The Star Axe made real.

I got the painting of Star Axe in the mail yesterday.

I tried to save up all year for it, but couldn't quite get there. So we finally decided that it would be the only Christmas present, and took the money out of savings. There is just no way I couldn't buy it.

The arrival was very exciting. I made a customer and Boyd, the mailman, wait around while I opened it. And opened it. And opened it. The packing was dense, to say the least.

But I finally freed the picture.....and it is magnificent. It is very Frazetta, Royo, Vallejos. But, more accurately, it's a sword and sorcery cover, which is what the publisher labeled my book. (I thought of it more as Heroic Fantasy, but, hey -- they were the ones writing the checks.)

Anyway, the painting was much bigger than I expected -- if it had been any bigger I wouldn't be able to display it in my store.

The details just pop out. Up to now, I've only had a picture the size of a paperback to judge it by. And of course, the writing on the cover of the title and that pesky author obscured some of the picture.

There is nothing like an original oil painting to see the depth and textures.

I didn't choose the artist or the image, but I was very happy when I first saw it, and I've always pretty much liked it since.

I also bought a giglee of Star Axe from the artist, Romas Kukalis. (Signed, #23 of a 100 print run. I think he probably turned around and made a printing because I asked for a copy.) I took it down the street to High Desert Framing. The framing is going to cost 2.5 times the actual print, but I picked deluxe design and materials.

Since it's going to take 10 days or so for the framing to be done, I decided to hang the original painting at the store for a month or two. Not much longer than that, because I'm worried about exposing the work to the constant florescent lights. Eventually, I'll take it home and put up in my office, and replace it with the giglee at the store.

For context, I put my book on a little stand next to the picture.

Anyway, it's a pretty impressive painting.

Come in and see it, everyone!