Black Vulmea's Vengeance
- BLACK VULMEA'S VENGEANCE - A computer painting. This picture is the result of my reworking the image of an original acrylic painting that I did for the cover of a softcover book, "Black Vulmea's Vengeance," by Robert E. Howard, published by Baronet Books. On that book the picture has a wrap-around format with the pirates on the front cover and the ship on the back cover.
When I delivered that painting to the publisher, whose office was in New York City, I experienced something that disturbed me, and for about 10 minutes I sat in a chair in front of the editor's desk wondering why I became an illustrator. He looked at the painting and said, "I don't know good art from bad, so I always ask my secretary to decide if it's OK," and buzzed her on the intercom . . .
The secretary came in, took the painting without saying a word and left the room. I asked the editor why she couldn't make her decision here, in the office? He replied, "Well, she actually doesn't decide all by herself, she takes the painting to some of the other offices in the building and shows it around to people she knows and gets their opinion. Sometimes she even goes out in front of the building and stops people passing by and asks them, "If this picture was on the cover of a book would you buy the book?"
I don't know what those people who looked at my painting said, but when the secretary came back she gave an affirmative nod to the editor who then told her to write me a check for the printing rights, as per contract.
When I told my friends at the monthly social meeting of how my artwork came to be accepted by Baronet Books, most of them thought it was a pretty good method! - But I don't!
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