Dave Dorman’s First-Ever Battlestar Galactica Fine Art Print Launches at SDCC

Dear Friends,

I’m pleased to announce that ANOVOS, famed for their wonderful costume and gear recreations for Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, asked me to do their first fine art print, which is also my first-ever Battlestar Galactica art from the newest series (2004-2009). Here is just a pencil study I did of Edward James Olmos/Admiral Adama, to give you a sneak peek at a small portion of the art. Most of your favorite characters will be in this piece – a hangar scene – and I hope that you enjoy the work when we unveil it next Wednesday night at San Diego Comic-Con (heretofore referenced as SDCC).

I Am Doing Three SDCC Exclusives this Year:

As always, I’m in Booth #4500, which is an end cap booth facing the lobby between the two F Doors. We are in that first row that runs parallel with the lobby. Joining us this year is Blackwatch Comics, which is ABC’s General Hospital actor and amazing writer Michael Easton (writer, “The Green Woman” for DC/Vertigo) and artist Christopher Shy of Studio Ronin fame. Their SOUL STEALER: The Collector’s Edition is launching at the show – an award-winning goth fantasy trilogy in a gorgeous Taschen-style book. Be sure to check them out. They are also offering sneak peeks at a cool historical fiction novel called “The North End of the World” about one of my favorite photographers, Edward S. Curtis, who documented all of the Native American Indians’ customs and images in photography.

I will have a new limited edition Sketchbook of my pencil illustration art for sale, limited to 250 copies, signed by me. I started this tradition last year and sold out, so I realized this was a worthwhile thing to do and affordable for the fans at just $10 per book.

My first-ever father-son collaboration on a Kaiju (Japanese Monster) toy for Max Toy Company will preview at SDCC (just the art, not the finished pieces) for founder Mark Nagata, a rock star in his own right when it comes to toys.

I will be joining the panel for HEAVY METAL on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. in Room #8. As you may have read in my autobiography, my very first published piece of work in my career was a HEAVY METAL cover, so naturally, I want to help them celebrate their 35th anniversary. This is my 30th anniversary in the business this year.

My Captain America art will be in the MARVEL Comics Pop-Up book launching at SDCC.

I will be happy to sign my Crimson Empire and Darth Maul Dark Horse Comics covers for anyone who would like an autograph. Autographs are ALWAYS FREE. I will be doing a signing in their booth, so check out their website for the dates/times.

Okay, I think that’s everything for now. If you’re a blogger, reporter or journalist wanting to connect with me at the show, please set up your schedule with my PR firm WriteBrain Media – denise@writebrainmedia.com or call 630.845.4694. If you haven’t already, please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page – I’m very active on there – it’s http://Facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage. Unfortunately, I’m over my limit for people I can friend on my personal page, so I flit back and forth between the two pages these days.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

A Special Thanks to THE DAVE DORMAN EXPERIENCE Winners

Dear Friends,

Despite the frustrating start to my C2E2 Saturday (my car died) I finally got to McCormick Place by 2 p.m., and was only on the floor for about 30 minutes before I had to turn around and connect #TheDaveDormanExperience winners with the limo we arranged to transport them to and from my private residence. My apologies to any fans I missed meeting on Saturday.

Here is an image (courtesy of my caterer Julie Feece) of the winners: Valentin Perales of Houston, TX, Mike Bawden of Bettendorf, IA, me, the driver from H & M Limo, Scott Toth of Clinton Township, MI and Christian Bawden, a student at the Cleveland Art Institute. We were missing winner Dennis Rosado from San Francisco who missed his flight, so I will make it up to him at another date convenient to him.

Here’s a photo of the wonderful meal we shared together in my dining room:

Here’s Valentin watching my live painting demo:

At the end of the night, everyone got an Artist’s Proof of their favorite Star Wars litho and the chance to win the pencil preliminary of the Boba Fett painting I did, plus the actual painting, which I did in acrylic to get it done in time. The prelim winner was Valentin Perales of Texas, and the painting winner was Scott Toth of Michigan! Congrats to both!

We had such a good time, we plan to do this again, so if you have any interest, keep an eye on my blog for details. We could easily do another private event during Wizard World in August of this year.

