Cybling
February 21, 1998
Panelist
The Brave New World of Publishing		 David A. Cherry

July 16, 1997

David A. Cherry

INFO


For fifteen years David A. Cherry has earned a name as well as his living as an artist and illustrator specializing in science fiction and fantasy. During that time he's won most of the awards and honors available to an artist in his field, including the Polly Freas Award, the Frank R. Paul Award, numerous Chesley Awards for his book covers and fine art, and eight Hugo nominations, including one for his book IMAGINATION: THE ART AND TECHNIQUE OF DAVID A. CHERRY. He served as president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA) from 1988 to 1990, and was a judge for the 1994 Spectrum Annual. In 1995 David Cherry was invited to the Smithsonian Institution to give a slide show and speak about his art.

Cherry has recently learned that he has again been nominated for this year's Hugo Award for Best Artist. He will be on the ballot with his friends, Bob Eggleton, Michael Whelan, Don Maitz, and Tom Canty.

For more information about purchasing Mr. Cherry's work, please go to C. J. Cherryh's The Art Gallery.

Kira As Hezi
Kira As Hezi
Copyright © 1996, David A. Cherry		The image to the left, a portrait of Cherry's daughter, is an interior illustration from THE BLACK GOD, published by Del Rey, a division of Random House.

To the right is the Cover art for C. J. Cherry's book, THE GOBLIN MIRROR, also published by Del Rey.

The Goblin Mirror
The Goblin Mirror
Copyright © 1992, David A. Cherry
The Elf Lord
The Elf Lord
The Shattered Light
Copyright © 1997, David A. Cherry		THE ELF LORD, is from David's current game project for Catware Software, appearing this Fall as part of AOL's Imagination Network.

THE LOVERS was intended as a plate design for The Hamilton Collection but has not yet been used commercially.

The Lovers
The Lovers
Copyright © 1995, David A. Cherry
Spiritlink
Spirit Link
Copyright © 1996, David A. Cherry		The image to the left, SPIRITLINK, was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast, for their '97 calendar.

FILIA MEA is a sample of Cherry's fine art.

Filia Mea
Filia Mea
Copyright © 1991, David A. Cherry
Daughter of Conflict
Daughter of Conflict
Copyright © 1992, David A. Cherry		DAUGHTER OF CONFLICT, is one of Cherry's favorites.

To the right is BLADESWOMAN which won Cherry the Chesley Award for Best Paperback Cover of the Year. It's also an example of the quality of art in his set of trading cards published by FPG, Inc., sold by Bud Plant Comics.

Bladeswoman
Bladeswoman
Copyright © 1991, David A. Cherry
Palm to Palm
Palm to Palm
Copyright © 1996, David A. Cherry		The image to the left, PALM TO PALM was completed in one day as card art for the Middle Earth card game, from Iron Crown Enterprises.

To the right is LORD OF THE TWO LANDS, cover art for the book by Judith Tarr, published by Tor.

Lord Of Two Lands
Lord of Two Lands
Copyright © 199?, David A. Cherry

Web Sites Cherry Recommends!


