(“Loss” by Ed Howard, click on image for larger version)
I don’t mind saying that the Hugo category for Best Fan Artist had me, and in some way continues to leave me, a bit puzzled. Ostensibly the designation between “fan” and “professional” has to do with the pay received for the work being created, and yet I’ve seen many Professional Artists making recommendations for the work of peers that do not quite neatly fit that definition.
In the end, it was no less difficult to make these choices.
With the deadline for nominations fast approaching, I have decided to make this an all-inclusive post, showcasing the work of the five artists I have chosen to nominate for Best Fan Artist.
I will point out here, as I have for other artists on my list, it is not my long-time fondness that has informed my choice to nominate Dan Dos Santos for a Hugo Award, but the results of his production over the course of the last year.
There is one particular image alone that inspires my nomination, but we will get to that soon enough.
For brief hiatus from the art-related Hugo Award nominations posts, allow me to direct your attention to that wonderful repository of all things science fiction and fantasy, SF Signal, for my Short Fiction Friday post.
Today’s offering features the novellas, novelettes and short stories that I are poised to get my nominations for the 2014 Hugo Awards.
Check out how I’m leaning, and feel free to let me know if I’ve missed any.
“Creating a moment that communicates emotionally with the viewer is the essence of Gregory Manchess’ artwork.”
That quote, from the biography on the website of artist Gregory Manchess, is the perfect beginning to a cursory understanding of what makes the artist, and his work, so special.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Gregory Manchess on two occasions, at the first and second Spectrum Fantastic Art Live events. He is an incredibly generous and approachable man whose art defies easy description. Unless of course you go with the obvious route and point the viewer to the works and let the works speak for themselves.
There was never any worry that my nominations list for Best Professional Artist this year would be 100% male-centric, despite the many male artists who consistently produce work that leaves me in awe. Not with artist Julie Dillon and the number of stunning works she produced in 2013.
I am not exaggerating in stating that it felt like every time I spent any significant time on the internet in 2013 I was coming across a Julie Dillon piece that a) I had never seen before, and b) raised her another notch in my already high esteem.
