Games

A covetous Saruman the White and Grima Wormtongue standing in the foothills above the Wizards Vale, looking out towards Rohan. I've been waiting to show this one for a while. The Voice of Isengard was done for box of the latest expansion set of The Lord of the Rings -The Card Game, published by Fantasy Flight Games. 

Where they're standing. The client wanted Fangorn to be seen on the extreme right, and the tower of Orthanc  had to be a bit more prominent so that it would show up on the box, so the geography was condensed a bit.

Digital sketches of my initial idea, which focused more on the view of Rohan. I tried to work in a rainbow somewhere in the image to hint at Saruman's eventual transformation into Saruman of Many Colours. In the final image, it's in the prism on the end of his staff. 

A view from Conor Pass, on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. I find myself constantly recalling the trip my wife and I took there a couple years ago as inspiration for many of the imaginary locales I've been painting since.

"Gift of Immortality" on Ebay

"Gift of Immortality"

12" x 16" oil on paper mounted to board

©Wizards of the Coast

I've had a lot of inquiries for the original painting for this one. So I've decided to put it up on Ebay. Here's the link. Happy bidding!!

New Theros art

oils on paper mounted to mdf, 12" x 16"

©Wizards of the Coast

Theros, the new greek myth inspired set for Magic:the Gathering will be out later next month, but some of the art is already out. It's a treat to get to show these so far ahead of time, as the NDA's (non disclosure agreements) that go with these types of commissions are torture for artists. The piece above was used for Wizards' presentation on the new set at Comicon back in July. I don't have a title for it yet, but here it is.

Celestial Archon

oils on paper mounted to mdf, 12" x 16"

©Wizards of the Coast

This one I do have a title for. It's called Celestial Archon, and it depicts a divine warrior on his decent to the mortal world on some errand for the Gods. I enjoyed painting the magical flying bull a great deal, as well as the sun drenched environment.