Astrona

David Mattingly Sci-Fi Art

2007-10-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

David Burroughs Mattingly is an illustrator and painter best known for his numerous book covers of science fiction and fantasy literature.

About the artist from David Mattingly Illustration: David began drawing and painting as a small child, influenced by comic books, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and a wide array of artists from Jim Steranko, to N.C. Wyeth, to Jackson Pollock. After high school, he attended the Colorado Institute of Art at Colorado State University and later transferred to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. After school, he worked at Walt Disney Studios, ultimately becoming head of the matte department. He worked on The Black Hole, Tron, Dick Tracy, Stephen King's The Stand and most recently I, Robot for Weta Digital in New Zealand.

While at Disney Studios, David began doing freelance art. His first published piece was the album cover for "The Commodores Greatest Hits". His first sale of art for a book cover was for "A Wizard in Bedlam," by Christopher Stasheff, published by DAW Books. In 1983 he moved to New York City, and a year later across the Hudson River to Hoboken, New Jersey.

David has produced over 500 covers for most major publishers of science fiction and fantasy, including Baen, Bantam, DAW, Del Rey, Dell, Marvel, Omni, Playboy, Signet, and Tor. For Scholastic Inc, David painted 54 covers for K.A. Applegate's "Animorphs" series, along with the last 5 covers for the "Everworld" series. He illustrated the popular "Honor Harrington" series for author David Weber. He painted the latest repackaging of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Pellucidar" books for Ballantine Books. He is a two time winner of Magazine and Booksellers "Best Cover of the Year" award, and winner of the Association of Science Fiction Artists "Chesley" award. Other clients include Michael Jackson, Lucasfilm, Universal Studios, Totco Oil, Galloob Toys, R/Greenberg Associates, Click 3X and Spontaneous Combustion.

After 20 years of traditional painting, David bought a computer ten years ago and has mainly worked digitally since then, preferring the powerful new tools that working digitally offers the artist. Most of his work today combines digital painting, and elements generated in 3D programs.

Here are a few examples of his work in science fiction: the classic style of sci-fi art. For more information, please visit the David Mattingly Website.

Art Book: If you like art by David Mattingly, please use the link to Amazon.com: The Art of David B. Mattingly: Alternate Views, Alternate Universes by David B. and Cathleen Cogswell Mattingly. Over 100 color illustrations done by David Mattingly.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © David Mattingly. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Click images view full size:

Link: David Mattingly Illustration.

Tobias Roetsch Digital Space Art

2007-10-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

This set of digital paintings was created by Tobias Roetsch. On DeviantART he is known as Taenaron. Here are just a few examples of his space work. Click on images for a much larger version. To see more check out Taenaron's Gallery at DeviantART.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Tobias Roetsch. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

DeviantART: Taenaron's Gallery

Website: GT Graphics (in German)

Space Art Wallpapers

2007-09-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

Collection of Space Art Wallpapers 1600x1200. I hope you like it. By the way, check out Space Art Gallery by Jesse Roberge at pbase.com, there you will find some other space wallpapers. For more beautiful hi-res images from space, visit the HubbleSite Wallpaper Gallery and Astronomy Picture of the Day. Well, and many more... just google it.

Click images view full size:

John Harris Sci-Fi Art

2007-09-22T01:10:00.000-07:00

John Harris is a British painter and illustrator, well known for his science fiction art and other work, such as landscapes and marine paintings. This is a classic style of sci-fi art like John Berkey.

Artist bio: John Harris was born in London in 1948, studied painting at Exeter College of Art and graduated from there in 1970. He has participated in numerous exhibitions both here and abroad, occassionallly showing with such groups as the Brotherhood of Ruralists. His first one-man show was at Double Vision Gallery in 1984. A preoccupation with scale and atmosphere is the hallmark of his work and which has led clients such as Shell, Phillips Electronics, George Lucas and many others to commission pieces from him. Sir Clive Sinclair has in his collection, many large-scale pieces of his work. In 1984 NASA invited him to witness a launch of the Space Shuttle and record the event in a painting, the first British Artist to be thus honoured. That work now hangs in the Kennedy Space Centre and is part of the Smithsonian Collection. Much of the work of this period may be found in the book "Mass: The Art of John Harris", by Ron Tiner. Since then, his work has broadened to cover other areas of painting, predominantly landscape and marine painting, and when not engaged in his own projects, still produces for the commercial sector.

