No it isn’t Covid19, (despite what the folks watching the live stream on Instagram thought.) It is the god-damn-BEHOLDER from Dungeons and Dragons. Though it could be a distant cousin. I mean heck, in D&D world who knows what the Beholder could have evolved from?
So I am doing a series of fantasy inspired paintings for https://www.wentworthgallery.com/ that I am super stoked about. Naturally I had to play to my roots- and that is D&D. Hell I don’t think I’d be doing what I am today if it weren’t for heavy doses of d20 and saving throws in my youth! And I can think of nothing more iconic in D&D than the freakin’ Beholder. The thought of a big bad-ass beholder painting being elevated to gallery status tickles me endlessly!
So what you get here is over 10 minutes of me talking and painting! And if you missed the live stream, be sure to follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scottmfischer/?hl=en
I knew two things: I wanted to go pretty big 24X24, and I wanted to go round. I had the pleasure of painting the beholder for the 3rd Edition Monster Manual. A dream come true. That era of beholder (designed by the fantastic Todd Lockwood) had a defined lower jaw, which I loved doing.
But I literally wrote a paper in 4th grade that said I wanted to do the art for D&D. And the Beholder from my youth was round. I mean basketball round, and if I were doing a nostalgic Beholder for a gallery. I was gonna go round.
Stay safe out there folks!
It reminds me of the floating ball with eyes all over it from the movie Big Trouble in Little China.
I heard that a lot too! Also heard that it was the think in Doom. I bet it all goes back to D&D!
The Cacodemon…. (and then the Pain Elemental)
Simply brilliant! A balanced mix of graphic design to draw the eye (punch in the eye?) with colours and shapes, coupled with fine detail painting and textures. Love it!