I want to point out to everyone that my longtime friend and colleague, Marvel/DC comic book and videogame artist Dave DeVries, creator of The Monster Engine was featured on national morning news show CBS This Morning today. Here’s the link to see the feature: http://cbsn.ws/JcGIfI. Kudos to them and producer Andy Merlis (he’s @BrooklynARM on Twitter) for not only producing such a wonderful piece, but for having the bravery to cover “geek” material we don’t typically see on network news. Kudos also to my wife who worked hard to help line produce this piece. If you’re in New York City any time from May 3 – May 31, be sure to check out Dave DeVries’ one-man gallery The Monster Engine show at Sacred Gallery. Here’s the promo for that:

My own one-man gallery show, Pi ala Mode will run through April 29th at Chicago’s Rotofugi Gallery (Lincoln & Diversey Avenues in Chicago). As always, I thank you for reading, and I hope you’re having a great day.

Dave.

A Toy Design First: Dave Dorman and Son Collaborating with Max Toy Company on Monster Toy Design

San Francisco, CA and Chicago, IL– April 11, 2012—Max Toy Company CEO Mark Nagata is pleased to announce his first-ever collaboration with Eisner and Inkpot Award-winning artist Dave Dorman, and Dave Dorman’s seven-year-old son Jack Dorman. This also marks the first time Max Toy Co. has collaborated with a father-and-son team, but according to Nagata, “Dave’s son Jack has already exhibited some uncanny art chops, so this unique team will make for a way cool monster design. Add Dave’s passion for Japanese monsters and his design sense to the mix, and I know this toy will be a best seller.” Nagata, who named his own company after his own son, understands the power of the father-son creative connection.

Dorman, no stranger to toy design, worked with Hasbro for seven years creating G.I. Joe character designs, and also designed the six best-selling Alien: Resurrection action figures toy line for Kenner. Both lines can be seen in Dorman’s autobiography, Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman (IDW Publishing/Desperado Publishing).

Said Dorman, “I am honored to be working with Mark. I’ve been a fan of his toys for a long time and attended his Toy Karma exhibit at Rotofugi here in Chicago. I am equally excited to be working with my son Jack on this project, whose early passion for Domos has evolved into a fascination with Kaiju, in no small part thanks to Max Toy Company’s wonderful Japanese monster toys. This will be one of the most fun and memorable projects I’ve had the good fortune to do.”

Toy progress and teasers will be announced on http://MaxToyCo.com, and Nagata will show teasers during San Diego Comic-Con from the Rotofugi and Dragatomi booths. For more information, please visit http://maxtoyco.com or http://davedorman.com.

About Dave Dorman  

A legendary, beloved figure in the comic book industry often characterized as “one of the nicest guys in comics,” Eisner and Inkpot Award-winning artist Dave Dorman was voted the #1 Star Wars Artist of All Time by the fans ; George Lucas owns more than 90 of Dave Dorman’s original oil paintings. Dorman has created art for every major publisher and licensed character within the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and horror, including but not limited to Batman, Conan the Barbarian, Planet of the Apes, King Kong, Spiderman, Buckaroo Banzai, Captain America, G.I. Joe, Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Lord of the Rings, Alien, Predator, Alien v. Predator, World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and many more.

Dorman has been a featured guest many times at San Diego Comic-Con where he exhibits yearly in Booth #4500 and he is exhibiting this weekend at C2E2 Table I-10. Dorman is also an exhibitor at Star Wars Celebration shows. Dorman’s own I.P., Steampunk motorcycle western The Wasted Lands, is relaunching in 2012. Dorman’s biography and career retrospective book, ROLLING THUNDER: THE ART OF DAVE DORMAN (IDW/Desperado Publishing) is available on Amazon. Dorman’s pencil illustration and traditional oil painting tutorials are available through Hollywood’s The Gnomon Workshop.

Dave Dorman Social Media:

• Website: http://www.davedorman.com/ and http://planetillogica.com/davedorman
• Blog: http://davedorman.wordpress.com
• Twitter: @DaveDorman
• Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman
• Facebook.com/DaveDormanArtist

About Max Toy Company / Mark Nagata

Over the years Mark Nagata has collected thousands of toys and a fair amount of titles. The man behind San Francisco-based Max Toy Company is widely known as: Toy Collector.  Illustrator.  Magazine Founder/Publisher.  Toy Designer.  Artist.  Author.  Husband. Father.  But the one description that might fit best is an unofficial one – Kaiju Toy and Art Ambassador. 

In the Japanese-inspired art and toy area, as well as throughout the larger toy collecting community, Mark is welcomed and recognized for his personal passion and commitment to supporting artists all around the world and the unique works they create. Mark’s devotion to presenting collectors with a selection of original figures inspired by classic Japanese toys from the 1960s and ’70s as well as new versions of licensed Japanese characters is at the heart of Max Toy Company.  Named for his son, Max Toys specializes in custom and limited editions of “kaiju” (Japanese monsters) toys and artwork.