Art Book: You can buy the book of "Mass: The Art of John Harris" from Amazon.com please use the link below.

Check out the official website of John Harris, there you will find his detailed biography. Here is a selection of paintings by John Harris. The main problem that are not alot of quality examples of his work on the web.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © John Harris. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

Link: Official website of John Harris: Landscape, Science Fiction and Marine Artist. See also John Harris Biography.

Mass: The Art of John Harris by Ron Tiner

This is a huge collection of the work done by John Harris.
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: John Harris’s grand vision and style have won international acclaim—and a NASA commission, never before given to a British artist. Yet, this is the first collection of his paintings in print. The work is truly colossal, featuring the innovative, ultramodern structures that brought him fame and conveying the sheer size that edifices built by future-fantastic technology might attain, and the awesomeness, even the terror, of their presence.

Andrew C. Stewart New Space Art

2007-09-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew C. Stewart is a British freelance artist and illustrator that specializes in the space art, astronomy, science fiction and fantasy art. A small collection of his work have been posted here. Now I am glad to present to you the new website of the artist. There you will find his new space art and other beautiful works. Below are a few examples of his paintings.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Andrew C. Stewart. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Link: Andrew C. Stewart New Website and Gallery

Shigemi Numazawa Sci-Fi & Space Art

2007-09-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

Shigemi Numazawa is a Japanese photographer and astronomical illustrator, perhaps Japan's leading space artist. Many of his works are very impressive, but all these images are small size. Here are some his work includes a selection of artworks from space art and sci-fi based on scientific data. More artworks can be found on the Shigemi Numazawa & Japan Planetarium Laboratory (in Japanese).

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Shigemi Numazawa. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Link: Shigemi Numazawa & Japan Planetarium Laboratory (in Japanese).

See also: Shigemi Numazawa at Astrofoto.de (in German). Great magazines covers.

Photo: Shigemi Numazawa Photography Page.

Fred Gambino Sci-Fi Artworks

2007-09-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Fred Gambino is a British painter and illustrator, best known for his sci-fi book covers. He has created cover images for works by many famous authors in science fiction for 30 years. He is now acclaimed for his mastery of digital imagery, creating diverse concept images in sci-fi. Artist says: "I began my work as a sci-fi illustrator using traditional airbrush techniques. With the advent of graphic based computer technology, my work developed on the digital side as well. So, today it seems, I have my feet planted in two different worlds - the traditional and the contemporary. As far as illustration is concerned, there will always be a need for sound creative ideas and strong traditional drawing skills."

Here are some his work includes a breathtaking selection of artworks from spaceships, stars and galaxies, heroes and heroines of futuristic worlds. More artworks can be found on the web, but many these pictures small or medium size. For more information check out the Fred Gambino Illustrations.

Art Book: You can buy the book of "Ground Zero: The Art of Fred Gambino" from Amazon.com please use the link below.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Fred Gambino. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

Link: Fred Gambino Illustrations.

See also: Imagine FX. From paint to pixels, from books to film, Fred Gambino has led a legendary career in sci-fi illustration and concept art.

Ground Zero: The Art of Fred Gambino
by Fred Gambino

To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: The first collection of work from this highly-respected artist and illustrator Includes a breathtaking selection of artworks from spaceships, stars and galaxies, to the heroes and heroines of futuristic worlds Chapter introductions by leading SF artists and authors, including Jim Burns, Chris Moore, Robert Sawyer, David Brin and Elizabeth Moon Acclaimed for his mastery of digital imagery, Gambino's work is instantly recognizable - from covers for the Foundation series of novels by Isaac Asimov to works by luminaries such as David Brin, William Shatner, Ray Bradbury and Elizabeth Moon. Inspired initially by Gerry Anderson, Gambino first hand-made his hardware as small-scale sculptures, photographing them and creating the futuristic images that have almost become his trademark. He is now acclaimed for his mastery of digital imagery, creating such diverse images as the stunning "Heaven's Reach" to the sensuous figure of flight in "Nightwings". Ground Zero brings together worlds of unearthly contradictions in this single volume.

