"Abomination," 12” x 16” oil and acrylic on panel, for Children of Dune by Frank Herbert from @foliosociety. • “A face formed itself upon her awareness. It was a smiling face of such fatness that it could have been a baby’s except for the glittering eagerness of the eyes. She tried to pull back, but achieved only a longer view which included the body attached to that face.”

One thing I love about science fiction is its ability to reflect our own reality and give us a different perspective on it. I can’t say I’ve experienced the full-on cacophony of genetic memory as Alia does. But metaphorical voices fighting for dominance of my psyche? I think we all know that feeling to some degree. A thought from Ghanima about Alia’s condition: “Alia denied what she was and became that which she most feared. The past-within cannot be relegated to the unconscious.”

Frontispiece for “Children of Dune” by Frank Herbert from @foliosociety

Exciting news that the @foliosociety edition of Children of Dune by Frank Herbert is now available!

The ghola, Hayt: A being reconstructed from the dead flesh of the original man whose appearance “positively melts the female psyche,” a Tleilaxu thing who is both man and mask, bearer of gleaming metal eyes, a Mentat, a Zensunni philosopher, a swordmaster — a complex character, indeed. Truth be told, I did swoon a few times while painting this, though thankfully my psyche remains intact. • Created for the illustrated edition of Dune: Messiah from The Folio Society

Thrilled to share that Dune: Messiah by Frank Herbert is now available as part of The Christmas Collection from The Folio Society! It was a dream creating 8 interiors, 10 chapter headings, cover, and slipcase for this illustrated edition. • I feel incredibly fortunate to have created work for a book I love so much, and I hope the images contribute something extra for readers. A huge thank you to The Folio Society and AD Sheri Gee for trusting me with this project and for taking such care in the production details. The end product is a stunning collector’s item that I’m very proud to be a part of. I can’t wait to share more of the work with you. • On creating the cover (without spoilers): The cover depicts Alia dressed in ceremonial garb as the head of the empire’s religious wing. Her rites and rituals strengthen the symbolism around Muad’Dib: a lowly desert creature transformed into an infinite godhead.

We wanted to keep continuity with FS’s edition of the first book, illustrated by Sam Weber (incidentally one of my favorite illustrators). So, Alia’s veil is a link back to Sam’s final illustration in Dune, which depicts Alia as small child. For me, the veil is a nod to the danger of prescience to lock the practitioner onto a fixed path, paradoxically limiting their view. Increasingly in Dune: Messiah, Alia represents religious dogma and the danger of having “blind faith” in a supreme figure or philosophy, so obscuring her eyesight seemed appropriate. And we also get this fitting line early in DM: “Such a rich store of myths enfolds Paul Muad’Dib…and his sister, Alia, it is difficult to see the real persons behind these veils.”

Joy March, oil on panel, 30” x 36”

I was thinking about what I add to the world as a creator, as well as what I put out as a byproduct of consumption. In their own ways, each type of output can lead to our undoing as well as our re-making.

Close Instant, 11"x14", oil on panel. I repainted parts of this piece, had it framed, and it’s now up in my shop. I’ll also have it with me at Illuxcon - See you there!

I started collecting plants during the pandemic as a way to bring the outside in. It might sound boring to some, but I love observing the unique way each plant pushes forward into the world and flourishes through tiny, yet persistent changes. Propagation is an especially fascinating process: By pruning a plant, you not only encourage fresh growth in the older plant, but you can also create entirely new plants from the cuttings. Indoor plants are a reminder of how amazing our planet is, and observing them gives me hope for symbiosis and perseverance. Available today on Every Day Original. Propagation, 5”x7”, oil on panel, framed, $375

Detail of something new coming to Every Day Original on Monday 10/4.

Available today via Every Day Original ----- Often when I’m reading a novel, passages jump out to me and take on meaning independent from their original context. For example, I love these lines on their own near the beginning of "The Names" by Don DeLillo: “The sound was mysterious…a charged rumble that seemed a long time in defining itself as something besides a derangement of nature, some onrushing nameless event.” I love how non-specific and evocative these lines are, and how they’re open to interpretation. They capture a feeling I have from time to time, and this painting is an exploration of that feeling. ----- "Onrushing Nameless Event", 6"x12", oil on panel, framed, $450

Preliminary studies for “The Commuter,” from The Complete Short Stories by Philip K. Dick by The Folio Society. The first study sold last week, but the second one is still available in my shop.

———— 5”x7”, oil and acrylic on panel, unframed, $250

Available today @everydayoriginal —— This oil painting evolved organically from one of the many abstract monoprints I’ve been making lately. I wanted to experiment with pressing different surfaces (string, feathers, paper, etc) onto the painting as another way to apply paint in addition to brushes.

I tried and failed a few times before getting a successful print from a large feather. In the end I really liked how the feather overlaps the figure’s silhouette as a symbol of inner lightness and peace. —— Feather Center, 5”x7”, oil on panel, framed, $375

Close crop on a new 5"x7" painting coming Sunday 4/4 to @everydayoriginal

Available today via Every Day Original —— The title of this painting is a line from Ted Hughes’ poem, Thrushes. He’s observing (and envying) the way that animals seem to act with utter clarity, focus, and efficiency. The majority of humans are not this way: we have doubts, desires, and dreams which send us in different directions from one moment to the next. The poem describes these “distracting devils” as originating beneath the “wilderness” within our psyches. The painting isn’t a literal depiction of the poem, but the poem was the general inspiration for it. —— Under What Wilderness, 6”x12”, oil on panel, framed, $450

More sketchbook explorations...interdependent opposition, tangential togetherness. Oil paint in a 5”x8” Moleskine sketchbook.

Available today on Every Day Original! —— It seems like I can never see very far ahead in my artistic journey. Instead, my view resembles a forest that’s overgrown with uncertainty. Making each painting is a way to clear just enough space so that I can take the next step forward. And the next step after that. This painting is a reflection on the need to create these clearings; to cut back at the invasive species of social media, website popup windows, and 10-step plans for success; to a maintain a space for creativity to breathe and grow. —— Clearing, 6”x8”, $400, oil on monoprint

See ya later, 2020. Here’s a few early process shots looped together of my next painting for @everydayorig. Started with a monoprint, then painted on top with oils. 6x8 inches, available Monday 1/4.