Through Max Toys, Mark, who trained at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and honed his skills as a freelance commercial illustrator, has taken great pains to widen the reach of his two passions – toys and art.  He has helped curate successful art shows throughout the U.S., as well as in Japan and Spain. His artwork and toy designs have been included in numerous books and magazines and his hand-painted custom toys have even been sold through prestigious art houses Philip De Pury and Christie’s in New York and London. The San Francisco resident and his art can also be spotted in the first volume of the “ToyPunks” DVD and the “Toys R Us” DVD, while the video for Owl City’s number one song “Fireflies” features Mark’s popular Kaiju Eyezon character.  In 2010, Mark served as guest lecturer on kaiju and the toy-making process at the Morikami Museum in Florida. While young readers still enjoy his colorful style that graces more than 40 cover paintings for R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps book series – Give Yourself Goosebumps, adults are now snatching up Mark’s toy and artwork with a collector’s zeal, helping to spread the kaiju toy movement worldwide.

Mark Nagata’s Social Media:

• Website:  http://maxtoyco.com
• Toy Karma Blog: http://toykarma.blogspot.com/
• Twitter: @maxtoyco

MEDIA CONTACT:

Denise Dorman/WriteBrain Media

P: 630.845.4695 | M: 630.215.5623 | E: denise@writebrainmedia.com| Tw: @WriteBrainMedia

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The Rumors Are True. I’m Doing DARTH MAUL Covers and…2 More Seats Left for #TheDaveDormanExperience

Dear Friends,

Since StarWars.com has posted the news and I’m no longer under a gag order, I’m pleased to announce that yes, I am doing the Darth Maul covers for the new Dark Horse series Tom Taylor is writing. He’s a great writer, so you’re sure to be entertained, and as you can see, I’m having a total blast painting these covers! This picture was taken at Acme Design this past Saturday by my friend Thomas James Spanos (a 501st Midwest Garrison member who poses a lot for my Star Wars art):

Me with my new Darth Maul cover for Dark Horse Comics - series written by Tom Taylor.

We are in the final couple of days for bidding on “THE DAVE DORMAN EXPERIENCE” so if you’re in town for C2E2, please bid on #TheDaveDormanExperience if you would enjoy:

• Taking a limo from McCormick Place to my private residence & studio on Saturday, April 14th at 4 p.m. and hanging w/me until 10 p.m.
• Joining me for home-cooked meal by my talented friend Chef Julie
• Seeing me live demo painting a new piece of art
• Having a one-in-six chance of WINNING the painting I create on Saturday night in your presence.
• Receiving an artist’s proof of one of my limited edition prints from my private vault.
• Shopping from my private vault for additional artist’s proofs to fill out your collection of my work.

To my knowledge, this is the first time a comic book artist has ever done such an event, so you’re also making pop culture history by joining in on the fun!

Here are the links to bid on the eBay auction – daylight is burning, so bid today or miss out! http://bit.ly/HuK92P and http://bit.ly/I8ylqm. So far, the winners are coming in from California, Iowa, Texas and Michigan. Join us!

Since many of you are coming into town for C2E2, Rotofugi has graciously offered to host a second “Opening Night” of my Pi Ala Mode one-man gallery show at their gallery in Chicago. I will be there at Rotofugi on Friday, April 13th from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. if you would like a personalized tour of my one-man show. It’s about a $25 cab ride from McCormick Place, but you can ALSO shop in Rotofugi –  the world’s coolest designer toy store while you’re checking out my gallery show, so that’s an added bonus!

I have a major announcement that I’m personally very excited about for C2E2 with limited edition, Japanese kaiju/monster designer toy company MaxToyCo owner Mark Nagata, so once Denise has the press release done, I will post it here.

Look for me in Artist’s Alley at C2E2. I will be posting my Table # shortly via Twitter and Facebook. I’m @DaveDorman on Twitter.

Thanks, as always, for your interest and support of my work.

Dave. 

New Dave Dorman Art: See it Live Tonight at Rotofugi!

Dear Friends,

I’m finishing up the last painting for my show, opening tonight at Rotofugi. It is FREE to come to the gallery and see my art and join me at tonight’s opening. For those of you with GPS, they’re located at 2780 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614. For those who can only make it into town for C2E2, please join me next Friday, April 13th for a special C2E2 Weekend showing at 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Here’s one of a few new pieces of art I’m exhibiting tonight at the show – this piece I’ve called AHAB’s WIFE and it’s oil and acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 36″. Let me know what you think of it.

