Sunday Art Day!

Not much doing 'round these parts today. Nope, just a lazy old Sunday. So, in celebration of Lazy Old Sundays, I'd like to show you some art.

This past week, two commissions arrived from two incredibly talented artists. Both pieces feature Death, from Neil Gaiman's brilliant Sandman series. She's my favorite character from the that, and one of my favorite characters in all of literature.

And, recently, I've decided to get a whole bunch of commissions featuring her.

Here's the first piece, by Vertigo cover artist Chrissie Zullo. As with all of the art I commission, I give the artist little descriptions of what I'd like. Typically, these are incomplete, semi-coherent ramblings of a half-lunatic.

For this particular piece, my inkling of a thought was as follows: "Death, near a tree. And I'd like some ravens, I think."

Here's what Chrissie came up with:
I think it's a beautiful piece of art, and I'm very happy to have it. Please do yourself a favor and check out Chrissie's site, and if you like what you see, don't be afraid to email her for a commission of your own.

The next piece is by Ryan Kelly, artist of Local and The New York Five. I gushed about those books, and Ryan, in a number of posts.

This time, I asked for Death, in Washington Square Park. Fitting, as Ryan so wonderfully draws New York in many of his books, and because that's where the character first appeared, way back in Sandman, issue 8.

Here are the preliminary pencils:
And here's the stunning, final watercolor piece:
Only in comics can you connect directly with the professionals that you admire, and contacting these artists has been such a great experience.

A special thanks to both Chrissie and Ryan for two beautiful works of art that I'm proud to add to my collection.

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Enjoy your Lazy Sundays, everyone!