Q&A with Cherry

DACherry What did you think
Ranger Well, I was wondering if you could draw me a date };> They were beautiful!
Techyo Very nice David.
DACherry Unfortuately most of my models are married. Are any of you artists, yourselves?
JanCyberC So you do use models...I was going to ask whether you had models or worked solely from the imagination.
Ranger My son is
m Yes...I went to art school...
DACherry Jan, I work from both. Imagination is cheaper. Models make for best work.
Ranger Pardon my ignorance but do you sell your work? Do you do any commercial work?
DACherry I have been doing this for about 20 years now. It is still a lot of fun. Yes, I do sell my originals. Mostly at SF convention art shows. But most of my income is from sale of use rights to publishers
JanCyberC Excellent...use rights...is that for the game cards you do? The online illustrations? Everything?
DACherry It keeps you very very busy. I figured up that I did over 500 billable hours is March alone.
JanCyberC Yikes! Hope you have a good accountant.
Ranger Do you have any limited prints of any of them? And if so, how does one acquire them?
DACherry Yes, Jan, everything. I own the copyright to whatever I create. I sell or lease those rights.
Ranger David, come and go fishing with me. Sounds like you need a vacation ;D
Techyo LOL
USSVoyeger Mr.Cherry what type of things do you draw?
DACherry Ranger, yes I do. Write to me at 1812 Pine Oak Dr., Edmond, OK 73013 and I will send you a small brochure
Ranger Wonderful
DACherry Vacation? I have been doing 16 hours a day 7 days a week with no vacations for over 15 years.
Techyo You must like your work a lot!
Ranger Wow! I'll bring a six pack too then ... LOL ;D
AtvarHsial I'm an auditor...I could do alot with 500 hours!
DACherry Voyeger, I most love to do fantasy and historical romance, but i also enjoy science fiction
m What artists would you say influence your work...?
DACherry M, Of the old masters, I like Da Vinci, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Jean Leon Gerome, etc. of the modern artists, Michael Whelan is a big influence on my book cover work.
m Ah..I thought so...I recognized a sort of old masters...Renaissance..feel...going on...
Techyo I'm wondering what book BLADESWOMAN was on I know She looks familure. Do things like that stick with you?
DACherry I also love Dennis Nolan, Scott Gustafson, Bob Eggleton, Don Maitz, Keith Parkinson, Keith Birdsong, kevin Murphy, etc. Techyo, It was a DAW Books edition of Marion Zommer Bradley's Swords and Sorceress
Techyo Oh I knew I have it!
DACherry OOPs That's Zimmer, not Zommer
Ranger Do you pick the books you do the covers for, or are they picked for you?
m beware of the typos.....
JanCyberC Thanks, David, we now know for certain that you are a human. Typo's are mandatory in chat. ;8^)
DACherry For those of you not familiar with my bio, my sister is the SF author, Ch...CJ Cherry...OOps again, CJ Cherryh
Techyo LOL and she's a nice person too, must run in the family.
DACherry Can't even spell my sister's name right. I must be tired
JanCyberC 500 billable hours? You better be tired!
DACherry Thank you, Techyo
Ranger LOL .. after all the hours you've been putting in, you deserve to be tired!
Ranger My wife is a paralegal .. I'll bet she could find ways to bill more hours for you ;D
DACherry Right now I am crashing to meet the deadline for the end of a six month contract to produce an interactive game called Shattered Light for AOL's Imagination Network
AtvarHsial Can you give us a sneak "Peak"
JanCyberC Ah...that leads to another question I had...David...what do you work in..oils? acrylics? watercolor? computer graphics?
DACherry Sorry, Ranger. I can't bill by the hour on this one. I agreed to be paid by the month. I just had a lot I wanted to accomplish that month
JanCyberC One of the images on Cherry's link site is from that game, I believe. The Elf Lord.
DACherry I believe one of the shattered Light images is on the page that links to this. I work in all media. I prefer acrylics. I am alergic to oil paints. I would use them more otherwise.
JanCyberC Well, at least when you're on a deadline you don't have to wait as long for your work to dry.
DACherry I also love working on the computer because it is like working with oil paints, but I am not allergic to it. Of course, you have no original to sell at the end, though
AtvarHsial Do you have ONE favorite piece of work?
m That original thing is a problem...in the art world ...isn't it ?
Techyo Prints are selling pretty well I think.
DACherry My favorite is linked to this site. At least I hope it is. It is Filia Mea. It is of our friend, Jennifer, when she was pregnant with little Jaz. I think it is my most elegant and beautiful work
m computer generated ...I mean...
JanCyberC Yes...FILIA MEA is one of the pieces that is up.
DACherry M, yes, having an original to sell can greatly add to the money you make for the time you put in making a work of art. Also it leaves something tangible behind when you are gone.
Techyo So imortality would be an important part of making an artist?
