The entire contents of this website are intended for viewing only. All the artwork-images are copyrighted @ 2009 by artist, Stephen E. Fabian. None of the contents may be reproduced or reprinted in any form in whole or in part without the written permission of the artist. NOTE: You can click on any of the Thumbnails to view a Full Sized image.
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THE STEPHEN E. FABIAN COLLECTION |
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1. THE STEPHEN E. FABIAN COLLECTION - This image was created with my computer to be used on a CD case. The CD will contain about 500 pieces of my artwork, all of which will appear on my website. The website is a work in progress, I am periodically adding pictures with associated texts , and will do so until I am satisfied that it contains all the artwork I think I did well, and all the related comments I want to make. I have no specific date for completing this project.
My artwork had its genesis in the early 1950s when I was 21 years old, teaching an electronics course in the U.S. Air Force. I began to buy science fiction magazines at the base PX, being attracted to them by the artwork and story blurbs on the covers that promised unusual and exciting stories. I was especially attracted by Virgil Finlay's beautiful cover artwork on Famous Fantastic Mysteries and Fantastic Novels, as well as his marvellous story illustrations. Edd Cartier's illustrations in Astounding Science Fiction were so good I read the stories he illustrated before any others in the magazine. I remember thinking, "I wish I could draw and paint like that!"
For years that "wish" lingered in my mind, and eventually I stopped wishing and began learning to draw and paint during spare time. And here I am over 60 years later, looking at all of the artwork that I somehow managed to create. And the wonder of it is that in time, I actually became a full-time professional SF illustrator, just like Cartier and Finlay! Whenever I wake up in the morning and think it was all a dream, I am assured that it really did happen when I look at the statue of Lovecraft that rests on a shelf in my library; it was sculpted by Gahan Wilson and presented to me at the World Fantasy Convention. At the base a shiny plaque reads , " 2006 World Fantasy Award Lifetimetime Achievement Winner, Stephen Fabian".
| :: Wed 10/05/2011 @ 09:35 :: 001 |
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2. MERMAID - Acrylic painting on a 16 x 20 size canvas board. Back in the mid 1960s I had this dream of someday becoming a part-time professional science fiction illustrator after retiring from earning a living in the electronics industry. My experience as a teacher in the USAF had taught me that behind every object and every subject there is a history of learning, a process of development, and if I wanted to fulfill my dream I had better start by learning to draw and paint, and to find out what it takes to become a pro.
So I went to the one bookstore in Middlebury, Vermont and was lucky to find five art instruction books by Andrew Loomis, one of the great golden age illustrators, "Fun With a Pencil," "Drawing the Head and Hands," "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth," "Three Dimensional Drawing," and the best of the 5, "Creative Illustration". I started with "Fun with a Pencil," reading and doing the drawing excersizes and over the next two years, during spare time I read all five books, made hundreds of drawings, and finished with the painting projects in "Creative Illustration". This painting is my copy of the Loomis "Mermaid" painting in that book, but I made lots of changes so it's not an exact copy.
I have been described as a "self-taught" artist but oviously that is not true, my teacher was Andrew Loomis. Through his books he taught me how to give life to pencil drawings by giving them the illusion of having three dimensions using the principles of light and shadow, how to arrange (juxtapose) objects within a composition, along with the placement of the horizon line and the point to which all objects recede in a composition, plus dozens of other bits of useful knowledge that were important to my development as an illustrator. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was the need to exercise my powers of observation, to look deeper into the things I see, and to realize that the "learning" should never stop.
| :: Sun 11/13/2011 @ 09:23 :: 002 |
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3. THE POTTERS OF FIRSK - A black ink and color pencil drawing on a 9 x 12 size vellum paper, circa 1966. At this time I was working in the electronics industry and drawing was just a spare time hobby. I was teaching myself to draw and paint, and occasionally I would copy a drawing of one of my favorite science fiction and fantasy artists. In this case I copied a story illustration by Edd Cartier, "The Potters of Firsk" by Jack Vance that appeared in the May 1950 issue of Astounding SF, in black and white. I added color to my copy.
Many years later, around 1990 I think, I had the great pleasure of meeting Edd Cartier. We became good friends, he came to my home, I went to his. The basement in his home had been made to look like an old fashioned cabaret, there were several round tables covered with appropriate red-checkered tablecloths, and lots of antique lanterns hung from the ceiling, giving the room a unique atmosphere. It was a fun place to meet, eat and chat. Sadly, Edd passed away recently. He was a decorated soldier-hero of WW2, a devoted husband and father, an outstanding illustrator, a truly decent and honorable man, it was a joy and an honor to know him.
| :: Fri 09/23/2011 @ 07:38 :: 003 |
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4. FREAS-LAWRENCE - A Black ink and color pencil drawing on a 9 x 12 size vellum paper, circa 1966. This is another hobby-copy drawing that I did in my spare time after working a full day at Simmonds Precision Products, an aerospace company in Vermont. I copied a Kelly Freas figure from the cover of Astounding SF Apr.1955 (the red-haired man), and the Lawrence Stevens female figure from the cover of Famous Fantastic Mysteries Aug.1949.