Chris Moore Sci-Fi Illustrations

2007-09-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

Chris Moore is a British painter and illustrator, best known for his book covers, especially in the field of science fiction. He has created cover images for works by many of the most famous authors in science fiction and fantasy, as well as for many other (non sci-fi) authors. Some his work has even been launched into space.

Here is a selection of some of his artworks. More artworks can be found on the Chris Moore's official site. His website provides information on his wide ranging skills and abilities, biography, as well as samples of his work. Prints of selected images are also available.

Art Book: You can buy the book of "Journeyman: Art of Chris Moore" from Amazon.com please use the link below.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Chris Moore. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

Link: Chris Moore's official website

Chris Moore at ImageNETion: Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3, Gallery 4 and Gallery 5.

Journeyman: Art of Chris Moore by Steve Gallagher

The first collection by Chris Moore.
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: In the field of hi-tech sci-fi art, Chris Moore is without peer. His paintings have graced novels by such prestigious authors as Asimov, Dick, Bova, and Clarke as well as posters, game cards, and advertising. Journeyman: The Art of Chris Moore, with text and an interview by Stephen Gallagher, the first collection of the renowned artist's work, including cover illustrations for Dick and Wells novels.

Tim White Sci-Fi & Fantasy Artworks

2007-09-03T05:18:00.000-07:00

Tim White is a British science fiction and fantasy artist, whose main focus is on commissioned artwork, primarily for book covers and magazine illustrations. As one of his generation's most successful fantasy artists, Tim White's paintings have become widely recognizable through their appearance on numerous book covers worldwide. Born in Kent (1952), Tim White joined the Medway College of Art in 1968, where his unique detailed style was allowed to develop without commercial pressure, and he completed his course there in 1972. Leaving art college, Tim worked in several advertising studios. In 1974 his work was first used commercially on the cover of Arthur C. Clarke's The Other Side of the Sky, and since then, Tim White has produced more than one hundred book covers for many famous authors.

Tim White's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and anyone with a selection of science fiction works will doubtless have encountered his illustrations. Aside from book covers and magazine illustrations, his work has appeared in and on: computer games and animation, TV adverts, CD covers, video covers, trading cards, postcards, prints and even puzzles. Several anthologies of his work have been published.

Please visit the Artists UK. There you will be able to purchase Tim White's fantasy art prints and posters - signed by the artist.

Art Books: 1. The Science Fiction and Fantasy World of Tim White. 2. Chiaroscuro: The Art of Tim White. You can buy these books from Amazon.com please use the link below.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Tim White. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

The Science Fiction and Fantasy World of Tim White
by Tim White

To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: Tim White's paintings give shape to the fantastic, to the might have been and what still could happen. With it's frequently optimistic tone and obsessive attention to detail, White's art offers a convincing landscape of the imagination. A collection of White's vivid commercial works spanning a decade... the captivating paintings that transport the viewer from the outwardly familiar to the alien skies."
© Publishers Weekly.

Chiaroscuro: The Art of Tim White by Tim White

To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: Travel with artist Tim White to the far ends of the imagination on the wings of more than 100 works most never before published in volume form. Using inventive photographic techniques to enhance his images, and experimenting with the infinite possibilities of color, he produces striking, sometimes haunting results. Among the very special paintings included are an alternative cover for William Gibson's classic cyberpunk novel Neuromancer; and the original roughs for the covers of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Chiaroscuro is the second volume of Tim White's collected works.

