Dorian La Padura? He seems to be old enough, though now he is a fine artist and colour consultant. Difficult to find anything about him except for a few abstracty paintings and a violently yellow door for which he suggested the colour.
He did illustrate a Philip Roth story in Penthouse in 1977.
It’s hard to believe … but this is better than the first edition cover art. I like the hayseed lion look better than the whatever it is behind broken bars dealy.
With a sense of gloomy foreboding, Leo flicked his Giant-Size Flame-O-Fast gas lighter… and nothing happened. And he knew from the look on his wife’s face that the furry barbeque had been ruined.
“Hi, we’re just passing through the neighborhood spreading the word about Mormon, cross species, open carry, marijuana farmers. Can we trouble you for 15 minutes of your time?”
I distinctly remember an SFBC cover which was NOT the one given in the Wiki article, but it’s also not on ISFDB (though we know their standards, eh?). It was mostly a white background with a simple line drawing of a lion face behind broken bars. I don’t have it any more to check. But it sure beat this one and several of the others.
Thank you to the few positive comments
Received. I don’t understand the amount
of negativity directed towards this piece.
I believe that because few people use their
Hands to paint and draw any longer that the ability
To judge whether or not something is well drawn
Or well painted is hampered. It’s easy to bully, and not so easy to sit at an easel for weeks trying to bring life to oil paint with hand to eye coordination and great patience.
Greetings Mr Padura and welcome to our site. You misunderstand what we do here. The artwork here is (for the most part) excellent and your talent is to be admired. We make jokes at the subject matter. Not the talent.
[OK guys. It’s time to crack down on the bullies on this site. #BeBest]
Once it is sent into the world by an artist, a work belongs to the world, not the artist. My mom thinks I’m the greatest human being ever to walk the earth, but the world thinks slightly otherwise. I respect the personal attachment an artist obviously retains to his or her work, and I deeply respect that artists put themselves out there, for whatever reasons of ambition, compulsion or whatever, but tweaking the work is not attacking the artist. It’s impossible to “bully” an inanimate object. (And, finally, some of us are able to judge things as good or bad.)
Mr La Padura, I too can appreciate the talent and artistic skill needed to sit at an easel for weeks creating a painting. Since I cannot do what you do I am always curious about the mechanics of the craft. Please tell me, how difficult was it to get the lion-man to wear clothes and sit for his portrait?
April 4th, 2012 at 10:46 am
First commenter to recognise the artists signature gets a free…. uh… virtual cookie. So you know in other words. Nothing!
April 4th, 2012 at 11:38 am
Let’s hear it for Kris Kristofferson, everybody!
April 4th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Lion-o regretted buying second hand Glo-sticks.
April 4th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I like the fact Lion-o here has a bit of a beer belly straining at his shirt.
April 4th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Lion-o and Wednesday Adams. I’ve seen worse pairings.
April 4th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Is that Lars Ulrich in the background? Why looks he so melty?
April 4th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Love the critic quote. “Unforgettable.”
Not necessarily in a good way. I’ll never forget having kidney stones, but that doesn’t mean I’d like to have ’em again.
April 4th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
What are the odds that both of them would get hit in the left sides of their faces with shovels?
April 4th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Dorian La Padura? He seems to be old enough, though now he is a fine artist and colour consultant. Difficult to find anything about him except for a few abstracty paintings and a violently yellow door for which he suggested the colour.
He did illustrate a Philip Roth story in Penthouse in 1977.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkAhAQAAIAAJ&dq=dorian+la+padura&source=gbs_navlinks_s
April 4th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
It’s hard to believe … but this is better than the first edition cover art. I like the hayseed lion look better than the whatever it is behind broken bars dealy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beasts_(John_Crowley)
April 4th, 2012 at 5:37 pm
John Crowley is a marvelous writer, but Beasts has gotten some pretty awful covers. We have the really lovely Gollancz Classics edition:
http://webpages.charter.net/jsa1/jcrowley/images/beasts_p2uk.jpg
@Pat: I suspect your identification of the artist as Dorian La Padura is correct, for all that his current work is very abstract.
April 4th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
@Alessandra: that is a fine cover. My eye wanders naturally around the lion, and the lines that lie on it liven it likewise.
April 4th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Alternate ending to Beverly Hills 90210. Shannon Doherty and Luke Perry.
April 4th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Post-Apocalypse “American Gothic”?
