BRUCE PENNINGTON

[this interview was originally printed in Cimmerian Shadows Issue 2; 2012]

Welcome to Cimmerian Shadows Bruce! To start things off, do you recall any early encounters which first sparked your love of fantasy/SF imagery? Did you begin to create your own fantastical art from a young age, or were you drawn to the style through your employment?

Without doubt, my first influences were from books and comics at a very early age. These ranged from benign, parentally-approved annuals like 'Rupert Bear', or 'Toby Twirl' – as well as luxurious volumes of classical fairy tales – through to the most horrific material in a ghastly American horror comic that I discovered in a school desk quite by accident.

What can you say about the shift in your career in the early '70s from SF covers to horror and fantasy covers? Did you lose inspiration in the SF genre, or was it more a reflection of a changing climate for commission work?

The change from S.F. To fantasy and horror was purely due to a change in demand from publishers, not a personal request of my own. When they found that I had a natural aptitude for such works, they were delighted, so we continued to exploit the genre.

To what extent do you draw on the different ideas and styles of authors when you paint book covers? Were the covers for Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series informed by an in-depth reading of the books for example, or do you prefer to acquire a flavour of authors' created worlds and then build on that with your own imagination? How much of a book would you typically read before embarking on a cover painting?

For ages, I'd drawn and painted fantastic landscapes, from childhood onwards. The works of Gene Wolfe provided me with an excellent opportunity to indulge that theme extensively. As regards fidelity to the stories in each book, I attempted to keep as close to what was written as possible, whilst also permitting my natural inclination to be creative a certain degree of artistic license. Attention to written details is fundamental in cover art, so everything else is secondary.

If I get engrossed in the storyline – as with [Gene Wolfe's] 'The Book of the New Sun' series – so much the better. Early in my career I would laboriously read every page of a given commission, but later developed a 'technique' whereby I could extract all the relevant details for a good design within a shorter duration.

You have created works of art for various collections of American weird fiction writers, including H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith – were you a reader and a fan of these authors before these commissions arose?

During my train journeys to art school back in the early sixties, I would invariably read from gothic horror novels, but one name that I don't recall is that of Clark Ashton Smith. The discovery of his unique style was one of the unexpected treats in store for me during my early years with Panther Books. His adjectives alone deserve a dictionary in their own right.

Some peers of yours in the world of fantasy art (e.g. Michael Whelan) have had lots of their work appear in musical contexts, particularly in the heavy metal genre. Have any of your paintings been used in this field, and if not is there any particular reason why?

To my knowledge, I've only done two album covers: both so appalling that their identity must remain confined to the scrapbook of personal rejects in my artistic career. Recently however, people in America have become aware of my past works via the internet and released a couple of CDs with some of my existing images on them. I still miss the good old 12 inch square format of the pre-CD days though. An album cover was a work of art in itself at that size! A real collectible.

What is your opinion of modern publishing trends in the SF and fantasy genres, which emphasise computer-generated art and minimalist, stylised design? Do you think hand-painted cover art has become a lost craft within the genre?

There's no doubt that computer-generated imagery can perform an incredible number of wonders, yet for all its techno-wizardry it still has a kind of 'coldness' when compared with traditional materials. In the same way that an email or text message lacks the subtle qualities of a simple hand-written letter in pen and ink on something called 'paper' [don't forget Bruce returned all these answers to me hand-written! -Ed]. Even the occasional little faults somehow added to the charm of it all in years gone by.

Whilst appreciating some of the wild effects that 'electronic art' can produce, along with cool spartanly simple designs, I shall remain devoted to the materials that I grew up with. Like loyal friends, they never let you down. Apart from the transition from sable hair to acrylic fibre brushes, my materials have remained the same throughout my professional and personal working days.

I am particularly interested in the influence behind the strange architecture that appears in some of your paintings, such as the alien, liquid-like pillars of the Citadel of the Autarch art, and the oddly eroded masonry forming the background of the Claw of the Conciliator piece. Were there any real-life reference points for theses scenes, or were they flights of complete fancy?

Regarding the origins of some of my more exotic architecture, such as that featured in some of the Gene Wolfe covers and personal works, that's easy. Bless the dear old Victorians for their wonderfully heroic artists, braving the extreme climates of far distant kingdoms to record in sketchbooks the ruins of once mighty empires. I would frequently gaze at the finished works on huge canvases in the Fine Art Society's own gallery halfway down London's Bond Street. What an inspiration!

