When I was younger, I’d draw dinosaurs all the time. But I mainly focused on carnivores. I didn’t draw a lot of sauropods. So this diplodocus painting was certainly a challenge! But I was inspired by the diplodocus fossil skeleton on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Every time I visited that exhibit, I’d be impressed by the size and scope of that animal. Here, I decided to paint the diplodocus wandering a lonely and mostly unused train yard. […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction

Jupiter is easily one of the most compelling planets in the solar system. It’s big, it’s mysterious, it’s… pretty far away. And it has its own mini-solar system of moons. Maybe that’s why I paint these gas giants so often. Anyway, I really wanted to show a sense of scale to the galaxy with this piece–I wanted that ship to look very tiny. Hope you like the piece! If you’d like to purchase prints of this piece, you can find […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction

It’s all about the Triceratops. The other day, my wife and I went to William O’Brien State Park here in Minnesota. There was a light drizzle when our hike started. But that light rain quickly became quite the downpour. And that’s what inspired this particular piece. I wanted to add the Triceratops herd to this piece because, well, Trikes are a bit of a challenge. I can paint a velociraptor with no problem, but I don’t paint a lot of […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction

I’m not sure where the idea for this post-apocalyptic book club came from, but the image popped into my head in essentially this form. I don’t always like to paint like that. Usually, I like to thumbnail. (I don’t thumbnail as much as I should, but it’s still an important part of my process.) So, the idea here is that even in a post-apocalyptic future, people will still want to read. And this seemed like a nice, quiet spot for […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction

So, I had this image in my head of an astronaut entering a rather ominous looking airlock. And that was really the only basis for this painting when I started. As I got into it, I also wanted to try to do some cool things with the light (and, specifically, with the light changing based on the environment). I’m happy with the way this piece turned out. I accomplished what I set out to do, and that’s something. I also […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction

I’m not sure where the idea for this piece came from. Space whales are certainly not anything that I can take credit for inventing. The idea is as old as science fiction (or thereabouts). But I do like the idea of lifeforms that reside in space. It’s just kinda cool. I also like the idea of people doing right by nature. So I the story of this space whale popped into my head. It’s a rare creature, and its centenary […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction

The summer in Minnesota has been mostly mild so far. But last week got really, really hot. So, naturally, I started thinking about winter. I think that’s where this piece came from. At first, I was thinking about a ship stuck in the ice. But slowly, it morphed into a more sci-fi-style setting. And, if you crash on an ice planet, you’re definitely going to want to salvage what you can. So the focus of the piece, then, became the […]

Categories: Original Art, Science FIction