Dave Dorman Star Wars Celebration VI – 30 Prints Still Available and More News

Dear Friends,

Through an agreement with Lucasfilm, I am able to sell my remaining unsold prints from SWCVI. I have approximately 30 prints available and I am happy to announce I can now offer them to those who could not attend the show in person.

Here is the order link:

http://www.davedorman.com/swc6print.shtml

Additionally, I wanted to update everyone that I will be attending Cincinnati Comic Expo in less than two weeks – from September 22-23. I want to shout out a special thanks to our friend Kevin Dugan, who made us aware of this convention. The headline to this story is that Stephen Bissette and I will reunite for the very first time since our Eisner and Bram Stoker Award-winning book, “ALIENS: TRIBES.”Stephen and I will do a panel on that book, which was revolutionary for graphic novel publishing, and still holds up today.

ALIENS: TRIBES by Stephen Bissette and Dave Dorman

Additionally, Stephen Bissette was my classmate and fellow “Kubie” at The Joe Kubert School of Comic and Graphic Art, so he and I will do a panel on our fond remembrances and appreciation of Joe Kubert. Here is the tribute art that Neal Adams did of Joe Kubert’s graduates – I was honored to be in the piece, and Stephen Bissette stands beside me. Jan Duursema and Tom Mandrake were also in our class.

Dave Dorman, Top Left, Next to Stephen Bissette in Neal Adams Tribute to Joe Kubert

I was saddened to see a lot of “trolls” disrespecting Joe Kubert, his students, and his school on Stephen’s blog, and we will address those controversial comments as well. I can assure you that Joe Kubert always thought of his students first, as was evidenced when he cut me loose during my first portfolio review; Joe felt that I had “graduated” in terms of what I could learn there. I wanted to learn to paint covers, and since I attended during their second year of operation, they weren’t set up to teach me color work. Joe could have continued to collect tuition from me, but Joe Kubert put me and my career needs first, ahead of the much-needed tuition in the early days. (I also want to mention that Stephen Bissette is also reuniting with his “Swamp Thing” collaborators for the first time during a panel at Cincinnati Comic Expo, so attendees may want to see that as well).

In other news, I’m assistant coaching my young son’s flag football team, and that has been a lot of fun. Many of you know that football was my sport at Friendly, MD high school in the late ’70s; I played defensive end in my junior year on the team that won the state championship, the first in our history. Those were heady times, fondly remembered.

On October 6th at 2 p.m., I will be signing at the Barnes & Noble in West Dundee, IL, helping the patrons celebrate STAR WARS DAY. If you live in the Chicagoland/Northern Illinois area, I hope you can come out and join us.

On October 26 – 28, I will be exhibiting at Geek Media Expo in Franklin, Tennessee and I hope that those of you who live in the area can come out and see me. While you’re there, be sure to check out my friend Leonardo Ramirez’ steampunk children’s book, “JUPITER CHRONICLES.”  Joining us will be Michael Koske, my wife Denise’s client, who is a “walker” or zombie on AMC TV’s WALKING DEAD series. Michael is in the brotherhood we know as the 501st, and we look forward to seeing him again after Star Wars Celebration VI.

That’s all the news for today. I thank you for your time, interest and support.

Dave.

Dave Dorman #SWCVI Pre-Orders Counter Is Now Officially Open for Business!

Hi Everyone!

The Pre-Orders Counter is Open for Business! I thank each of you for your interest in pre-ordering my new Star Wars Celebration VI Print titled Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor. Here is how the finished art looks:

Final Art: Dave Dorman’s Star Wars Celebration VI Fine Art Limited Edition Lithograph

This print features a look at the Imperial Base construction site on the Moon of Endor, which is seen as a staging point for the Emperor’s mightiest weapon: The Second Death Star. We see Lord Vader himself supervising construction with a keen eye, ready to report back personally to the Emperor himself.

