Artist, illustrator, poet – Richard H. Fay (RHF) finds his inspiration in history, myth, folklore, and legend. He also dabbles in science fiction and surreal fantasy. All of which can be found at his site, Azure Lion Productions. And all of the above are right up ResAlien‘s (RA) alley. We are pleased to showcase some of Richard’s artwork in this month’s issue.
RA: Thanks for sharing your creative world with us, Richard. What is your artistic background and training?
RHF: My formal background is actually in science, not art. I have a B.S. in Biology and worked for several years as a biology and then a health lab tech. However, my true passion always remained art. I eventually left the lab to follow a more artistic path, and to home-educate my daughter. I sold my art in a handful of arts and crafts shows and at a local medieval fair, but never found the time to fully explore where my art might take me. Now that my daughter is in college full-time, I have more time to devote to my creative endeavors. It’s been a long and winding path to get to the point of published artist/illustrator, but life’s road is rarely perfectly straight.
This might sound corny, but I was apparently born an artist. Although I lack formal art training outside of high school art classes, from an early age I seemed to have shown an understanding of art techniques. When I worked in the biology and health labs, I would find myself drawing, sketching, and just plain doodling. My mould spore drawings were even used by one of my colleagues in a talk he gave on the subject. After so many people asked what I was doing in the lab when I was so talented an artist, I began asking myself the same thing. That’s when I created Azure Lion Productions and began selling my artwork.
RA: Azure Lion sounds Medieval, and I know the period is a strong interest of yours. Some of your work began as bookmarks at local medieval fairs, correct? Here are some great examples.
RHF: I like the Arthurian legends, and I wanted to draw something Arthurian with Glastonbury Tor in the distance. And yes, the “King Arthur” image (to the left) started life as a bookmark I sold at the local medieval fair. As for “William Wallace,” (to the right) even though I love the movie Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s portrayal of the medieval Scottish patriot is all wrong. I wanted to draw a more historically-plausible Wallace, again for use as art on a bookmark. However, I never actually got around to selling it as such.
Other “bookmark” pieces include “William the Conqueror,” (used as the icon for this interview) which, unfortunately, I never got around to selling as a bookmark. It shows the Norman conqueror of Anglo-Saxon England armed and ready for battle, with papal banner in hand. “The Knight” (above right) was also sold as a bookmark. It is supposed to represent a fairly general knight of the late thirteenth-early fourteenth century, roughly based on period imagery of knights like the memorial brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington.
RA: How did you get interested in fantasy or speculative art?
RHF: You can ultimately blame my interest in monster movies for my interest in speculative art. I have always loved to watch monsters, read books about monsters, view monster art, and create monster drawings. My interest in things monstrous led to an interest in other things speculative.
You can blame J. R. R. Tolkien and fantasy role playing games for my interest in fantasy. My love of Tolkien’s work led to a love of all things fantasy, and in the 1980s drew me into participating in fantasy role playing games. I adored the artwork, much of it pen and ink line drawings, that graced the pages of the fantasy RPG rule books of that era. The style displayed by the various artists featured in these manuals influenced my own style. Plus, my interest in fantasy literature and games led to an interest in folklore, arms and armor, and medieval history and art.
RA: This piece is a nice combination of monster and myth.
RHF: The Eastern Dragon was created as part of a clip art series I did for Crystalwizard of Cyberwizard Productions. For all those years I had been drawing dragons, I realized that I had never actually drawn an Oriental-type dragon. So I set out change that with my Eastern Dragon. It exhibits many of the characteristics of dragons of the orient, and its multi-hued scales are meant to reflect the various legends of a rainbow serpent.
RA: Are there certain themes or styles you like to explore or gravitate toward?
RHF: As you can see, my art often betrays my obsession with medieval history and arms and armor, as well as my fascination with folklore (especially fairy lore). It has been said that my art looks a bit like authentic medieval woodcuts. I will admit to being influenced by medieval art of all kinds, including woodcuts, memorial brasses, tapestries, stained glass, and illuminations.
