DISTANT STARS

Cover illustration for Samuel R. Delany

Feb 10, 2025

Side by side, two astronauts emerge from portholes with the barest hint of planetscape on the other side. On the left, a female astronaut braces herself with one arm on the bulkhead and a foot poised to step through. In her opposite arm, she holds the helmet of her spacesuit. On the right, a male astronaut steps fully through the porthole gripping the sides with both hands as he boldly emerges. — DISTANT STARS (1980), Acrylic on primed panel - 18" x 28"

I was stuck for a while as I tried to come up with a design structure to unify the elements I wanted to include in this composition. Later I was driving on a highway and as I passed beneath a bridge, I glimpsed two yellow and black caution markings on the concrete pillars on either side of the road. That was it.

A long span of rock descends in front of a field of stars. On the right, a hooded statue stands roughly hewn with a broad halo of light centered on it. Hovering just above the head is a smaller human figure with head craned looking up while his arms are angled down at his side. Ten monoliths, each different in size and cut, seem to orbit around him. — Alternative preliminary concept for DISTANT STARS

When I was commissioned to do the art for the cover to this collection, I was told I could have all the freedom I wanted. I came up with several concepts inspired by my meditations on the title Distant Stars, but they were all rather metaphysical in feeling and the clients were unimpressed.

Tonal study of children atop the head of a monumental sculpture that resembled the top of the head of a sphinx but the face is turned away and cropped at the bottom edge of the art. One girl hugs her knees. An older boy sits with one knee up, resting a staff there, while his other leg dangles off the edge. A group of other children look off the face side, looking off canvas right. The dusky night sky is filled with stars. Low in the sky on the right a glistening cluster of stars flares, projecting energy upward and out both sides. — Alternative preliminary concept for DISTANT STARS that inspired SENTINELS

Instead, they gave me a sketch of the idea they wanted: on the front cover, a space-suited man coming through a porthole; on the back, a woman in a diaphanous gown, "waiting for her man to come home." This is what they got.

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Additional images from DISTANT STARS

LEFT: Detail from DISTANT STARS featuring the female astronaut bracing herself with one arm on the porthole and a foot resting on yellow and black caution markings, which angle down the bulkhead in a pattern from left to right. In her opposite arm, she cradles the helmet of her spacesuit. At the top of the helmet, the artist’s sigil is emblazoned in glowing purple. CENTER: Preliminary sketch of the female astronaut with notes in the margin including, "Everything in fabric covered except outlets for hoses, plastic. Strap-catch grommet, rivets, snaps." RIGHT: Detail from DISTANT STARS featuring a male astronaut stepping through the porthole while gripping the sides with both hands. Yellow and black caution markings angle down the bulkhead in a pattern from right to left. — Figure details from DISTANT STARS

LEFT: Detail from DISTANT STARS featuring the female astronaut bracing herself with one arm on the porthole and a foot resting on yellow and black caution markings, which angle down the bulkhead in a pattern from left to right. In her opposite arm, she cradles the helmet of her spacesuit. At the top of the helmet, the artist’s sigil is emblazoned in glowing purple. CENTER: Preliminary sketch of the female astronaut with notes in the margin including, "Everything in fabric covered except outlets for hoses, plastic. Strap-catch grommet, rivets, snaps." RIGHT: Detail from DISTANT STARS featuring a male astronaut stepping through the porthole while gripping the sides with both hands. Yellow and black caution markings angle down the bulkhead in a pattern from right to left. — Figure details from DISTANT STARS

I always said that maybe someday the woman would get on the front cover. Eventually she did for Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine!

LEFT: Book cover for DISTANT STARS by Samuel R. Delany (DAW) RIGHT: Magazine cover for ASIMOV’S SCIENCE FICTION dated January/February 2019 — Distant Stars by Samuel R Delany (DAW) and Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine (Jan/Feb 2019)

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Discussion about this post

Another beautiful work for which I have a print. I love how you turned the clients' idea into what it should be in a world that makes it into space.

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