I had a great deal of fun working on this piece. Once again, I tried capturing a scene not filmed, but intricately tied into the storyline of the film. In this case, it was a “missing scene” from Star Wars: Episode 6 Return of the Jedi. This piece features some of my favorite troopers–the Scouts–and for those fans who have asked me hundreds of times over the years, have I ever painted Ewoks?…well, here you go!

Here are details for you:

Pre-Order Rules: Only those attending and picking up the prints in person at Star Wars Celebration VI can place an order…or: If you can arrange for someone else to pick up your order, that is fine, but you must contact me at dormanart@yahoo.com and give me their name.

Price: $80. Here’s my reasoning: My previous Celebration prints have been priced at $100, but I have lowered this year’s print price to $80 to reflect the current economy. I felt uncomfortable pricing the print as high as previous editions, knowing that finances are limited for the great majority of fans and collectors, myself included.

Paper: The lithograph is printed on an archival paper, of the same quality as previous years

Dimensions: Widescreen style, 20” x 36”

Quantity: It is limited to 250 copies

Autograph: Each limited edition lithograph is signed and numbered by me, Dave Dorman

Specifying Your Print Number: If you would like a specific number, please make a note of that on the Paypal order form so that Denise can track it in her spread sheet. I will do my best to deliver the number you ask for, but it will be a first come, first serve situation. You may wish to submit an alternate number in the event that your preferred number is already taken.

Remarques: Due to contractual reasons, I cannot add a remarque to your pre-paid drawing prior to the show. All remarques must be done at the show, in person. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at dormanart@yahoo.com

ORDER YOUR PRINT HERE & NOW!: Go to  http://www.davedorman.com/swc6print.shtml to place your order directly from me thru’ PayPal. You will find the ordering button as you scroll down that page.

On-Site Sales at SWCVI: If you prefer, you can purchase your print from me at the show. These prints have always sold out, so getting in your pre-order is a prudent decision.

Where to Find Me: I will be at Booth #939 in the regular section of the show, not in the ACME Artists Section. My booth information will also be included as a friendly reminder in the confirmation email you receive from me for your pre-order.

As always, I thank each of you for your interest in my work and for supporting my career. I look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

Dave.

Dave Dorman’s New Star Wars Celebration VI Art: ATST’s and EWOKS! Your Questions Answered!

Dear Friends,

After StarWars.com posted my new art for the Star Wars Celebration VI Limited Edition fine art print, “Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor,” many of you had praise and an equal number of you had questions for me, so this blog is addressing your questions about the art. I did this piece to incorporate the elements that I enjoy – the ATST’s, the Ewoks, the Biker Scouts, who are the hot rodders of the Imperial Guard – in a scene that has never been, but nonetheless plays out in my own theater of the mind. Note: Please be sure to check out my other artist friends producing prints who are also listed the Celebration VI Gallery at StarWars.com.

Star Wars Celebration VI Art by Dave Dorman, Unfinished.

Before moving ahead, I just wanted to clarify that the image I’m showing you here is unfinished. I still have more work to do – a few added elements and tonal changes and color corrections. I will post the actual final version after I return from San Diego Comic-Con.

#1. Why is Darth Vader surrounded by Imperial Guards? First off, this was a compositional decision. I needed to draw your eye’s attention to Vader, and the bold red of the Imperial Guards against the cool earth tones of the rest of the piece ensures that he commands your attention. If he were just sandwiched among Storm Troopers, you wouldn’t readily notice Vader. Secondly, Vader is overseeing the Emperor’s construction of the second Death Star, so the Imperial Guards are ensuring and reporting back that nothing is amiss on the Moon of Endor.

#2. What’s with the ATST’s? The Moon of Endor is a forested planet, so naturally, deforesting needed to be part of the construction for the Base Camp. In my mind’s eye, the ATST’s made perfect sense as the laborers in this scenario, due to their strength and adaptability. After all, the “AT” in ATST does stand for “All Terrain,” so I replaced their heavy gun array with claws.