April 10th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
With a sense of gloomy foreboding, Leo flicked his Giant-Size Flame-O-Fast gas lighter… and nothing happened. And he knew from the look on his wife’s face that the furry barbeque had been ruined.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:31 am
On, it’s a rifle. I thought it was one of those things you could use to force the ignition on a Saab.
Yoss: Depends on what part of town they’re in.
February 6th, 2014 at 2:19 pm
“Excuse me Mr Lionface, the Crucible dress code insists upon a bow-tie and waistcoat.”
August 25th, 2015 at 4:39 am
The woman looks kind of like a middle-aged Jenna Coleman. Lion Man looks fine.
August 25th, 2015 at 4:42 am
@Anna T.: Leo is actually Matt Smith without make-up.
February 16th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
I wonder if he has ever had any other hairstyle besides the built in mullet.
February 16th, 2018 at 1:16 pm
“Hi, we’re just passing through the neighborhood spreading the word about Mormon, cross species, open carry, marijuana farmers. Can we trouble you for 15 minutes of your time?”
February 16th, 2018 at 1:50 pm
They were right. They said gay marriage would lead to something like this.
February 16th, 2018 at 3:30 pm
Ah hear tell you said “The Lion King” ain’t such a good pitcher.
February 16th, 2018 at 11:11 pm
I distinctly remember an SFBC cover which was NOT the one given in the Wiki article, but it’s also not on ISFDB (though we know their standards, eh?). It was mostly a white background with a simple line drawing of a lion face behind broken bars. I don’t have it any more to check. But it sure beat this one and several of the others.
Second American paperback is better http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/4a/BSTSDTLDSR1983.jpg
Spanish cover is pretty good
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?628977
German cover… ach du lieber! Lion’s become an ape!
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eVNtbTXjL.jpg
Dutch cover might need Space Sheep.
December 10th, 2018 at 4:08 am
Thank you to the few positive comments
Received. I don’t understand the amount
of negativity directed towards this piece.
I believe that because few people use their
Hands to paint and draw any longer that the ability
To judge whether or not something is well drawn
Or well painted is hampered. It’s easy to bully, and not so easy to sit at an easel for weeks trying to bring life to oil paint with hand to eye coordination and great patience.
December 10th, 2018 at 5:19 am
Greetings Mr Padura and welcome to our site. You misunderstand what we do here. The artwork here is (for the most part) excellent and your talent is to be admired. We make jokes at the subject matter. Not the talent.
[OK guys. It’s time to crack down on the bullies on this site. #BeBest]
December 10th, 2018 at 1:48 pm
Don’t take it to heart, Mr La Padura – we’re just arseing about. And if nothing else, this site makes for industrial strength arseing about.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:29 pm
Once it is sent into the world by an artist, a work belongs to the world, not the artist. My mom thinks I’m the greatest human being ever to walk the earth, but the world thinks slightly otherwise. I respect the personal attachment an artist obviously retains to his or her work, and I deeply respect that artists put themselves out there, for whatever reasons of ambition, compulsion or whatever, but tweaking the work is not attacking the artist. It’s impossible to “bully” an inanimate object. (And, finally, some of us are able to judge things as good or bad.)
December 10th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Mr La Padura, I too can appreciate the talent and artistic skill needed to sit at an easel for weeks creating a painting. Since I cannot do what you do I am always curious about the mechanics of the craft. Please tell me, how difficult was it to get the lion-man to wear clothes and sit for his portrait?
December 10th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
@Bibliomancer—Your comment brilliantly illuminates the fine, fuzzy line between “arseing about” and incisive critical analysis. GSS!
December 10th, 2018 at 3:41 pm
@B. Chiclitz – Thank you. Remember, always #BeBest!
December 10th, 2018 at 3:48 pm
@Bibliomancer—I think the guy on this cover misread that as “#BeBeast.”
December 10th, 2018 at 3:54 pm
@BC – Ha Ha GSS! I suppose the cover models from last Thursday misread that as #BeBreast.
December 10th, 2018 at 4:01 pm
😉
December 18th, 2018 at 6:57 pm
What makes it look off is the near-photorealistic lady on the left. She’s got shadows aplenty, he does not.
December 19th, 2018 at 2:28 am
@Monty: yes, that’s so. Besides his own key light, he also apparently has a hairdresser (groomer?) and a good supply of hairspray.