If I gravitate toward any themes, it would be the themes of medieval myths and legends, as well as traditional lore. I especially like to draw dragons, and I’ve been drawing dragons and draconic creatures for a very long time. I seem to draw knights a lot, too. Even when I draw fantasy warriors, I don’t usually stray too far from historical plausibility. I use historic arms and armor for the basis of the arms and armor worn and carried by my fantasy warriors.
For example, I’ve drawn several depictions of the dragon-slaying Saint George. This one was originally created to be sold as framed art at a local medieval fair. I wanted something a little different than the typical depiction of Saint George, so I went with showing the dragon-slaying saint as a fourteenth century English knight. Although the saint should really be shown on horseback, I choose to show him fighting on foot since the English men-at-arms of the fourteenth century were beginning to adopt fighting on foot alongside the English longbow men as a standard tactic.
RA: What are you working on now? Is this your livelihood or just an avocation?
RHF: Alas, I currently don’t come anywhere near being able to make a living off of my art. However, since I don’t have a day job outside of art, I consider art to be my profession. I certainly feel that it is my calling, and I’ve been working on ways of making that calling a more gainful endeavor. I’m hoping I can turn art into a true livelihood in the future. No telling what the future holds.
Currently, I have several art projects in the works. I’ve been working on illustrating my poems that appear online at Abandoned Towers, illustrations that are also slated to be used in a poetry collection-in-progress. My art is also featured regularly as a coloring page in the print version of Abandoned Towers. I’m always pondering what I will draw next for use as a coloring page. Plus, I’ve been working on Celtic-style knotwork bands and frames for a certain publisher’s project.
Speaking of Abandoned Towers, this piece, “A Leviathan Ascendant” was created as cover art for a recent issue. It arose out of another sea-serpent piece I did for a clip art series. The original serpent drawing was inspired by a sea-serpent in an illustration by William Blake. I reworked the serpent for “A Leviathan Ascendant” and placed it in a stormy sea.
A note about my art in general: My preferred medium is ink on paper or Bristol board. When I sold my art at a local medieval fair in the mid 1990s, as framed art and bookmarks, I actually colored my art by hand. Nowadays, I add my colors digitally.
RA: Where do you get your inspiration?
RHF: I’ve already mentioned some of my inspirations, including the fantasy role playing rule books of the 1980s. I also look to J. R. R. Tolkien and Arthur Rackham for some of my artistic inspiration. Tolkien was not only a writer and professor, he was an artist as well, and I love some of the works he created as illustrations for his books. I’ve also been influenced by the art of Brian Froud, Alan Lee, William Blake, and various illustrators of nineteenth century historical and literary works.
An author of some stories I illustrated compared my approach to art to Andy Warhol’s approach to art. I don’t claim to be influenced much if at all by Warhol or the Pop Art Movement in general, but it is an interesting comparison nevertheless. It’s always nice when one’s work is favorably compared to the works of a famous and successful artist. I’ve also been known to draw things with science fiction-type themes, and I think I would like to explore those themes further. On occasion, I even stray into the realm of the surreal.
RA: I see what you mean – this piece is definitely a bit surreal.
RHF: This drawing was composed as an accompaniment to my speculative poem “West Dingleton’s Loss of Humanity”. I wanted to show a monstrous being with a human soul, thus the tentacled silhouette with a human shadow. The multi-colored cloud of faces, almost in the form of a mushroom cloud, represents the terrible calamity of deformities that afflicts the town. (Editor’s Note: You can read the poem at Abandoned Towers.)
RA: You’re illustrations have appeared in a number of venues. Is there a website for fans to visit to admire and/or purchase your artwork?
RHF: I have quite a few examples of my art on my website, Azure Lion Productions. While I don’t currently have a way for fans to purchase my art through my website (although I am open to doing art on commission), my art is featured on a plethora of items in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store.
RA: And soon, an illustration of yours – “Morning Stars Sing in the Speculative Realm” – will appear in ResAliens’ anthology, While the Morning Stars Sing! Thank you, Richard, for sharing your vision and artwork with us this month.
RHF: Thank you!
All artwork on this page © 2010 Richard H. Fay
Interview © 2010 Residential Aliens, Richard H. Fay.
Tags: artwork, interview, Richard H. Fay