#3. Why the Ewoks? Over the years, I’ve had literally hundreds of fans request that I paint Ewoks, so this piece is my tip of the hat to those fans. Obviously the Ewoks are resisting the intrusion from the Empire, so they are creating chaos and getting arrested in this scene.

#3. What is the cost of the print? Like many of you, I have been hit hard by this horrendous economy, so rather than the typical $100 cost for my previous Celebration limited edition prints, this year I have lowered the cost to $80. I wanted to ensure that you have money to spend on other items at SWCVI as well. I’m a fan, too, and I know I would like it if my dollar stretched further.

#4. How can I pre-order this print? Lucasfilm has changed their contract, so please watch for me to post pre-order information on this blog and my Facebook Fan Page, which is http://facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage. At this time I’m not prepared to take pre-orders, so please do not email now. However, after I return from San Diego around July 20^th, I will make a posting of all of the information needed to preorder this print. As stated previously, the edition is limited to 250 copies, so those who have purchased prints from me before and would like a matching number, I will also be able to take that information when ordering begins.

I will be posting a separate blog about my San Diego Comic-Con news, probably tomorrow, so stay tuned. I apologize for the radio silence, but I’ve been slammed with deadlines. I’ve been posting the work I’m doing on my Facebook Fan Page, so you’re probably aware that I just did a Pathfinder cover for Dynamic Forces and I’m doing the Darth Maul covers for Dark Horse Comics. Probably the biggest surprise is my first-ever limited edition Battlestar Galactica (2004 series) fine art print that we’ll be unveiling at San Diego Comic-Con with ANOVOS. I also have a Kaiju Japanese Monster design to unveil there – my first-ever collaboration with my son Jack for Max Toy Company and Mark Nagata. It’s been a busy but fun and creatively rewarding summer so far!

I have added a lot of public appearances to my schedule, so I will go over those in my next blog as well. For those of you near Northern Illinois, I will be appearing at Comic Book Mania – a small but growing convention at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, Illinois this coming Saturday, July 7^th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Joining me will be my artist friends Doug Klauba and Cory Carani, among many other talents appearing there.

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. 

Happy Holidays from Dave Dorman & Some Cool Gifts to Share

Dear Friends,

If your household is like mine, Lucasfilm, Amazon and Apple retailers got the majority of your greenbacks this year. Santa was good to me this year and here’s a highlight of my favorite gifts and holiday cards:

I got The Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic, by Chronicle Books, a fine art book that also has lengthy descriptions on the creation of the game itself, not just the preproduction artwork. My son and I have been playing and are on Level 15 so far. It’s a wonderful game.

Me with my new Star Wars: The Old Republic art book

I also received Genius Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, by IDW Publishing, which is the best book I’ve received all year. It is a beautifully made compilation of Toth’s early formative years as an artist, and it’s the first of three books to cover Toth’s career. It’s an exciting start to the series and I’m really looking forward to the subsequent volumes. The production on this hardcover book was just amazing and the material that the authors dug through and found to represent in this book was truly astounding, covering Toth’s formative work, both in comics and illustration. I highly recommend it. If you are an Alex Toth fan, you should also pick up my friend John Hitchcock’s book, which chronicles his correspondence and friendship with Toth in the later years of his life. It’s a real treasure. John is a master storyteller and if you’re ever lucky enough to hang out with him, you will see what I mean by that.

My Favorite Book in 2011: The Life and Art of Alex Toth

I was also happy to receive this Christmas card, postcard and trading card from our friend Kevin-Kim, TK-1023 in the German Garrison of the 501st. That was a nice surprise. (My son is in his new Star Wars pajamas from Santa).

My Gifts from 501st German Garrison Kevin-Kim, TK-1023

In other news, we’ve been working hard on updating my Facebook fan page. With the rate at which I’m getting friend requests on Facebook, I will have to split my time between my Facebook Fan Page and my Facebook personal page as I fear I will run out of spaces to add friends on my personal page. I do plan to maintain both, but please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page; we are working hard to get that page up to speed this year with decent graphics, contests, fan exclusives and more. We will be doing a Fan Page for my own creator-owned series The Wasted Lands and I will announce that here shortly.

