SPACE
ART
It's perhaps unfortunate that "space art", or more correctly
"astronomical art", often conjures up associations with twentieth
century science fiction and fantasy art. This is a shame, because the
roots of this area of scientific illustration can be traced back to
at least as far as the Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci. I
say "scientific illustration" as the lengthy realist tradition
in space art is of most interest to me, yet the concepts encountered
within disciplines such as cosmology are often communicated with more
success using abstraction or surrealism.
As
for my own work, I strive for as much accuracy in my depictions as current
knowledge allows. While the choice of subject matter one might choose
is limitless, I tend to concentrate on the evolution of our own system
of planets. This just happens to be not only an exciting story in its
own right but also gives me the perfect excuse to produce the occasional
melodramatic piece!
I
am honored to be a member of the International
Association of Astronomical Artists, probably the largest and
most active organization devoted to fostering an interest in space and
space travel though the arts. You can visit their most informative website
here