It's Time for a Change!!

Waiting in line at the polls to vote was just the start of a day in anticipation. I anticipated while I worked, while I ate and even while I rested. This type of anticipation didn't just start today though, but last Wednesday when I e-mailed the art director of Night Shade Books my final painting for my first fantasy book cover. I got it to him on time, but waited everyday to hear back by phone or by e-mail. I hadn't heard anything and was worried that maybe it didn't go through or he hated it. I heard from him tonight that he got it and he really liked it, so that put me at ease. Then watching the television and seeing Barrack Obama win the President Election was even more great news that put me at ease. His ambition for this country and his ideals is a change that I think everyone needs. Eight years of Republican leadership under George Bush made people very unbalanced and doubtful about where this country is headed. What needs to be fixed and how to fix it were questions that were tossed around. What needs to be done? For a while I felt like nothing was working for me and I doubted what I was doing would actually get me anywhere. Fantasy is one genre that I focus on heavily and want to do, but there's so much different kinds of fantasy that I don't do. Dark fantasy, modern fantasy, classical . . . romanticism . . . medieval. The list goes on. The book cover I did for Night Shade Books was for the American version of "The Lee's of Laughters End" by Steve Erikson. It's very different from my other work as you will see. It's darker in tone and color, has a limited palette, no dragons, no women, nothing medieval about it and has an interesting composition! You can go view the painting at www.iankirkpatrickart.com/laughtersend.html . Maybe I should do darker stuff like this more often, or just different stuff in general to get more book covers. It's time for a change, not only in my artwork but for the country as well!