Hit the Beach!

It's D-Day.

Several weeks ago I received an invitation from Dan Dos Santos to participate in a new blog devoted to fantastic art. He didn't have to ask twice.

The subject of fantastic—or "fantasy" or "SF" or "imaginative" or any other descriptive phrase you might want to use—art has always been near and dear to me. I grew up with it; I've created it; I've published it. And increasingly, as the years have passed, I've become more involved with the promotion of this type of art and been an advocate for the recognition of and the rights for the people that create the work.

Art by its nature is an act of communication and I believe one of the goals of the talented group contributing to this blog is to keep the conversation going, to see what might result from an open, on-going dialogue. I know and respect the work of all of the artists that will be posting in the days and weeks ahead and, like you, I'm looking forward to reading what they have to say about how and why they do what they do, to learning about their successes and (if they want to share) their failures. Too often as creatives we operate in something of a vacuum—and that vacuum can exist even if you're working in a corporate studio surrounded by other "artists"—and the best way to remain fresh and to keep growing is to interact with others. To reach out and share experiences. To swap stories and anecdotes and tips. Hopefully Muddy Colors will become a water cooler for the fantastic art community, a friendly bar where visitors will feel comfortable hanging out and sharing their own experiences and insights in the comments sections.

I believe everyone will introduce themselves in their own ways in the coming weeks. For my part...well, I'm undoubtedly going to wander all over the landscape with my posts. I've worked in publishing in one form or another my entire adult life and will probably talk about that (including the changes that are having an effect on artists) more often than not. But I also intend to post from the standpoint of an artist and of an aficionado and of a collector and of an advocate and of a historian. Whether it proves interesting or not will be for you to decide.

So...here we are. There's little else to say at this point except:

Welcome!