Otherworldly Art

by Andrew Cox
(Toronto ON Canada)

WORLDS BEYOND THE HORIZON

Hi, my name is Andrew Cox. I have been drawing and painting from the moment I knew such things were possible, and that my imagination didn't have to remain just fleeting moments of inspiration and wonder, forgotten or forever unrealized, left to collect dust in the vast universe of neuronal connections that gave birth to my mind. I still remember my very first drawing and why I did it. I was, possibly, about six years old walking home and on the lawn next to the sidewalk I spotted a piece of paper with something on it. Out of curiosity I picked it up. What was on that piece of paper was a drawing of a humanoid creature I called Rock Man. Later I came to know this creature as The Thing from The Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics). Finding that coloured penciled drawing was the spark that set the fires of my imagination raging and seeking ever more wonders to consume.

My very first drawing was of my teddy bear on which I placed a police man's cap. The reason for the cap was that during that day I had seen a police man, and was very taken with the visor on his cap. It was very important for me to get the look of the visor correct, and that I did accomplish, and was the first sense of personal accomplishment I had ever experienced. It was not about show, it was strictly about me and my private universe.

Art for me has always been, in part, about the state of mind I am in when creating, better known as Flow - and second the work which is being created which for me is a vehicle that transcends the boundaries of consensus reality and takes me to places and worlds I have never been to nor seen before. I guess for me my motto would be To explore the farther reaches and dimensions of my imagination, and to have something tangible at the end of my journey.

I am self taught although I did spend some time in college and university. I believe that in many ways to reach any degree of excellence you must have ambition, tenacity, curiosity,and an appetite for knowledge, including a desire to master and apply the specific skills necessary in achieving your objective.

I am an insatiable reader and have wanted to create book cover art ever since reading my first two science fiction novels by Micheal Moorcock in nineteen-eighty.The type of work I mostly enjoy creating is fantasy and science fiction. I have just finished painting my first book jacket. It wasn't fantasy or science fiction but I still enjoyed it.

I am a traditional artist and my primary mediums of choice are oil paints, inks and graphite pencils.

My fees are negotiable but must reflect the amount and quality of the work I produce.

Visit Andrew's world at DeviantArt.