It was around this time that I began thinking about not copying drawings of my favorite artists any more, it was time to develop a style of my own. But being different, being "original" is actually a difficult thing to achieve. Sometimes it just comes naturally to a person, but mosttly it's a rare thing. it took quite a while before I started to find my own way of creating a picture. It pleases me, now , when someone says they can spot my work instantly. So, although my artwork may show the influence of the artists that I learned from, my own identity does dominate my work, and I'm happy with that.
| :: Fri 09/23/2011 @ 07:39 :: 004 |
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8. LETTERS LOVECRAFTIAN - Black Ink and black color pencil drawings on an 11 x 14 size coquille board, 1975. These drawings were commissioned by Gerry de la Ree for a Lovecraft book that he wanted to publish. Gerry was the first person I met who was an insider in the science fiction and fantasy field. That was back in 1955 when he lived in River Edge, NJ. and had a home-based mail-order business selling used SF books and magazines. I had come to his home to buy some back issues of Fantastic Novels and Famous Fantastic Mysteries because they all featured the artwork of Virgil Finlay, Lawrence Sterne Stevens, and Hannes Bok, and I just had to have them.
When I entered his home it was like stepping into the Magical Land of OZ, beautiful paintings hung on all the walls above bookcases filled with rare science fiction and fantasy books and magazines. My sense of wonder was overflowing and by the smile on his face I could see that Gerry understood how I felt. It never entered my mind that someday I would become a part of that magical world.
But sometimes dreams do come true and 20 years later I stood in his library again, as I had been doing for years, looking at all those wonderful paintings by Freas, Bok, J. Allen St. John, and the others, and amazingly, along side their paintings hung some of mine. I had persevered and made my dream come true, I was one of "them," painting covers and drawing story illustrations for SF books and magazines. Fan publishers like Gerry de la Ree made it possible.
| :: Fri 09/23/2011 @ 09:07 :: 008 |
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9. GERRY DE LA REE - A black ink, black color pencil drawings on an 11 x 14 size coquille board. This drawing was commissioned by Helen de la Ree in 1975. She gave me a 1950 photo of her husband, Gerry and asked me to surround him with his favorite artists; Virgil Finlay, Hannes Bok and Edd Cartier. For years Gerry and Helen purchased original artwork from me and eventually they published two art books featuring my work, "Fantasy by Fabian," and "More Fantasy by Fabian". We became good friends, I was a frequent visitor to their home, often buying some old pulp magazines or books that they sold through his mail order catalog. It was a great pleasure looking at all those wonderful original paintings by my favorite artists that were displayed throughout the house.
One dreadful day his wife Helen phoned and told me that Gerry had only a day or two to live and would like to see me. When I got there he greeted me at the door looking as normal as I'd ever seen him, though I knew that he suffered from sugar diabetes. During the next hour or so nothing was said about his imminent passing, and I don't remember what we talked about because my mind was so numb. I do remember that when the time came to leave we looked at each other, there was an unspoken understanding that this was the final goodbye. We hugged and I left in a kind of daze. A few days later he was gone, and I'm still amazed when I think of how calm and ordinary his demeanor was during that last visit. Just before I left he waved at his magnificent library of rare and very expensive books and asked me to take any book I wanted. I couldn't do it. Instead, there was a small plastic model airplane that a neighbor's kid had made, and I took that because he insisted I take something to remember him by. And just like that, a truly wonderful part of my life was gone. And so was that magnificent library of books and paintings that were sold to book dealers. That small plastic model airplane that I took sits on a bookshelf in my library and every time I look at it, I think of him.
| :: Tue 01/24/2012 @ 07:50 :: 009 |
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10. HELEN DE LA REE - A black ink and gray pencil drawing on an 11 x 14 size vellum paper, circa 1974. It is an excerpt from a larger drawing that appears on the cover of, "Fantasy Collector's Annual, 1975," edited and published by Gerry de la Ree.
Way back in 1955, when I first went to buy some back issues of old SF pulp magazines from her husband Gerry, Helen was puttering around the plants in front of their home in River Edge, NJ. She is a beautiful woman with a soft unassuming voice who not only took care of the landscaping around their house, she also managed to take care of their art collection, their huge library of rare books and their mail-order business. She also had to do most of the hard work managing Gerry's publishing ventures because his poor health prohibited him from doing it. That was years ago, though it seems like yesterday. We have been friends now for a very long time, she remains an ageless and beautiful woman.
| :: Fri 09/23/2011 @ 09:20 :: 010 |
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