RSS Space Art II

Click on a picture for a larger view (NOTE: some pictures may not have enlarged views at this time).

Voyager Found -- Private commission. Imagine a combined human-dolphin crew heading out to find Voyager 1 and bring it home to the Smithsonian. Imagine their surprise when they discover the gold "greetings from Earth" record and playback stylus are -gone-. Their ship is not a true interstellar spacecraft, but the precursor of one; a far extrasolar explorer powered by early laser-induced fusion engines. I'd send dolphins to do EVA only if they want to go; we do 3D moves pretty well; maybe they do them better.

Refueling Station -- I wrote and illustrated an article for the May 1983 issue of Science Digest which examined the "state of the art" of interstellar exploration schemes. The article also featured sidebar pieces by two of the prominent thinkers in the field, Dr. Robert Forward and Dr. Robert Bussard.This painting depicts a ship imagined by the third "Bob" in the interstellar game, Dr. Robert Enzmann, as it arrives in a new star system. The icy moons of this gas giant may provide a new fuel source for the ship's fusion engines.

Earth Moon Halley -- This painting from the book COMET by Dr. Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan depicts Comet Halley during its passge through the inner solar system in 1910. During this time, the comet's ion tail may have grazed the Earth.

SS433 -- An exotic neutron star binary, as seen from an airless and radiation-ravaged world nearby. Piece for Science Digest illustrating an article by Dr. William Kaufmann.

Vega at Halley -- The Russian Vega probe approaches the nucleus of Comet Halley in this painting from the Sagan/Druyan book COMET. As the Vega passed Venus, it released a spherical lander package, which sat atop the cometary probe.

Rosette Nebula -- Unpublished. Back in the 1970s, before Hubble's electronic eye showed us dust globules and streamers and birthing stars, I tried to imagine "sharpening" the best available telescope photos of the Rosette Nebula. A Thayer and Chandler airbrush running with the nozzle cap off allowed me to get some fairly sharp details in the dust and gas. The art sold at a NY gallery; the woman who bought it said it went well with her sofa. I kid you not.

Someone Else's Problem -- Unpublished, ~8"x10". Sometimes I just liked doing earthlike worlds. This one is about to get hit by a rock; I painted it in 1987, way before falling asteroids were fashionable.

Hahn Crater -- Private commission. Two parts of a large (30"x40") painting of a lunar base in the crater Hahn; these show the artwork in progress before all the technology was added. Most of the slumped walls were done with the Paasche AB turbo, tuned to make such a small spray stream that it allowed me to "draw" as if it were a colored pencil. The entire piece took approximately a month. Boy, I wish I had that kind of stamina these days; at least the vitamins make me -think- I do.