The Nightmare Unfolds
Celebrating a Classic and the Birth of All New Horror
Celebrating a Horror Classic with Michael
During a visit to the Del Rey offices, Judy-Lynn, Lester, and Don Munson posed this problem: "We have seven reissues of H.P. Lovecraft books to publish and a budget for only two covers. What can you do?"
I love to do horror and have done many covers for that genre for other publishers, but I hadn't yet had the chance to do one for Ballantine/Del Rey, so I was delighted to take up the challenge.
Seen here in their original form are the two paintings I came up with. They meet side by side either way with one flowing into the other, and portions of them were used to make the cover art for the seven books.
Technically speaking, these paintings were executed with virtually no preparatory work. For my larger pieces, I usually do at least one value and one color study, but I launched into the Lovecraft panels armed only with my airbrush and my feelings for the "horrorific."
Using the airbrush as a sketching tool, I started with black on a gray ground. Gradually several conceptual areas began to develop. After achieving some definition in the light and dark areas, I introduced a very light gray color and refined the images further.
After a while, I put away the airbrush and continued to sharpen the focus with conventional brushwork until the panels were completed. Wanting to do a single, long image but not having the space in my studio to do so, I split the imagery into two panels. They function together as a long piece anyway: the edge of one panel blends into the other either way you put them.
An unplanned obstacle to the execution of this painting was the weather: it was beautiful outside! Only by blacking out my studio windows and playing a nonstop selection of tone setting music was I able to maintain the nightmarish mood necessary for the completion of these works.
In case you’re curious, I repeatedly played “X” by Klaus Schulze, “One of These days” and “Careful With That Ax, Eugene” by Pink Floyd, and “Requiem for a Soprano” off the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack…going from one to the other repeatedly. There were others, of course, but these tracks were the main ones.
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Out of what crypt they crawl, I cannot tell,
But every night I see the rubbery things,
Black, horned, and slender, with membranous wings,
They come in legions on the north wind's swell
With obscene clutch that titillates and stings,
Snatching me off on monstrous voyagings
To Grey worlds hidden deep in nightmare's well.
Over the jagged peaks of Thok they sweep,
Heedless of all the cries I try to make,
And down the nether pits to that foul lake
Where the puffed shoggoths splash in doubtful sleep.
But ho! If only they would make some sound,
Or wear a face where faces should be found!
from FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH & OTHER POEMS by H.P. Lovecraft
Witnessing the Birth of All New Horror
Back in January of 2023, I sat down with Michael to talk about a range of topics that included his fascination with the work of H.P. Lovecraft.
A lot of the books he read growing up came out of his father’s library, from Edgar Rice Burroughs to more contemporary authors of the time, so his reading interests were naturally inherited through the books available to him.
The problems of Lovecraft are inescapable. He was a difficult person by all accounts, and his racism was so deeply embedded in his writing that it is undoubtedly part of his legacy. Although many find his work relevant despite the author’s flaws, it’s best to acknowledge that it is problematic up front.
The Lovecraft poem included above inspired NIGHT-GAUNTS, one of Michael’s earliest drawings collected in Wonderworks. The art dates back to 1975, his first year as a professional artist.
He later experimented with Lovecraftian themes in a concept for The Year’s Best Horror Stories anthology, but that prelim never made the cut.
Many fans, of course, remember LOVECRAFT’S NIGHTMARE on the Del Rey editions Michael talked about above, but those paintings were never meant to be a literal interpretation of the books.
Despite the staying power of those panels—which would end up on album covers and become legendary in the heavy metal scene in their own right—Michael always intended to put his stamp on a Lovecraft story. It was only a matter of time.
We finally dove into that eventuality back in 2023 when he finally shared the difficulties he was having with a long overdue cover for At the Mountains of Madness to be published by Centipede Press. The other artists attached to the book had turned in their interiors years earlier, and there was a growing sense of dread in Michael that equalled the material. Deep down he worried that his inability to finish would doom the project.
It’s important to note that before this conversation Michael had never discussed the assignment with me. We sold several concepts through the shop that were clearly evocative of events in At the Mountains of Madness. I kept asking Audrey for more background only to receive vague answers: “Top secret. Can’t talk about it.”
To give you an idea of how long this dragged on, the little fellow above, which Michael affectionately calls Spot, predates the Leftovers & Palette Gremlins galleries by 3 years. We first featured SHOGGOTH in our 2013 Halloween Gallery.
The assignment was closing in on a decade overdue.
The challenge consuming Michael was how to portray a horror so gruesome that it drives the characters in the story mad. How do an artist stay true to the text yet make the art marketable as a cover? He shows it indirectly through the lens of the characters in the scene, right?
Throughout the conversation, I did a lot of listening and reflecting, bouncing thoughts about what I was hearing back at Michael. We talked about giving the viewer an entry point, something immediate to lock onto in the foreground that would lead to the mountains on the back cover.
I don’t know if that prompted an aha moment, but Michael walked away hopeful that his next attempt might bear fruit. It would be months before we talked about it again.
In August of 2023, Michael sent a snapshot of the painting on his drawing table. My immediate reaction? He absolutely nailed it.
He mentioned that he still had to wrap up the last few details before turning in the cover, which he did. Hearing that confirmation came as a huge relief to me, so I can only imagine the elation Michael felt to be done…finally free of this madness!
Ever since I’ve been waiting for the cover reveal so I can show the painting but it hasn’t happened. Turns out there might have been karma at play there.
AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS was supposed to be the highlight in the website retrospective for 2023. I’ve been dying to show the painting. I’m hoping it will be our big Halloween treat for subscribers. So stay tuned for that…just a little longer.
Weekly Art Recap
The Summer Queen - exquisite costuming for the book by Joan Vinge
Le Chemin Allumée - inspired by a quote by Stanley Kubrick
All Souls Eve - getting in the spirit of the holiday with the third Leftover & Palette Gremlin of 2024
Armenia - inspired by the work of Barbara Tuchman
Elric Demonslayer - frontispiece for Michael Moorcock’s The Vanishing Tower
Bone of Contention - inspired by a quote from Stephen King’s Hearts in Atlantis
Coming Soon…Digital Wallpaper!
A digital exclusive for paid subscribers will be coming mid-week via email. LOVECRAFT’S NIGHTMARE as digital wallpaper? Both panels? Oh yeah!
https://youtu.be/0p-NyGCEeN8?si=kIcQXQ5alihwI4CM