From Publishers Weekly: Renowned cover artist Tim White presents 105 of his fantasy paintings in Chiaroscuro, showcasing his impressive breadth of style: futuristic land- and spacescapes, urban and pastoral, peopled and unpeopled; humans, aliens and winged, four-footed, scaled and mechanized creatures; scenes of beauty, devastation, horror and, always, wonder. Paintings include the cover from Clive Barker's Weaveworld and Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.© Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Frank M. Lewecke Alien Worlds

2007-09-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Frank M. Lewecke is a German painter, designer and illustrator. He was born in 1966 in Gutersloh, Germany. A self-taught artist, he has painted since the age of three. He has a background of scientific studies at the University of Bayreuth holding a degree in molecular Biology and a PhD Scholarship at the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg. He worked as a scientist until 1995 when he decided to become a freelancer artist and since then, he has exhibited his painting in many galleries in Germany and abroad. In 1996 he was became a member in the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA). In 1998 Frank M. Lewecke opened his space art gallery on the web. Below are a few examples of his artwork. For more information check out the Spacelands, where you can find many of his works. Artist says: We are living today and thinking of tomorrow. But who is considering the day after tomorrow? Spacelands are postcards from my journeys into these distant worlds in space and time.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Frank M. Lewecke. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Spacelands: Paintings and artwork by Frank M. Lewecke. A gallery of acrylic paintings of futuristic and alien worlds.

Chris Foss Illustrations and Sci-Fi Art

2007-08-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

Christopher Foss is a British illustrator and science fiction artist, best known for his sci-fi book covers. He has been one of the world's leading sci-fi artists, and his futuristic visions adorned many book covers and posters of the 1970's, and had a huge influence on his artist peers, as well as filmmakers. For more information check out the Chris Foss's official site. Here is a selection of paintings. More artwork can be found on the web but all pictures small or medium size.

Art Books: You can buy the book of "21st Century Foss" (and other books by Chris Foss) from Amazon.com please use the link below. The book is a great compilation of Foss's work on Dune and Alien and on many other projects.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Chris Foss. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

Link: Chris Foss's official site

21st Century Foss by Chris Foss

"21st Century Foss" is a collection of the work done by Chris Foss.
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

See also other books by Chris Foss:
Diary of a Spaceperson by Chris Foss.
Twenty-First Century Foss: Dragon's Dream by Chris Foss.

Stijn Joosten Digital Space Art

2007-08-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

This set of digital paintings was created by Stijn Joosten. On DeviantART he is known as 19-10. Here are just a few examples of his space work. Click images view full size. To see more check out his gallery at DeviantART.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Stijn Joosten. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Link: Stijn Joosten Gallery at DeviantART

Anatoly Fomenko Scientific and Mathematical Art

2007-08-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is a not space or astronomical art, but is very interesting visualization of abstract scientific/mathematical concepts (created in 1970-1980s).

Anatoly Fomenko is a Russian mathematician, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the International Higher Education Academy of Sciences, as well as a doctor of physics and mathematics, a professor, and head of the Differential Geometry Department of the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics in Moscow State University. He is the author of 180 scientific publications, 26 monographs and textbooks on mathematics, a specialist in geometry and topology, variational calculus, Hamiltonian geometry and mechanics, and computer geometry.

Fomenko is a supporter of revising chronological history. He has created his own revision called "New Chronology". Well I'm not convinced that he's serious about it and I have no comment this theory.

But, have you seen the artwork of Anatoly Fomenko? He is also famous for his original drawings and creates magic works, inspired by topological objects and structures. The art you choose to present is thought provoking. All images posted here, from which I’ve picked out the following small selection.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Anatoly Fomenko. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Click images view full size:

Link: Anatoly Fomenko Art. This is by far the best gallery of Fomenko’s drawings on the web.

A.T. Fomenko: Visual images of modern mathematics (russian/english).

American Mathematical Society: A.T. Fomenko. Mathematical Impressions.