In other news, I am very pleased with the traction my artist friend Dave DeVries is getting with his own creator-owned concept, The Monster Engine. His site went viral again this month overseas and people all over Asia and Europe are discovering him. This project is really deserving of a TV series, a movie and a videogame and I hope we see it happen in 2012.

Thanks, as always, for reading my post. I’m @DaveDorman on Twitter and I do respond to direct Tweets, and I’m an open networker on LinkedIn, so please connect with me there as well. I am happy to review your products online (tech, movie, books, comics, music, nerd and geek products are my sweet spot) and to do so, please write to WriteBrain Media, Attn: Denise Dorman, P.O. Box 417, Carpentersville, IL 60110 and put “Dave Dorman Blog Review” in the subject. If you need marketing, social media or PR advice, follow Denise @writebrainmedia on Twitter or “Like” her fan page at Facebook.com/WriteBrainMedia.

Dave.

Dave Dorman First Ever Star Wars Prints Exclusive Holiday Sale – $50 Until Midnight December 11th

Dear Friends,

As we approach the holidays, Star Wars enthusiasts (like me) always love a good deal, so I am offering you this rare opportunity to own Star Wars prints at a deep discount. The deadline is midnight on December 11th, as I want to ensure I can get these to you in time for Christmas. I have Artist Proofs of some of your most favorite pieces of my Star Wars art available, including some from the Star Wars Celebration shows. Most are $50, some are $30. All are signed by me, and identified as Artist Proofs. For an additional $20, you can request a remarque. Here’s the link to where you can purchase the prints:

http://www.davedorman.com/swholidaysale.shtml

Here’s what’s I’m offering you for a very limited time at a deep discount:

A Slight Disturbance in the Force on the Battlefield of Hoth

And this…

Lord Vader's Persuasion of the Outer Rim to Join the Empire

And this…

Incident on the Jundland Wastes, Tattoine

And this…

Rise of the Sith

And this…

In the Court of Jabba the Hut by Dave Dorman

And this…

Battle of Hoth

And this…

Dewback Patrol: Star Wars: A New Hope by Dave Dorman

And this…

Heroes of the Alliance by Dave Dorman

And this…

Smuggler's Moon by Dave Dorman

And this…

Tales of the Jedi by Dave Dorman

And this…

Legacy of the Jedi by Dave Dorman

And this…

Han Solo and Chewbacca by Dave Dorman

And this…

Leia as Boussh by Dave Dorman

And this…

Wedge Antilles by Dave Dorman

And this…

Darth Vader: Dynamic Forces Edition

ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer was focusing hard on finding Made in the U.S.A. holiday gifts. Well, here they are! And you can FEEL GOOD about giving these gifts – I’m giving back – 10% of all sales goes to non-profit USACares.org (helping military families in financial need) and 10% of all sales goes to non-profit Elgin Academy, a unique independent school with an amazing track record for academics and cultivating future leaders.

I thank you all in advance for your interest in my work. Here’s a link to my recent podcast interview on AlphaNerd in Tasmania, Australia:

http://www.alphanerd.me/?p=1188

I hope you enjoy it. They were a lot of fun to talk to and I hope to do some shows in Australia soon so I can have a pint with these guys at their local pub.

Merry Christmas to all of you from me.

Dave.

Dave Dorman’s The 5 Essential Truths of Art Directing

Dear Friends,

After a lecture at Chicago’s Columbia College this past Thursday night for Dave P.’s character visualization art class, my wife Denise asked me to write an article on boiling down art direction to five essential truths. Below is what I came up with.  I sit on both sides of the desk, doing the art for art directors, and doing the actual art direction, so I have very definite opinions based on my 30 years of experience. I even taught a class for the Florida 4th District Advertising Federation on How to Art Direct the Art Director. All of you artists and art directors following me, let me know if you agree, disagree or have tips you would like to add to this list?