AHAB's WIFE by Dave Dorman 2012

Here’s a sneak peek of the online catalog from Rotofugi with sizes, pricing and availability of each painting: http://www.rotofugi.com/gallery/exhibits/2012-dorman/

Here is a link to my Pi a la Mode Art Catalog, signed by me: http://davedorman.com/picatalogue.shtml

I hope you can join us tonight…or next Friday night during C2E2. I am dedicating this show to my wife, Denise Dorman, whose support, promotion and enthusiasm for my work is unyielding. As always, I thank all of you for your support and interest in my art.

Dave.

Six Lucky Fans Will Come to My Home, See Me Paint and 1 Will Win the Painting

Dear Friends,

It all started this past Thanksgiving. We were with our friends, and my friend’s step-dad was very excited to meet me, have me sign my Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman book for him, and then watch me draw the remarque and just generally hang out all day and talk art and pop culture. Our friends Mary and Julie lamented that this was a rare occurrence for a fan to have personal access to me, and that got this whole crazy ball rolling. Before I knew it, my wife, Mary and Julie had a night planned out at my house, with Julie cooking a gourmet meal (she’s great), and the fans getting unprecedented access to my studio, my collections and a chance to see me painting live and in person. That’s how this whole thing developed. So, we’ve worked out the logistics, such as when it should be held (April 14th, during C2E2, altho’ not affiliated with C2E2 in any way), how to get the fans here (by limo) and what we should include. I will do a live painting demo while everyone’s here, and one of the Lucky Six will win the painting. So…here’s the eBay auction under my wife’s account, which will award one seat per week for the next 3 weeks. I will also post an auction under my account, awarding one seat per week for the next 3 weeks. We will end up with what we’re calling the “Lucky 6,” or six fans, who will get an unprecedented backstage pass to my private world and art. If any of the winners are artists, they will also get a portfolio review, critique and all of the advice they could possibly want. Also joining us will be Discovery TV’s host of GEEK LOVE, and founder of Sci-Fi Speed Dating, Ryan Glitch and his lovely fiancee’ and business partner.

I also want to let you know that ROTOFUGI, one of the hottest, hipster galleries in Chicago for the Juxtapoz/Hi-Fructose magazines and designer toy collectors crowd, has invited me to do a one-man show from April 6th – 30th. I am enormously honored. The timing on this is wonderful, because anyone rolling into town for C2E2 April 12 – 14 can easily cab it over to ROTOFUGI for my one-man show. I’ve named the show Pi Ala Mode: A Tentacley Delicious Feast with Delightful Amuse-Bouches. As you might have guessed, there will be plenty of octopi-laden art, along with a backdrop of eclectic pieces, something to delight anyone’s palate and/or palette, from my 30-year career.

I will have more fun news to post in my next blog about some really fun and creatively rewarding upcoming projects. I’m under embargo not to discuss them until the companies I’m working with do their press releases, or I’d love to be telling you already. I hope all of you Star Wars friends reading this have picked up my latest Dark Horse Comics Crimson Empire book (#5 in the series of 6).

As always, I thank you for reading and for your time and interest.

Dave.

Dave Dorman Art Progressives: Recreating Classic Dave Dorman G.I. Joe Art

Dear Friends,

Most of my fans know that during the mid-’80s to the early ’90s, I worked with Hasbro producing G.I. Joe artwork for their Research and Development Department. This art was done as presentation for the Board of Directors to determine whether any particular character would move forward to future production. My task was to paint the characters designed as 3 1/2″ toys to look like real fighting G.I. Joe characters. None of this work was meant for publication, however, over the years, fans and collectors have seen some of this art via the Web or fan club communications. (One of the future projects I am hoping to get off of the ground is a collection of all of this unseen artwork into a G.I. Joe/Hasbro art volume. I will keep you up to date on information as this project progresses.)

I have many fans contact me directly about the art I did during this period. Recently one of those fans asked if I’d be interested in recreating some of those pieces for his private collection. This is not something that I normally do, but this particular fan showed so much enthusiasm that I thought that it might be fun to see how I would approach these paintings almost 20 years later. I took on his commission for the three recreations and now I present to you one of them as an art progressive:

Pencil on Illustration Board Recreating the Character to Be Painted

Progressive #2:

The original landscape for this painting had a textured rock pattern that I applied with very thick gesso. I repeated that technique on this new board as well.

