THE WILDING

Cover illustration for C.S. Friedman

Feb 07, 2025

A woman wearing an ornate headdress dominates the right side of the painting. Wild tufts of thick red hair rise above a bronze tiara, a regal mane to match flame-like tattoos covering her forehead. An assortment of jewels, baubles, and tassels hang from the headpiece. Her neck is similarly adorned with decorative armor that flares wide at the shoulders and ends at a point over her breastbone where a test tube lit with a current of electricity hangs. A shimmering cloak drapes from the one pauldron visible. Bands of glittery fabric extends on a diagonal from under the armor to cover her breasts, but leave a patch of tanned skin between exposed. In her hand she holds a large token, the border filled with five-pointed stars wrought in bronze on black and the center a bulbous pearl with a flowing alien script. Behind her floats a huge cloud covered planet. Two crescents shine above, while a larger, similarly clouded moon intersect below. Another satellite hovers nearby—apparently artificial given the green glowing lights of technology at its core and metal bands spider-webbing around it. The star field backdrop is saturated the same lilac hue as the planet, but below wispy clouds are suffuse with golden light that radiates from around the woman. — THE WILDING (2004), Acrylic on Canvas - 28" x 18"

The story involves genetic manipulation so I had fun finding ways to incorporate symbols of genetic biology into the decorative jewelry around the figure.

LEFT: Preliminary concept for THE WILDING featuring a woman with eyes closed holding a test tube lit with a spark of green energy. She wears a white dress draped with jewels, baubles, and tassles. Behind her hovers a large planet and smaller moon set against a star field. RIGHT: A tonal preliminary concept for THE WILDING featuring a woman in white robes holding a circular mirror. Behind her a sun flares behind the silhouette of a large planet. — Preliminary concepts for THE WILDING

This painting represents a hybrid of techniques for me. I did the original sketch in acrylic, scanned it into the computer and adjusted it using Photoshop, then output the study full size as a monochrome print on canvas, which then became the underpainting for the final rendering.

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