Dave Dorman’s 5 Essential Truths for Art Direction

#1. You MUST review the artist’s comprehensive portfolio. Don’t judge an artist by just one piece in their portfolio. Look closely at all of the elements.  Ask them to show you the pieces that aren’t online. Does anything contained within match your needs for your project? What are the strengths of the artist? What are their weaknesses? Do they or can they paint in the style you need? Ask yourself, “Is this artist capable of giving me the art I need for this particular project?”

Real-World Example: Someone looking at my portfolio might think I only do muscled super heroes or hyper realism, but truth be told, I did a lot of manga early in my career for Robotech covers, I did toy design for Hasbro,  and I did very loose children’s illustration for Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings trading cards.

#2. Always provide a thorough review of the project with the artist. Ensure they understand your needs for the art and that they are comfortable in delivering the goods. An artist who does killer character design may be strong in creature art, but weak in landscape or architectural backgrounds.

Real World Example: Just because I did a detailed background on one painting doesn’t mean that I want to put that amount of work into every single painting I do. Personally, I hate painting architecture. If an art director wanted me to do a Stephan Martiniere cityscape, I would be up front in declining and saying, “No thanks. Here’s Stephan’s phone #.”

#3. A good art director should never ask the artist if they paint traditionally or digitally. First off, the art director’s eye should be trained to see the difference. There are effects you cannot get with digital, and there are effects you cannot get with traditional. Secondly, the final art is the final art, delivered digitally, no matter what tool(s) you used to get the final product. Any Star Wars painting I do with light sabers, I am taking into Photoshop to get that perfect glow on the light saber, although the original piece is oil on illustration board or a combo of oil and acrylic. Mind you, I could whip out my old air brush and get that same effect, but why go through the hassle when I can do it in PhotoShop?

Here's a painting with traditional and Photoshop Combined

With the plethora of art directors now being of the age that they came through their art education via digital art and very rarely–if ever–touching traditional media to produce their final art, I have seen a definite bias in those art directors to choose artists who work in the directors’ preferred medium: digital. The art should speak for itself regardless of the medium in which it’s created. I believe that if the art director is contacting the artist to do a project, then they are judging the artist by the art they see, whether it’s digital or traditional.

Real World Example: I had an art director call me once, absolutely raving about my Alien art. She had a big project for me, and I was eager to do the project, because it was right in my wheelhouse. Then she asked dreaded question: Do you paint digitally? I don’t, and the project instantaneously evaporated, despite the fact that my look and feel was a perfect match for her project. I believe this art director is short-sighted and I hope she has wizened up since then.

Graphic Novel Cover of Aliens: Hive by Dave Dorman

#4. Never, EVER assume an artist is outside of your budget. If you like someone’s art, speak with them FIRST about your budget before you strike them off of your list. Any freelancer can attest, we have months when we make a king’s ransom, and we have months when we go hungry. There’s rarely consistency unless you’re working on a videogame project, and even then, that consistent money can go away after a year or two.

Real World Example: As a traditional artist, I will often take on projects for little to no money, because I know I’m working on a licensed piece and I will have an actual painting that I can sell to collectors for top dollar once the project is completed. Obviously, digital artists are at a major disadvantage here! I once did a cover for the now-defunct but uber-cool GEEK Monthly magazine, for their San Diego Comic-Con issue. I was the first-ever painted cover they’d published. They were afraid to ask me to do a cover because they assumed they’d never be able to afford me. I did the piece for free. My piece was a modern day Transformer alongside a 1980s Transformer. I did it for free because I knew it was great publicity for the audience I wanted to reach, and then there was the value of the physical painting. I turned around and donated the painting to my favorite charity, USACares.org, to help raise funds for their not-for-profit, helping financially challenged active military families.

GEEK Monthly Cover I Did for FREE

Side note: I wish someone would revive a magazine like GEEK Monthly. It was brilliant, I never missed an issue and I miss it.

#5. As an Art Director, it’s your duty in fairness to your artist to have your project details organized properly. 

