Spectrum 15! Syble here, posting for Arich this time around. We just found out that Arich's piece Crusader made it in. For those unfamiliar with the book, it's a yearly compilation of the of the very best in contemporary fantastic art from a variety of fields, such as comic books, advertising, film, and fine art. Annually a select panel of jurors chooses from thousands of works submitted by some of the biggest names in fantasy art. This year hard working artists from all over the world submitted more than 5000 works of art for consideration, and only 343 made the cut for inclusion in the book. Other Spectrum regulars include amazing artists such as Frank Frazetta, Carlos Huante and Justin Sweet. So, needless to say, this is a major honor. I think Art Director Irene Gallo in her blog, TheArtDepartment, said it best. When a young artist earns a spot on the pages of Spectrum, she says, "...it can be the first time their work is being seen by thousands of potential clients, with the unspoken caption 'best of the best.'" Check out Spectrum's website at http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/

Crusader

Sci-fi action adventure fans are eager to see the next installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, so in anticipation of this, and taking advantage of the hype, Gentle Giant Studios (GGS) offered me the privilege of creating these pieces. Harrison Ford is like an icon for those of us who grew up in the Star Wars/Indiana Jones generation. Not featured in the gallery on the website, but shown here, is a bust I sculpted of Indy. I always liked the Indy movies, so this was a fun gig. Perhaps my favorite of the Indy flix is The Last Crusade, especially the scene at the end of the film when Indy has to walk by faith and not by sight to cross a bottomless chasm to safely reach eternal life on the other side. The scene is a great metaphor for living out Biblical Christianity, and also for my career as an artist. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. It's by God's grace that I've made it this far, and if I'm to go on I will have to proceed with this same faith. That scene has been an inspiration to me, because many a time I've looked out and not seen a way forward, yet as I step out, the Good Lord provides the way.

Note the scale of the Crusader sculpture -- it's tiny, yet full of dynamism. I was thinking of all those great Remington sculptures when I was composing it. You may be asking yourself why I didn't sculpt Indy from the scene I'm speaking of. The answer is simple: I was asked by GGS to put Indy on horse back. I'm okay with that, because in the scene that inspired this piece, Indy is valiantly fighting enemies of goodness, the Nazis. I like that Indy is crusading against the antisemites -- another great historical metaphor that's also dominating the world political scene today. Both these pieces debuted last summer courtesy of GGS at Comic-Con '07.