My Updates, A New Year’s Sale, and 2013 Plans!

Hi Everyone! And Happy New Year!!

2012 was an interesting year (to paraphrase the old Chinese proverb). I had a great year creatively and not so good health-wise. I had a great run on Darth Maul covers for Dark Horse Comics, and had the opportunity to produce another great widescreen style print for the Star Wars Celebration VI last August. In addition, I took the time to paint some personal pieces and found great confidence and strength in the freedom of creativity that I was able to channel into those pieces. I believe that has come through in my commercial work as well, and I feel that I am doing the best work of my career at this point. I am very much looking forward to carrying this into 2013 and beyond! (More on those projects down below…)

Health-wise it was a very weird year. I am usually a pretty strong guy as far as my personal health, but 2012 hit me unexpectedly hard. At the beginning of the summer I caught the flu, which eventually turned into walking pneumonia. Unfortunately that hit me during the time of the San Diego Convention, so if you saw me there and I did not seem myself, that’s why. I eventually got over that and felt better for about a month, then at the beginning of November I was hit with an appendicitis. Fortunately, I knew what it was (with a little self-diagnosis help from the “interweb”) and Denise took me to the hospital the next morning before it could rupture. The doctor removed my appendix and I started to feel better for a couple days, and then I began to feel worse. Without going into the painful details, I spent the next four weeks with complications and a misdiagnosis that just kicked my butt to the point where I was almost bedridden.

Finally with the advice of a doctor friend and the urging of Denise, we went to my family practitioner for some help. He immediately ordered blood tests and then promptly put me back in the hospital the next day, finding I had an abscess where my appendix was, and it was the size of a softball. Within a day of them taking care of this, I was feeling so much better. I was in the hospital for this during the first week of December, and was so happy to be feeling better for the upcoming Holiday season.

While I am still recovering, (I am almost back to 100% now), it made me realize how lucky I am to have the things God has given me. My wife, my amazing son, my family and friends, and the talent and creativity that drives me to continue to be the best I can be in all I do.

But most of all, I would like to thank all of you who have written and emailed and Facebooked during the last two months following this horrible event of mine. It was so helpful to keep my mental strength up and the desire to get past this to be able to get back to painting and creating the art you all look forward to, and the work I take so much pleasure in creating. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Now…onto 2013!

I plan a few things for the coming year and who knows where work will take me as the year progresses. The two big things I am proud to work on will be personal projects–both through Kickstarter–as I will be publishing them myself. The first will be “NEMO,” a triptych of large canvas paintings reproduced in a series of affordable prints to high-end Giclees.  There will also be a “Making of” book, and possibly a video DVD to accompany it.  More to come on this as I finish the art.

The other big project I am so happy to announce–finally–is the continuation of my “RAIL” graphic novel series. It has been quite a while since the original edition appeared, and following the problems with the original publisher, and the distractions that life throws at you, I am just now finally getting back to my personal project. I plan on reworking some of the material in the original RAIL book and offering a new edition through KICKSTARTER. I am hoping to be able to fund both this revised edition and the first sequel. My intent is to publish all four books in this series myself, with support from all of you, my fans. Quite a few of you have asked when the follow-up will be coming. I hope 2013 will see this happen.  I will have more on this very soon as I pull this together. Keep watching.

DAVE DORMAN PRINT SALE

I had a lot of fans asking if I was going to have a holiday print sale this year. Unfortunately my illness prevented me getting this ready for a pre-holiday sale. But I figured, “Why not start the New Year right for those interested decorating their walls?” So I have decided to offer the print sale as a New Year’s Sale! This sale can be found on this page of my website: http://www.davedorman.com/swprints2013sale.shtml

The sale will only go until midnight Jan. 5, and I will send out the prints the week of Jan 7. I hope you can find something you like!

I will endeavor to update this blog a little more frequently now that I’m home and healthy again. And I THANK YOU again for all your well wishes during this past 2 months. With my reinvigorated health and drive to create, I do not think you will be disappointed with what 2013 will bring for us.

May God bless you all with health and prosperity in 2013. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

DAVE.