Real World Example: I once painted a beautiful sci-fi comic book cover, based on a major license you would all know. AFTER I delivered the piece, they broke the news to me that they didn’t have likeness rights. You can imagine my disappointment. I think the fans were less than satisfied with the piece, probably thinking to themselves that it was lame without the likenesses.

Another Real World Example: I painted a beautiful sci-fi cover for a major license you would all know, but they were in the midst of filming the movie, and they were afraid to provide me with photo reference of an actor I had never seen before, for fear it would “leak out.” First of all, that would never happen on my watch, and it was frustrating for me that they trusted me enough to paint their licensed characters, but not enough to provide me with proper reference. They literally provided me with a postage stamp-sized photo reference and I could not get the facial features right without decent reference.  Eventually they capitulated, but it took a lot of back and forth.

So…let me know your thoughts. I am interested to hear your frustrations with artists and art directors and your “master list.”

In other news, I think I will be converting my Facebook Group Page for The Wasted Lands to a Facebook Fan Page soon, so please watch for that. For those of you unfamiliar with it, The Wasted Lands is my own I.P. (Intellectual Property) – an alternate universe, adrenaline-pumping motorcycle western action adventure with Steampunk aesthetics. If you like it, let me know. Given the rate of growth of my personal page on Facebook, I will likely transition it over to a Fan Page soon as I’m going to hit the limit soon to people I can friend.

I recorded a 2-hour interview last night with Alpha Nerd podcast out of Australia, so I will be posting that link here as soon as I have it.

Well, I’m off to watch Godzilla v. Mothra with my son. It’s so much fun having a mini-me!

As always, thanks for reading,

Dave.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/davedormanartist

Twitter: @DaveDorman

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Website: http://davedorman.com and http://wastedlands.com

Publicity Firm: http://writebrainmedia.com | @writebrainmedia

 

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

Dave Dorman STAR WARS: COMICS Cover Art Front and Center at Barnes and Noble Today

Dear Friends,

Imagine my surprise and delight at seeing the new Abrams Publishing book, STAR WARS: COMICS with my cover art featured front and center at the Barnes & Noble in West Dundee, IL just now! Here’s the image:

DAVE DORMAN STAR WARS BOOK COVER at BARNES & NOBLE TODAY!

And here are some magazines I bought today – Imagine FX and HI FRUCTOSE. One-time comic book artist Kent Williams is featured in this issue of HI FRUCTOSE. Having moved on both personally and professionally from comic art to “fine art” or “low brow art,” this article shows us Williams’ art as what is truly inside him.

Magazines I Bought Today at Barnes & Noble

I want to give a shout-out to WARREN JACOBSEN, a fan and friend in Avinger, TX who brought me the t-shirt w/my Star Wars art on it that I posted a couple of days ago. I’m glad he granted me permission to publicly thank him. He reports that the t-shirt was actually at TARGET (at our house, it gets the French TAR-JHAY pronunciation) not Wal-Mart. He shared that this particular shirt w/my art was the only one sold out in the series. Here’s hoping someone at licensing in Lucasfilm is keeping track of “public sentiment.” No, I receive no royalties from the sales of the shirt, as it was a work-for-hire project, but it’s gratifying to hear it’s selling so well and fans still appreciate the art.

I am judging a children’s “healthy lifestyles, healthy living” art competition for kids ages 5-12 on behalf of Fox Valley Women and Children’s Health Partners in St. Charles, IL – the Top 12 winners will become part of the practice’s calendar that will sell to the public and raise money for the North Aurora Mother’s Club, so you Fox Valley families out there reading this, please send jpegs of your art (high res scans) to ddorman@fvwchp.com. The deadline for art submissions is November 15th.

I plan to write more over the weekend and give you some feedback on the AMON TOBIN concert I’m seeing tonight with my friend Charlie Athanas, as well as some other project updates.

As always, thanks for reading. 

DAVE.

Creator ,“THE WASTED LANDS.”