Artist Charles Keegan is best known in the Wheel of Time community for his work on the covers of From the Two Rivers and To the Blight, a two-part publication of The Eye of the World from Starscape Books. With an artistic background from the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York, his paintings have appeared on book covers by Tor, Del Rey, Baen, and Meisha Merlin, and on collectible card and role playing games including Forgotten Realms and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. silklantern asked Charles about his Wheel of Time book cover paintings and about life as an artist.

How did you begin your career in science fiction and fantasy art? What do you see as some of the highlights of your career?

After gaining some insight into painting and the visual language, I decided to spend a few months and paint some pictures for a fantasy portfolio. I showed the paintings at DragonCon in Atlanta and Tom Doherty, president and creator of Tor books, saw them and gave me his card and told me to visit him in New York. I did, and within a few months completed my first cover, Conan and the Mists of Doom.

As to highlights, that's hard to say, because every commission has its challenges and lessons. One thing that comes to mind is having Bud Plant give two of my prints the coveted designation "Recommended" and he gave my print called ‘Wildcat’ a "Highly Recommended" in his catalog. Another is receiving a Best in Show award for "Held by Honor" at World Fantasy in Corpus Cristi.

What is your typical work day like?

I don't really have a typical day. Most of the time I end up working at night even when I try hard to keep to a day schedule. During the day there is always some chore or errand, not to mention the phone, but I can paint throughout the night without interruption. Some weeks it's get up and paint, eat, paint, sleep. Other times it's days of doing research and reading, either for pleasure or work. Sometimes, when I get the chance, I don't paint for a week or two just to recharge my batteries. Believe it or not, I can feel something powerful building within me and can now recognize the optimum time to start a painting. When I'm allowed that luxury, the painting takes on something more than just the raw materials, it takes on some kind of "feeling" that people recognize. Though usually, deadlines don't allow for that and then I just hang on for the ride and do my best. I try to make working out and running a priority, but somedays I just don't have time.

You mentioned being discouraged from art as a child. How did you respond to the discouragement? What lessons have you learned from the childhood discouragement, and what would you pass on to a young person interested in a career in the art?

I think making things so easy for kids today is why I see so little fire in their eyes. It's all been handed to them. I know some very talented young people who had all kinds of encouragement from those around them but they have no drive to work. They seem to think they deserve what they want instead of being willing to fight for it. Many kids have been brainwashed with the ridiculous notion that competition is unnecessary at best and bad at worst. The world is a competitive place and for every good job or project there are many people who want or need it. Those who understand that, have a distinct advantage over those who simply hope things will come their way.

I'm stubborn, and as a child when someone told me that I was wasting my time drawing, I just kinda glared and kept doin it. Will is forged, it doesn't come by having things easy. I'm glad people tried to stop me and put roadblocks in my path, because it made me more determined than ever to succeed.

Read the stories of people who have done great things, I don't mean like drawing or such, but world changers; they had it hard and grabbed life in their fist and fought hard to accomplish their goal.

If a young artist is serious about being a professional artist, in whatever field, they should trust their instincts to determine their direction. Prepare for years of depravation and go to an art school, not college, to get the basics from working pros-- not pro teachers. I wasted years on college art teachers when all I wanted was info that I never got from them. Ask to see the teacher’s work, and ask if it’s recent. If they aren’t way better than you, don’t waste your time. You think you have all the time in the world, you don’t.

What do you find rewarding about being a career artist? What do you find challenging?

The most rewarding thing about thing about being a professional artist is seeing your work on the bookstands and then having people come by at cons to have books autographed. That means that someone sees your work and thinks enough of it to go to the trouble to get it signed. Art is a language and if people connect with it in some way, then I have done it right.

The most challenging aspect to this business is to maintain a sense of personal art while pleasing all of the personalities involved in the process of developing a cover. Making a picture is a complex series of problems to be solved on top of the constant consideration to the dimensions of the book and copy (the written words on the cover, title, author, blurbs, etc.). I try to take each book and make a cover that’s the attitude of the book, not fit the book into any set concept of my own. I try to honestly convey the spirit of the book without giving too much of the story away.

Tell us more about the covers for "From the Two Rivers" and "To the Blight." What information did you receive, who did you work with, and what artistic process did you go through? Can you share some anecdotes about these two covers?

I was approached to do them after another artist decided he couldn’t do them for personal reasons, so the deadline was already tight when I got the commission. I read the book and sent a sketch for “From the Two Rivers” that I thought caught the spirit quite well and everybody liked it a lot including the Jordans, but when they asked what scene it came from I told them that it was the overall feel of the book, but of no scene. They insisted on a scene and Tor needed both Rand and Egwene on the cover. Yet the two characters were very rarely in a scene together through the entire Eye of the World. So I was squeezed into the scene of the ruins, but I really like the way the painting turned out. The same holds true for “To the Blight” in that the same parameters were in place, a scene with both Rand and Egwene. Because the Two Rivers was so quiet and moody, I wanted the second cover to have much more action. Once the approval process was done, I had three weeks to paint both covers, and for a multi-figure image with all the other elements that are there, man, that’s cookin!

How did you find creating a new vision of the Wheel of Time characters and situations after Darrell K. Sweet's long-running series of covers? Was it difficult to reinvent ideas of the world, did you have your own visions, or do you feel that your work expands on that of those past artists?

Tor was great in that they wanted me to go in my own direction on these covers, all they asked for was for the two main characters. I never considered any existing visual concept to use or bounce off of for the paintings.

I don’t think I did much in the way of creating anything new on those two covers, I was simply trying to illustrate the scenes the way I saw them while reading the book.

I believe that all art expands on what was done in the past. For me, the art I like, the art I don’t like, affects my work. No artist is in a vacuum, and I don’t pretend to do “new” art. I am just trying to learn to draw and paint. Hopefully, that will never change.

The Wheel of Time community has often been critical of Wheel of Time art in general. How have you found the reception toward your work in the community? Do you find it difficult when asked to produce visual renditions of books whose audiences are large or have pre-conceived ideas about how cover art "should" look?

So far the response I’ve heard from the readership has been very favorable. I’ve been told it fits the writing and that they bought the new books for my art, and I think that’s cool!

My main focus when I was commissioned for the covers was that I wanted them to convey the spirit of the book. I just wish I had had more time to work some things in a slightly different way. I could’ve developed certain areas a little better.

Will you be doing any more work for The Wheel of Time?

I honestly hope so. I’ve been told it looks good for that. As soon as I know I’ll start reading the next book to begin working on ideas so I’ll have plenty of time. If the members of this site like my work, they should contact Tor and let them know. Tor responds to the fans who make their wishes known. If I get the commission I’ll let you guys know first.


This interview was conducted by email in April 2002. Additional comments by the artist have been posted here: http://www.silklantern.com/viewtopic.php?topic=334&forum=2 .