Dandelion Sky

Done with this one! =)



I've also provided a high-res wallpaper (2560x1600) for download here: Dandelion Sky Wallpaper

Enjoy!

Moss Dragon - Final =)

After many many many hours more of work and re-envisioning... Two months "late" but who's counting? (I had my wedding in-between start and finish!)...I've arrived at a final painting of the Moss Dragon piece.

I love how closely it matches my original vision: warm morning sunlight, a cute little Irish gal, and dragon that looks so happy I can hear it purring. =) =) =)

Huge 'thank-yous' to my critique buddy illustrators, especially Mike Sass for his awesome paint-over toward the end!

Eternal Fire Map Final

And here we have the final map for Patrik's Magic of the Eternal Fire series. This was quite fun to work on and I am pleased with the way it turned out! Patrik was great to work with and I know his series will go far.

Now onward to my graphic novel! =)

Magic of the Eternal Fire - Final Cover

I just finished up the cover of Magic of the Eternal Fire for Patrik Bergström. I really like the way this one came out. The 'living fire' magic was a special challenge. Next up: working on a map and chapter heading(s) for Patrik.

In personal-art news: I've just revived and breathed a bit of new enthusiasm and life into my long time 'River of Dreams' project. I am hard at work expanding this story and fleshing out the world in which it takes place!

Also: this week I'm the featured illustrator on the wonderful VSS blog! You can read an interview with me HERE.

Tides of Avarice - Cover Remake

A few months back I worked with author John Dahlgren on two book covers. The first was a remake of Tides of Avarice, a piece I had originally created for him in 2007... The book had been since picked up by a Singaporean publisher and he needed the art updated and made into a wrap-cover format. It was quite a fun challenge to remake one of my own pieces in this manner! =)

New (amazon.com link):




New (image only):






2007 Version:

Skymaids and Starfish

For the past few weeks I've been working on my entry for the Dreamscape CG Challenge. Partially inspired by movies such as Little Nemo and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, this piece has its beginnings in a few rough sketches of a bed, surrounded by fish, yet floating in the air...Because of the sheer amount of elements, I'd definitely consider it one of my most ambitious illustrations to date! Wish me luck! =)

Final:



Link to larger version...

Math Wizard

Just wrapped up an e-book cover today for Vincent Tan in Singapore (his blog here: honeybeech.com). This is an illustration of a D&D "Math Wizard" for a specialized rule book. Accordingly, our hero fights with a divider and casts mathematical spells at his foes... I loved the clever concept and had a blast coming up with the illustration to match.

In the midst of said illustration, I underwent a rather big workstation change: I upgraded from a 24" Gateway LCD to a 30" LCD. And not just any 30incher, a NEC MultiSync LCD3090WQXi which I am really enjoying. I also got a Spyder3 to help with calibration =) (Photos of my updated workstation to follow). As for my 24".... let's just say a certain boyfriend is now enjoying a 3 monitor spread for his internet spaceships.

Oh, and special thanks to my friend Joe for modeling in a wizard's robe.

Art Update! Fakir and Witch Cards

These were created for a fantasy card project that changed "direction" and are now not going to be included. So, just in time for Halloween, I can show them to the world =)

Mother Goose in Prose II

Just about done with the Mother Goose in Prose cover for Kalliope. Actually had a lot of fun painting the sheep and flowers =)

Patchwork Girl - Just About Done

Yup, just about done with the cover for The Patchwork Girl of Oz!

Princess and the Goblin - Final Painting

Just about finished with the Princess and the Goblin cover:

The Princess and the Goblin 1

Got a good start on the cover illustration of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. This is another one for Kalliope Audiobooks... Below is the tight sketch, rough sketch and thunbnail sketch.









Also, finished up the splash page illustration for theterrorofprismfading.com a few days back:

Daddy Long Legs (just about done)

Nearing done on the painting part of the Daddy Long Legs cover... Title text work next.

Time Warriors 1: Final Cover

Just wrapped up the Time Warriors: Induction (TW1) cover! It has been added to my site, in both the gallery and shop. =)

Time Warriors 3 Cover - Finished

I've changed and added many things since the last blog update. Below is the final cover, which I have just added to my gallery =)

Prism - Final

After a bit of delay, I've added the final cover painting for The Terror of Prism Fading to my site gallery. I'm really happy with the way it turned out! :)

Dancing in the Kitchen - Final

Alright, finished with the cover for Liz and Linda. Ta da! I also got the image up in my gallery and shop.

In other news, I've got a exciting new cover in the works for an author in New York and have another image for "the big project" on my easel.

Eboracvm Cover Finished

As the title said, the Romans are now back in Rome. Quite a different cover for me, and I'm rather happy with how it turned out. Also below is a version with the title text included.

This image has been added to my site gallery as well and is now available in my site shop as a print.

Now if you'll excuse me I have the last Sword of Truth book to finish reading...

Winter Wishes and Covey Awards

Apologies for the lack of updates. Like many people around the holidays, I've been busy with all sorts of things both art and not. I've been doing commissions, painting a really nice gift for a certain relative, buying and wrapping presents and getting together a business winter mailing (among other things).

I also saw The Golden Compass a couple days ago. The verdict is like but not love. Visually it was beautiful. Plot-wise I feel like they lost a good deal of the book's depth. A fun and enjoyable movie all the same :)

I got e-mails from the author and publisher on a contest my cover art has been nominated for. Please vote for my cover painting on The Fireborn Chronicles at the Covey Cover Awards. [There are polls vertically along either side of the blog, one for Most Eye-Catching Cover and one for Most Relevant Cover. My cover is #18 for both.] If you have a couple seconds please vote. Let's show up those photo manipulators! ;) Thank you so much.

Oh yes, I also updated my site with the image below... check out the full version in the Children's Illustration Gallery at www.LDiehl.com.


Warm Winter Wishes!

Enchanted and Tides

I finished the mock cover image for The Tides of Avarice by John Dahlgren and added it to my site!












On a random note, I saw Disney's Enchanted a couple days ago and really enjoyed it. :) It made me giggle about as much as the 10 year old girls sitting nearby.