From the inside of a rundown shack, a yellow stretch of desert is visible through weathered boards. Framed by a polygonal space between boards, the last gunslinger Roland Deschain and his companion Jake Chambers can be seen walking away.
THE GUNSLINGER ON THE BEACH (1982)
Acrylic on Board - 28" x 18"
The winter months of 1980-81 were tough. My wife and I became parents with the arrival of our daughter in November, and I needn't tell anyone who has children what that means in terms of lifestyle changes...like lack of sleep. 1/3
Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, stares contemplatively across the sea as waves gently lap the shore. Footprints can be seen in the damp sand leading to where he sits, pistol unstrapped at his hip and bedroll at his side. The sun hangs low but intense, blazing a line of orange across the horizon. Over a low stretch of wispy clouds, the silhouette of an asymmetrical tower rises dream-like in the sky. Odd projections mark the sides while spires of varying height sit atop the peak like chaotic crenelations.
This interior illustration for The Dark Tower (Book 7) by Stephen King is a scene from a chapter entitled "In the Haze of Green and Gold," which set the tone for the color scheme.
King also described the trees as being like the columns of a cathedral and I endeavored to capture this in the painting.
Close detail from THE CLEARING featuring Roland carrying the body of a boy with a small canine creature following him into the gold and green ancient forest.
THE GUNSLINGER FOLLOWED (2005)
Oil on Canvas - 25" x 40"
The second painting based on the famous opening line of The Dark Tower books by Stephen King: "The Man in Black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed." 1/3
A determined Roland Deschain trudges across a barren desert landscape painted in yellows. He wears a leather duster with red kerchief around his neck. A pack is slung over his shoulder and his gun belts are crossed at his waist. Sand blows across his path as he walks toward a half buried skull.
A dark robed figure holds four tarot cards—the most prominent among them is the Tower Card—as he is about to flee off panel to the left. He leaves behind him the barren desert. To the side of the path amid dry cracked earth is the KA symbol, a stylized combination of the letters K and A inside a circle.
On a dusty, tilted horizon, the Gunslinger stands with pistols gripped and angled down toward the ground. Bodies pile at his feet. Dozens more extend in a line that snakes into the foreground. Various weapons—scythes and machetes, bricks and boards—lay discarded in the dirt beside the twisted, bloody corpses. The scene is absolute carnage served up for the viewer who has the point of view of next in line.
GUNSLINGER '88 ROLAND (1988)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" x 20"
I was asked to do a cover for the trade paperback edition of THE GUNSLINGER by Stephen King. I'd done the dust jacket and all the interior illustrations for the limited edition, but this was the first mass market edition. 1/4
Roland, the last Gunslinger, stands with one hand in the pocket of his leather duster and the other gripping the gun belt crossed at his waist. He wears a red silky kerchief around his neck. His dark hair is blown and his skin tanned from his trek through the desert, but his posture is stoic and his gaze determined as he peers off frame left. A raven, facing the opposite direction, spreads its wings as it perches on his shoulder. The silhouette of the Tower looms tall behind him set against a mustard sky. The sun blazes low in the sky as seen through an opening at the base of the Tower.
LEGENDS: THE GUNSLINGER (1998/2000)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 36" x 24"
Stephen King doesn't describe the tower in the early books of the Dark Tower series, but many of the main characters experience dream visions of the object of their quest. 1/3
Viewed from behind, Roland Deschain in a cowboy hat and tattered leather duster steps through an open doorway that hovers impossibly a foot off the ground. A gun is holstered on his left hip. On close examination, the index and middle finger of his right hand are shortened to stubs. At his feet lies a verdant thicket dotted with red roses and littered with human skulls. Straddling the doorway, the Gunslinger stands in awe of a massive, asymmetrical tower so tall that it blocks the sun. Traces of cloud sweep across the field of view and up the height of the tower, creating a hazy atmospheric effect that obscures the detail of the structure. Ravens circle the field just above the horizon. A pair are settled atop the upper left of the door. Another perches on a skull in the lower right.
THE GUNSLINGER: OUTSIDE ELURIA (2005 / 2019)
Acrylic - 20" x 30"
Every time I think I'm 'done' with the universe of the Dark Tower I get called back again...and I go, eager to see if I can hit closer to the mark this time. 1/2
A dusty path through scrubland winds back to a town squatting on the horizon. The full moon hangs over it as birds circle ominously in silhouette. On the low, desiccated branch of a deformed tree, a gristled and road weary Roland stands to get a better view of what lies ahead. The trunk that supports him barely climbs above ground; it looks more like a driftwood arch than anything resembling a tree. The horse tethered to it glances opposite into the soft light of the setting sun. Lavender shadow falls across the tall butte that runs behind them.