Ron Turner Sci-Fi Cover Collection

2007-07-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

Ron Turner (1922 - 1998) was a British illustrator and comic book artist. Here is a great gallery of science fiction pulp covers painted by Ron Turner for British pulp magazines in the 1950s. The following are just a few examples of his work. To learn more about artist, please visit Wikipedia.org.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Ron Turner. Please do not use images without the permission.

Link: Ron Turner Cover Collection. Over 150 color illustrations done by Ron Turner - a photoset on Flickr.

Vissroid Digital Space Art

2007-07-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

This set of digital paintings was created by artist on DeviantART by the name of Vissroid. Here are just a few examples of his work. Click images view full size. To see more visit Vissroid's Gallery at DeviantART.

Note: All artwork and images are copyrighted. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Link: Vissroid's Gallery at DeviantART

Angus McKie Space and Sci-Fi Art

2007-07-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Illustrations of space and sci-fi art, fantasy art, comics art, paperback cover art from the artist Angus McKie.

Angus McKie is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry. He is best known as an English science fiction illustrator whose work appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction paperback novels in the mid 1970s and 1980s, as well as in Stewart Cowley's Terran Trade Authority series of illustrated books. His illustrations often present highly detailed spacecraft against vividly colored backgrounds and high-tech constructions. Like Peter Elson, Tony Roberts, Chris Foss and some other artists of the period, he influenced an entire generation of science fiction illustrators and concept artists. This lasting influence is probably visible at its best, about twenty years later, in the visual look developed for the Homeworld videogame. For more information check out the McKie Illustrations.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Angus McKie. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

Official Site: McKie Illustrations.

John Berkey Space and Sci-Fi Art

2007-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

John Berkey is an artist who is famous for his space and sci-fi-themed works. He created some of the early artwork for the original Star Wars trilogy. He has worked as a freelance artist since the 1960s, after an eight-year stint at a St. Paul, Minnesota advertising agency. He resides in Excelsior, Minnesota.

You can buy the book of "The Art of John Berkey" from Amazon.com please use the link below.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © John Berkey. Please do not use images without the permission.

Click images view full size:

Link: John Berkey online gallery at ArtOrg.info. This is by far the best gallery of Berkey’s paintings on the web but all pictures medium size. Photos and article.

The Art of John Berkey by Jane Frank

To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: Jane Frank examines all aspects of Berkey's work, with more than 100 color illustrations drawn from all periods of his career-including personal illustrations painted for his own artistic satisfaction. Berkey himself contributes an autobiographical introduction. His wonderfully facile style is the perfect balance between painterly impressionism and hard-edged realism.

From Booklist: His art is no less realistic than most sf illustrators work, but John Berkey, one of the most admired sf artists, differs markedly from most of the artists on view in Grant and Humphrey's Chesley Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy Art. For he is, as Frank lucidly contends in her appreciative text, a forthright impressionist. Light is his primary concern; asked by young artists how he starts a painting, he tells them, "With the light--that is, the light sources within the picture." He lets brushwork show chiefly for its suggestion of movement but also because he knows that the eye makes sense out of daubs of pigment, and he wants his paintings to engage viewers' imaginations. Hence, he renders one brilliantly convincing spaceship after another, which in their details, however, resemble nothing that yet exists. They are extrapolations from the human, animal, and machine shapes he limns so well in his pre-sf and contemporary non-sf art, examples of which also distinguish this dazzling album.
Ray Olson. © American Library Association.

Alexey Kozachenko Digital Space Art

2007-06-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

This set of digital paintings was created by Alexey Kozachenko. On DeviantART he is known as Nameless Designer. Just a few examples of his space and sci-fi work. Click on images for a much larger version. To see more check out Nameless Designer's Gallery at DeviantART.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Alexey Kozachenko. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Link: Nameless Designer's Gallery at DeviantART

Ron Walotsky Sci-Fi and Fantasy Art

2007-06-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

Some illustrations of sci-fi art and fantasy art by the artist Ron Walotsky (1943 - 2002). Walotsky was one of the world's premier artists of the fantastic. Ron Walotsky's paintings have been exhibited in many public and private collections including Worlds of Wonder in Washington, D.C. His work spans Day-Glo posters, album covers, fantasy art, science fiction book covers, etc.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Ron Walotsky. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Click images view full size:

Interview with the artist: Crescent Blues E'Magazine.
Ron Walotsky at ImageNETion: Gallery 1, Gallery 2 and Gallery 3.