When I mixed my own outlandishly vitrified tectonics with those crumbling columns of antiquity, a sort of extraneous fusion of styles began to develop – and it kind of worked! Much to the approval of the fans and the author, who suggested we form a mutual admiration society. I took that as the ultimate accolade.

In August 2011 you exhibited several of your original paintings in London's esoteric book shop Atlantis Books, which was surprisingly enough the first ever exhibition of your work. How did this display come about, and would you consider any further exhibitions of your art as a result?

For years, I'd exhibited my original artworks in collaboration with other artists in the UK and abroad, but always felt uneasy about a 'one man show' of my own. Occasionally I'd make the odd tentative visit to some of the West End's prestigious Fine Art galleries with samples of my work, but the reaction was invariably the same: “sorry, not really our kind of thing,” or, “a little too Science Fictiony for us.” So from then on, the whole idea of a personal exhibition gradually became eroded into extinction.

For a couple of decades that's how things remained, until a good friend of mine, Nigel Suckling the writer, generously decided that I should have a website. Being an artist himself, he made an excellent job of it, all at his own expense. This single magnanimous act effectively brought numerous works of mine (mainly SF and Fantasy book covers) back into the public's awareness after aeons of obscurity. This all occurred in 2008 around the Spring. From then on, the fan-mail and emails began to build up, along with my reputation. The whole 'hands-on' kind of art of the publishing scene prior to computerised graphics suddenly got a whole new generation of devotees who were never around in the heyday of my book covers, back when artists used paint and inks on art-board.

It was during one of my visits to London in 2008 that I called in at several of my regular shops that deal in esoteric publications broadly termed 'the Occult'. One of these, The Atlantis Bookshop in Bloomsbury, had an awesome reputation regarding the number of famous mystics and occultists that frequented the shop as far back as 1922 [Aleister Crowley was one such customer, along with many figures linked to the Golden Dawn, of which Order several original ritual objects are still on display; www.theatlantisbookshop.com -Ed]. It was there, during a conversation about art generally, that I suddenly remembered “hey I've got a website!” - and they had a computer – so instead of lugging a heavy folder onto their desk I just gave them the details and instantly, colourful images of my work lit up their screen. Although Science Fiction and Fantasy weren't exactly their subject, they did let me know that they regularly exhibited works by various artists in their basement gallery downstairs. They even gave me a glimpse, but nothing definite in the way of an exhibition was discussed at that stage.

After a few more visits, the real decision to give me a one-man show was made in early 2011. Given that my work could hardly be termed 'mystical' or 'philosophical', they were venturing into unknown territory – even driving up to the 'Eastercon' SF convention in Birmingham and other similar venues to advertise the exhibition in advance.

Everything came together on the night of the private view on July the 28th when the guest of honour was Brian Aldiss no less. The weather was warm and clear; ideal for the crowds to wander out in front of the shop. It was a memorable evening.

Throughout the month's duration of the show, I made two visits up to London to sign autographs and chat with fans by special appointment; an experience that I truly enjoyed due to the warmth and sincerity of their interest – some of them were even fans from several decades ago! Despite the London riots, bad weather and the recession, people did attend – leaving an abundance of enthusiastic comments in the visitors' book [one of my own is in there somewhere! -Ed] – a copy of which the proprietors kindly sent me afterwards, declaring the show to have been “a universal success”. Not least, I feel, because of all the effort that they put in towards it, for which I thank them, and all those who also contributed.

As regards the possibility of another exhibition, that is very unlikely in the immediate future. The sheer effort involved in framing alone has been considerable, but within a few years' time, who knows. As I'm officially retired, the works would probably be less commercially orientated.

Is Fantasy your main diet as a reader? What are some of your favourite works of fiction?

How much fiction do I normally read these days? Hardly any as a matter of fact. I'm far more inclined towards the extraordinary aspects of the so-called 'real world'. Fortean Times and Nexus magazine are a regular essential for me in terms of the weird and wonderful that largely goes unreported by the media in general. And if it is, the tone has a tendency to be of a slightly mocking nature, or even ridicule. Something I could never be accused of, as I've always embraced the mysterious unreservedly.

That seems like a good sentiment to close with! Bruce, thanks for your replies and all your inspiring work.

Here's hoping it all goes well for you, and thanks again for your interest.

www.brucepennington.co.uk