[Spotlight Post] Allen Williams
Look at me, doing my Spotlight before I hit the road for ApolloCon. Lesson learned. Typing on an iPhone while Jimmy hurtles us through the countryside at 80MPH is not an ideal situation (though it made part of the drive go faster). This time I’ll have distractions–Julia Mandala. This week I’m featuring an artist is very special–both personally and professionally to Jimmy and me–Allen Williams.
Allen Williams is someone I’ve come to admire and respect as an artistic professional. He is also kinda responsible for Jimmy and I starting to date (and marry), so there’s that personal aspect. He is brash, flirtatious, and funny. He has an amazingly supportive family. He’s the embodiment of “outrageous”, but he’s also the consummate professional.
With Lauren Panepinto – Art Director of Orbit
Allen Williams always strives to grow and evolve as an artist. Where he started when Jimmy met him 20+ years ago is not where he is today. All artists seem to start out with art that imitates the influences of the time (just like writers). He has his version of Anne McCaffrey’s White Dragon piece. He’s done some very comic book/anatomically improbably fantasy art. But that was then. This is now.
When I met him, he was still working the Renaissance Festival circuit and a lot of conventions. That meant “romantic” fantasy art–King Arthur. Kngihts, dragons, etc. (which he turned into something profitable). He created a “cute” line of baby dragons and other critters when he had kids. But not to be shoehorned into “one thing” or another. He started branching out to letting other aspects of his mind out.
Some of what he’s done is “commercial”. When the opportunity to work with Ruth Thompson on The Book of Angels came up, he jumped at it. When the publisher approached him for a Book of Knights, he didn’t turn it down. It was another avenue. Another challenge. And a good excuse to beg, borrow, and buy medieval weapons and armor.
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When his traditional methods of producing art (paint, pencil, and colored pencil) didn’t let him met deadlines, he learned how to work digitally and still give his art the same depth and dimension of canvas and paper. But, honestly, I still prefer his pencil work. His attention to detail is STUNNING. We have several of his originals in our household and each one is breathtaking in a unique way.
He’s always hustling. He’s talking to people. He makes connections. In the instances where I’ve been extra booth bait, I’ve actually LISTENED to him talk about marketing and business (some of it also coming from his wife, Vicki). I’ve filed some of it away for my own use–because it did cross over to writing. I’m pushing some of my own boundaries because of his example (Rhonda takes on Comic Book Shows and looks for other opportunities).
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I still hope that we have an opportunity to work together–I would still love to put my words to his art (I mean beyond “this story was inspired by…”). Because that’s a project that would kick some serious butt. Now that he’s doing cover art, too, I hope to have books with his covers, because again, kick butt–which is why I’m currently jealous of Ellen Datlow. Her latest anthologies all have his covers, and they ROCK. And so does he. If you don’t know Allen, yet…why not?
