Illustration – Lucina Press

Reconstructing Otho

June 2, 2023 lucina

In this week’s ROCKETEER I’m talking about a character from the “Captain Future” pulp stories, the android—Otho. More people today know him from the Captain Future anime from the 1970’s than the original stories. The anime takes some liberties with the character’s original design. In my post I talk about those changes and how Otho was originally conceptualized. You can read “Reconstructing Otho” on Substack. I’ve been noodling around with some Otho drawings using the original design from the 1940’s. Because he’s supposed to be a master of disguise and…

Inking Round-up May 2023

May 25, 2023 lucina

Art is all about practice, and I practice all the time! My father used to marvel at the fact that I didn’t need any impetus to do art, I just do it. This month I’ve focused on improving my line and brushwork with ink. In this week’s ROCKETEER I show you what I’ve been up to, including a short video, detailing my practice pieces for the month of May. You can read this week’s newsletter here.

Linework and New Pens

May 7, 2023May 7, 2023 lucina

Recently, I have become frustrated with the quality of my brush and ink linework. I was aware that the type of lines I wanted to create should be created with a real brush and ink but I stuck to my brush pens. They are more convenient, certainly more tidy than dipping a brush into ink. Plus, I have good control over them. Decades ago in graduate school I used a dip pen and brushes with ink. Honestly, when good quality brush pens became available I was glad to make the…

Is Anyone Incorruptible?

March 22, 2023 lucina

Fritz Lang’s visuals for Metropolis (1927) fascinate me. The story is pure socialist creed, but the imagery remains powerful even after nearly 100 years. I remember seeing the re-mastered version with Queen’s soundtrack during college. And I’ve seen the anime remake as well as enjoying Queen’s 1984 video– “Radio Ga-Ga” –immensely. (An interesting year for that video to appear on the scene, in my opinion.) Michael Wm Kaluta created outstanding images for a remake book of Metropolis some time ago. It was his drawings that inspired the title of my…

Earle K. Bergey Cover Reproduction

December 14, 2022 lucina

You all know that I like to make pulp copies as part of my on-going learning process. My goal as a pulp painter is to become familiar with the original pulp covers and understand them well-enough in terms of color, composition, themes, etc.. to be able to create my own book covers and fine art paintings which accurately reproduce the look and feel of that era. I believe in creating the whole “package” for my books. I want to create an experience for readers which is immersive. And so far…

Interview with me! “PulpFest Profile — Sara Light-Waller, Artist of the Cosmos”

November 15, 2022December 24, 2022 lucina

I’m a regular contributor to the PulpFest profiles column and it was a great treat to take my turn in the interviewee’s seat this month. Check out my new interview with Craig McDonald over at PulpFest.com. Many thanks to Craig, Mike Chomko and the rest of the PulpFest committee for honoring me with this interview. Here’s how the interview begins: “Pulp magazines have influenced writers, artists, film directors, software developers, and countless others over the years. Our “PulpFest Profiles” focus on contemporary creators who have drawn inspiration from these rough-paper…

The Saucers Are Here!

September 12, 2022September 12, 2022 lucina

Dear Diary, The funniest things happen sometimes! I recently found a small stack of my first coloring book, “My Day at the Horse Show.” I really thought the entire first run was out of print. As soon as I mentioned them on social media, I sold two! Since the Flying Sauce Party is coming up on the 17th I decided to put together a flying saucer coloring book for the event. This reminded me that I’ve had plans to do a series of pulp-based coloring books for some time (as…

Big Day!

July 11, 2022 lucina

Today is a big day for me. I have spent the last few months creating a series of new pulp paintings and also rebuilding my studio website—Flying Pony Studios. I’ve added a Woo Commerce shop to that site and this will impact Lucina Press in several ways. The biggest impact is that in the not-too-distant future my eBooks will be for sale over at the Flying Pony Studios shop, along with prints of my book artwork. In other exciting news, my new illustrated novelette—INCORRUPTIBLE—will soon be available in print and…

Tips for painting in casein

February 1, 2022 lucina

Casein paint is not as well known today as is acrylics or watercolor. It’s an ancient type of paint, derived from milk protein. It’s fast-drying, and water-soluble. Once dry, the paint becomes water resistant to a large degree. This allows for building in layers as you would with acrylics or oils. The finish is matte and a bit chalky, unlike the shiny surface of acrylics. Casein has been used for both portraits and murals since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One advantage to this type of paint is…

Robert Graef copy

January 28, 2022January 25, 2022 lucina

Graef copy comparison The Spot of Life 1932

Here’s my newest pulp copy, Robert Graef’s cover painting for Argosy August 1, 1932 featuring “The Spot of Life” by Austin Hall. This story is sequel to “The Blind Spot” by Hall and Homer Eon Flint. My painting is mainly watercolor with touches of gouache and pastel. It’s always nice to have an excuse to get back to watercolor, it’s such a beautiful medium and ultimately my favorite. This piece was quite challenging but very fun to do. I worked larger than I normally do for copies — 12″ x…