m Yes but where does that leave the electronic media...like the computer...
DACherry I have many other favorites, but they are all done by other artists. There are not that many of my own that I like all that much. When you are the person building one of these things, you see all the little faults in them.
JanCyberC Folks...let's give Mr. Cherry a chance to answer a question before we go on to the next on...
DACherry Techyo, I suppose it is. I do not imagine that I will ever be imortal or that my work will live long after me. That is not my job. My job is to paint better each day and enjoy it, but I do hope that someone else will want to hold on to some of the works that I have sold.
JanCyberC M....I think your last question got lost up there somewhere...would you mind repeating?
Techyo Oh I'm sure that won't be a problem, David.
DACherry The computer is new to me. But I absolutely love it. It is a fabulous tool. Knowing how to use it well will also enable me to work for a whole new set of clients and bring my work to a much larger audience
m but the legacy of the original...is meaningless with computer generated artwork...?
DACherry It made it up, you just have to read the two sections as one. But what I said was essentially that the artists job is to do art, to do it as well as he can, and to find enjoyment in it. If you can do that, the rest takes care of itself.
Techyo And still well said.
DACherry It is just one of the things that comes as a problem to balance against the many wonderful benefits that a computer brings to the artist.
Ranger I apologize if you have already answered this question, but I was wondering if you choose the books for your bookcovers or are they chosen for you?
m soo true...
DACherry Ranger, they are chosen for me. They send me the manuscript. A big pile of xerox pages. I read that, make sketches, send in the sketches. Then we chat it over, decide which way to go, and I proceed to make a final painting. I turn that in. They request changes. I make them and turn it in again. The whole process can take a month or more and they are very unforgiving if you are late.
JanCyberC Yow. That sounds like a *lot* of work.
AtvarHsial Is it worth it???
Ranger Sure does, but from what I saw on the link ... it is well worth it
DACherry Book covers are fun in that you get to be a part of bringing the literature to the public. But they have a big downside as a career. They are a lot of work and they do not ... They do not pay all that well, was what I was about to say. I just can't keep my finger off the enter key.
Techyo Could one make an interactive art book on CD ROM and sell that? It would be a long project I suppose. That would take the place of the orginal to some degree.
AtvarHsial Do you do book signings? If so, will you be in New York City?
DACherry I was in NY in March as Artist Guest of Honor at Lunacon. It was fun. I will not be back in NY any time soon. I will be in New Orleans the fiirst week in August and In San Antonio for World SF con At the end of August
AtvarHsial DARN! Sorry I missed it!
DACherry Atvar, me too. It was great. Michael Whelan was there. so was Steven Hickman and Eggleton and many other friends.
Techyo Could one make an interactive art book on CD ROM and sell that? It would be a long project.
DACherry I used to be a lawyer. Eight years of that and I didn't know one I would trust. In art however, there are so many wonderful people. Almost all of my peer and competitors are good friends.
DACherry Techyo, yes, I could do that. It is something to consider. I would have to use a lot of old paintings and not do new ones.
Techyo It would be cool.
DACherry The trouble with a deal like an interactive artbook is that no one pays you while you are putting it together.
Techyo Maybe someday that'll work like books.
Techyo Who knows?
DACherry You make your money from the sales after it is done. In the meantime, you have to pay to have it produced. so it costs you in time, lost income and in printing costs, etc.
Ranger How did you get started doing the artwork?
DACherry If I could paint what I want I would probably do things like Filia Mea. I was a Latin major in college and I really enjoy old fashioned romantic settings.
Ranger You don't think of lawyers being artists ... LOL
AtvarHsial They are creative!
DACherry Ranger, my girlfriend tested to see if I were right brained or left brained. I tested whole brained.
JanCyberC LOL!
Ranger LOL!
AtvarHsial LOL
USSVoyeger LOLOLOL!
DACherry Atvar, yes, they are. What you see in court is acting, theater. and most is designed on the fly.
Techyo ROFL!
DACherry Pardon my ignorance. What is LOL?
JanCyberC LOL=Laughing Out Loud...
AtvarHsial Laughing Out Loud
JanCyberC it's an online shorthand when we're all cackling away out here.
Techyo ROFL = rolling on floor laughing
DACherry MT
m grin..
Techyo Grin
DACherry That stands for Me Too!
AtvarHsial LOL
Ranger LOL
JanCyberC Cool.
JanCyberC What was your first professional sale?
Techyo Methinks David fit in fast.
AtvarHsial Tis True, Tech!