Progressive #3:

Here I start laying in some of the b/g colors, starting with the explosion in the mid left.

Progressive #4:

The b/g is almost complete at this point with the main figure clean so that when I add color to the figure, it will be unencumbered by underpainting.

Progressive #5:

After the b/g dries, I now lay in the underpainting for the basic colors of the figure.

Progressive #6:

Continuing similar to the previous photo, I lay in the rest of the colors for this figure.

Progressive #7:

With the basic tones being laid down in oils, I now begin the detail work with acrylics, starting with the head and moving downward.

Progressive #8:

Work continues with the acrylics, adding more detail to the body and his equipment.

Progressive #9:

At this point, I've completed some of the finer shadowing details and refinements with various shades of gray markers. You'll note final details on the ground and some color corrections for the background. The above is the finished piece.

This piece was 16″ x 20″ oil, acrylic and marker on gessoed illustration board. It is the exactly the same size as the original Hasbro artwork. If you have comments or questions about this piece, please feel free to post them here.

Many of my G.I. Joe fans have asked me about commission work or recreations. This is the first one I have ever done, and I did enjoy bringing back good memories of working with the artists and creators at Hasbro. I would certainly be happy to do more of this type of work if any of you are interested. Please feel free to email me directly at  dormanart@yahoo.com or message me via Facebook

As always, I thank you for your time and interest in my work.

Dave

It’s Dave-the-Happy-Geek Week

Dear Friends,

I’ve had one of my more interesting weeks in a long time with three really fun surprises in the mail–two being Star Wars-related. The first was a wonderful hoodie from 501st member Daniel Quay, TR-8285 and fan Andrew Marzka of Happy Valley Custom T’s in Pennsylvania. (Andrew’s business phone is (814) 571-2992 if anyone wants great hoodies or t-shirts.) They are concerned I’m not staying warm enough in Chicago, and they are right about that! Here it is:

501st Hoodie from Daniel Quay and Andrew Marzka, Happy Valley Custom T's

I also received my “Save the Lars Homestead” watch in the mail this week with its pure Tunisian Tatooine sand embedded within and the beautiful engraving on the back. My fellow Star Wars junkies are stoked about the watch and the good news is, you can still order them here: http://s395343987.initial-website.com/

Save the Lars Homestead Commemorative Timepiece

Engraving on Back of the Watch

And then there was my bust from Sideshow Collectibles. I ordered this at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2011, and here we are 6 months later and I had almost forgotten about it. Almost, but not quite. What a great surprise! My wife’s friends have insisted she not display it in our foyer, so we’re still finding the right place for it.

My New Zombie Crusade Bust from Sideshow Collectibles

Even better, I just got a Tweet from @MaxToyCo friend Mark Nagata informing me that a box of toys is en route. Could this geek’s week possibly get any better?!? I hope your week is filled with geek touchstones as well.

Dave.

 

DAVE DORMAN STAR WARS CRIMSON EMPIRE PRELIMS FOR SALE: OWN A PIECE OF POP CULTURE HISTORY

Dear Friends,

Thanks to all who attended the HorrorSociety.com-sponsored horror art show MALEFICIUM last night at Kosart Effects Studios & Gallery in Westmont, IL and hung out with my wife Denise and me. From today through mid December, you can book a viewing by appointment only, so contact J. Anthony Kosar if you want to spend quality time surrounded in rooms full of art by me, Tony Akins, Charlie Athanas Kyle Bice, Brian Busch, Melissa “MissMonster” Curphy, Samantha DeCarlo, Ray Frenden, Aron Gagliardo, Ashton Gallagher, Tom Herzberg, Doug Klauba, Kenn Kooi, J. Anthony Kosar (the Boaris Frankenswine life-sized pig he did is off the hook!) Rich Kryczka, Joseph Larkin, Joe Lester, Darick Maasen, Matthew McCarty, Menton Matthews III, Aaron Miller, Bill Reinhold, Chad Savage, Jason Seiler, Tim Shumate, Ben Templesmith, Jill Thompson and Bill Ystrom. There is SO MUCH gorgeous horror art, horror action figures and sculptures, it’s almost too much to take it all in, but all of the hipsters and cool kids are seeing it, so you should, too. There are prints for sale of the art as well and we hope you take advantage of this limited time opportunity.