DACherry Jan, my first sale was something my sister arranged. She was to do a book for Donald Grant and needed it illlustrated. She wanted an artist she could control.
Ranger LOLOL!
JanCyberC LOL!
m grin
DACherry I had so much fun doing it, that I gradually went that direction
AtvarHsial Do you like working with your sister? I could NEVER work with mine!
DACherry Yes, I love my sister dearly. She is wonderful. I am always honored when someone asks me to do one of her books. But we don't usually have much say in that. The Don Grant deal was very unusual in that sense./
AtvarHsial I love mine as well, just couldn't work with her!
DACherry Did you know that my sister taught me to draw?
AtvarHsial Is she a good drawer?
Techyo LOL
JanCyberC So then your sister *was* an influence in getting you into this field...nope didn't know she taught you!
Ranger Is she an artist as well as an author?
USSVoyeger No? realy?
DACherry I was six and she was thirteen. She is an excellent artist.
JanCyberC Well that begs this question, David, do you write too?
Ranger Wow! Creativity runs in your family
Techyo She's one of those people who digs things up by trainning they have to draw I think.
AtvarHsial Beat me to it, Jan!
DACherry actually I can write pretty well too. I even have a short story published
JanCyberC Excellent..where when?
AtvarHsial Where?
DACherry Yikes. I don't know. It was something by Bill Fawcett
Ranger Is it SciFi also?
DACherry It was some short storys -- sometning called Jupiter. Yes, it was SF.
Ranger I'm intrigued by the name
JanCyberC Ah...and anthology. Excellent. But we can see that art is your first love.
AtvarHsial Do you write as well as CJ draws?
DACherry I did it as a favor to Bill Fawcett, but it must not have been any good. He never asked me for another.
Techyo ROFL!
Ranger LOLOL!
AtvarHsial LOL
USSVoyeger LOL
Ranger Do you have any advise for beginning artists?
DACherry Of course, Bill is the one I am working for on this project for AOL, so I think he figures I am more useful doing art.
Ranger [G]
DACherry My advice for beginning artists is to use college to learn something that you can do to make a living. Art is easily learned merely by doing and you do not ever get asked for your degree or what school you went to.
m Don't I know it...LOL
Ranger That's what I keep telling my son
DACherry You can learn a lot about art by going to SF conventions, hanging out in the art shows, and talking to the pros. They really know what you need to learn.
JanCyberC Ah...so conventions are as important a place for young artists as they are for young writers. David...we have some comics fans here...I noticed that you have done cards, computer illustrations, and novel covers...have you done illustrated mags as well?
DACherry Yes, Jan, conventions can be a great place to learn the craft and to meet the people who can open doors for you when you become good enough to look useful to them.
Techyo I find it interesting that artists and writters have such a close support group. Especially in this age. I like that.
DACherry I don't recall any illustrated mags, although I have done magazine covers.
FanofACC Thanks for lettiing me lurk. I've found I can type 1 line before I'm punted. I'll be on the lookout for your book as well as your artwork.
DACherry Thank you Fan. Bud Plant Comics MAY hve a copy or two left
FanofACC Hey I'm still here afterall.
DACherry Hang in there, Fan.
JanCyberC We've kept David tied in the hot seat for over an hour now...
JanCyberC we'd love to keep him with us if he'd like...
Ranger Wow! Time flies when you're having fun!
JanCyberC David, can you stay with us for a couple more questions?
AtvarHsial Does that count as 1 question, Jan???
JanCyberC LOLOL.
DACherry Jan, I would love to stay for a while. but I will have to run in about half an hour. I have 10 paintings to do before dawn.
JanCyberC Yikes!
Ranger 10 before dawn! Geez, I thought I'd had a long day
AtvarHsial Sounds like a good name for a painting!
JanCyberC Okay...we'll let you go whenever you absolutely must leave.
DACherry Thanks, Jan.
Techyo You do most work at night then, David?
FanofACC LOL I think he probably means it. I'm married to an artist
DACherry Yes, I work a lot at night. Fewer phone calls and the kids are usually asleep.
JanCyberC So, any final final questions for David and we can let him get back to work?
Techyo And there's just something speacial about the night. IMHO. IMHO = in my humble thoughts.
Ranger I just want to wish him well in his endeavors .. and I'm looking forward to getting the catalog.
JanCyberC Okay then...everyone let's give Mr. David A. Cherry a big hand for coming by this evening...
DACherry Thank you, Techyo.
AtvarHsial Will you come back and chat again?
Techyo Thanks for the insight, David!
DACherry Sure, it was a blast.
Ranger Thanks David! I enjoyed it
JanCyberC Thanks so much for coming out to play with us David!
CWannabe Thank you!
DACherry Thank you too. Bye.
JanCyberC Good night!
CWannabe Aplaud..aplaud!
Techyo Night David I'll be looking for your stuff. Thanks.