I wanted to mention that the auction ends today for my Star Wars Crimson Empire pencil prelim, the artwork which is now on the cover of the Dark Horse Comics issue in your local comic book store. Here’s the link to place your bid and own a piece of pop culture history: http://bit.ly/tWZvlQ 

Dave Dorman's Star Wars Crimson Empire Cover Art Prelim, Now on eBay

My CAT WOMAN erotic girl art is also still up for sale on eBay, auction ending tonight as well – to view that, see my last blog posting or click here to place your bid! http://bit.ly/w09S8L

Today I’ll be painting all day, with the occasional break to see what you’re all up to on Facebook and Twitter, finally carving our pumpkin (we’re thinking an Angry Birds face design), and then watching “WALKING DEAD” tonight on AMC. FYI, I may be switching my personal Facebook account over to a FB Fan Page, which makes no difference to those of you connected to me, but I guess I lose a few pictures or something. No biggie. I have them all saved on my computer. It’s getting to the point where the 20 new friends per day are going to exceed my 5,000 limit for friends and once that happens, I don’t want to be hanging out on two different pages. If you want to connect with me on all of my social networks, here’s my 411:

Dave Dorman on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Dave Dorman on FaceBook: http://fb.com/davedormanartist

Dave Dorman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/davedorman

As always, I thank you for reading, commenting and taking an interest in my work. It’s what keeps me going and keeps me painting.

Dave.

Dave Dorman New Star Wars Crimson Empire Art, Horror Art, Some Studio Pictures and Some News

Dear Friends,

First off, here’s a video of the new SPECTRUM 18 book: My art is featured at about 2:18 and 5:18 in this video: http://bit.ly/uOTP3G

Also, here’s the new-on-the-retail shelves cover I did for the first new STAR WARS CRIMSON EMPIRE comic by DARK HORSE:

STAR WARS CRIMSON EMPIRE COVER ART By DAVE DORMAN

I got a nice review from Geeks of Doom, which you can see here: http://bit.ly/rSyjuC

I hope some of you are coming out to the “MALEFICIUM” multimedia horror art show at Kosart Effects Studios & Gallery on Saturday night in Westmont, IL – a Chicago western suburb. It is on the order of more of a New York show with the caliber of talent involved, so we hope to see some of you there. I did a fun new horror piece here below, and in keeping with my sense of humor, I did a little “Rocky and Bullwinkle” thing with the title, which I am calling  “The Portrait of an Artist as a  Tortured Soul ,” or: “Cthulu! Gesundheit!”

Cthulu: Gesundheit! by Dave Dorman Oil and Acrylic on Canvas

Okay, here are some goofy pictures of a quick walk down to my “Dave Cave,” a.k.a. my studio. We have a house built into a hill, so we have a walkout basement, and I have taken the entire basement over as my studio. It’s sort of like a “garden apartment” with a lot of light coming in the windows, which are above ground. I didn’t stage any of this, just took some impromptu pictures, so forgive the mess. More pictures to come, but I really must clean some of the mess before I go posting them on the web.

Here’s what you see when you come down the basement stairs. My wife and I are big fans of BBC comedy League of Gentlemen, hence the Royston Vasey signage. At the foot of the stairs is a piece that brings me a lot of joy, a Star Wars painting by my friend Christopher Moeller. On the right you’ll see the hint of my Rocketeer cut-out, which was a character created by a dear friend, the late, great artist Dave Stevens.

Entrance to the Dave Cave...Beware!

When you get to the bottom of the stairs, here’s what you’ll see – my treasured autographs from 501st Members from around the world that I gathered during Star Wars Celebration shows. It brings me a lot of joy to see these every day.

You Are Now in the Dave Cave...

Another Viewpoint of the Entrance to the Dave Cave

My father-in-law built me all of these wonderful built-in shelves and I really use them. You’ll see there’s a “Dog Fight” game on my shelf. My brother Jeff and I played this game as kids. We were never allowed to keep our toys as we were military brats, always moving from base to base and having to give up all of our toys. I saw this one day on eBay and I HAD. TO. HAVE. IT. Now I’m addicted to toys, and intent on keeping every toy I have. Sometimes I share with my son, but not always.

Here are some paintings you may recognize to the right wall walking toward my great room of the Dave Cave. The cleavage painting in latex on the right is for sale. Make me an offer.

Right Hallway of the Dave Cave, Leading Into the Great Room

Here is the wall to the left, walking down that same hallway.

Crimson Empire Cover Art Rests on the Left-Side Hallway Wall