Pat Rawlings Artwork used in a Space Flight Simulator

2007-06-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Description: Original concept by Dr. Stanley K. Borowski (2001: A Space Odyssey Revisited), NASA Glenn Research Center, models by Kenneth Bolli for the Orbiter space flight simulator (TTM24 addon). This is based on original artwork by artist Pat Rawlings, that was created for NASA study called "To the Moon in 24 Hours".

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Pat Rawlings. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Pat Rawlings

Orbiter

For more information see the sources below:

Pat Rawlings Space Art includes these Lunar images. Astrona - Space and Astronomical Art Journal. See also Pat Rawlings official website.

TTM24 Screenshots by John "MrBatman" Wilson. A series of 15 wallpapers based on the TTM24 addon.

LANTR - To the Moon in 24 Hours by Marcus Lindroos.

Orbiter official website. Orbiter is a closed source freeware space flight simulator for the Windows PCs. See also Orbiter gallery includes screenshots from standard distribution and various addon images.

Alexander Preuss Digital Paintings

2007-01-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Alexander Preuss. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Click images view full size:

Alexander Preuss: Concept Designer, 3D Artist, Illustrator

Member of The CGSociety: Gallery

Bjorn Jonsson 3D Planetary Objects

2007-01-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

If you have not seen the planets and satellites of Bjorn Jonsson, it is time to look. Bjorn Jonsson has highly realistic 3D renderings of planetary objects available at his website. Many of the renderings are done with a specialized planetary renderer, which he wrote for the specific purpose of creating these images. Other renderings are created with POV-Ray or by combining renderings from his renderer and POV-Ray. More information about the software and process can be found at his web page. Below are a few examples of his work.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Bjorn Jonsson. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Bjorn Jonsson's website

Bjorn Jonsson at the Unmanned Spaceflight.com

Nikolay Yeliseyev Sci-Fi Artworks

2006-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

Nikolay Yeliseyev is a Russian freelance artist, illustrator and concept designer. Below just a few examples of artwork, mostly science fiction and fantasy themed. Of course this is not space art, but I think some of these futuristic works are interesting. For more information check out The Art of Nikolay Yeliseyev.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Nikolay Yeliseyev. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Click images view full size:

Link: The Art of Nikolay Yeliseyev.

See also: Nikolay Yeliseyev at the CGSociety.

Chesley Bonestell Space Art

2006-11-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

Chesley Bonestell (1888 – 11 June 1986) is an famous space artist, designer, and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American Space Program. Below is a selection of space paintings by Chesley Bonestell.

Chesley Bonestell was the father of modern space art. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program. Artist and architect whose imaginative and technically authentic depictions of spacecraft and other worlds had a powerful effect on people in the decade before the start of the Space Age. His career spanned nearly a century, from his early architectural work on the Golden Gate Bridge and the Chrysler Building to his seminal contributions to the beginnings of the American space program. Bonestell inspired an entire generation of astronomers, artists, writers, engineers and visionaries with his remarkable paintings. Chesley Bonestell illustrated many pictorial books on astronomy & space flight during his career. Living to the age of 98, he saw the entire scope of manned flight, and himself influenced mankind's push into outer space. By then he had been honored internationally for the contribution he made to the birth of modern astronautics, from a bronze medal awarded by the British Interplanetary Society to a place in the International Space Hall of Fame to an asteroid named for him. His paintings are prized by collectors and institutions such as the National Air and Space Museum and the National Collection of Fine Arts. Wernher von Braun, the leader of the German rocket team who had come to the U.S. after World War II: "Chesley Bonestell’s pictures ... present the most accurate portrayal of those faraway heavenly bodies that modern science can offer."

Official sites: Chesley Bonestell Space Art and The Chesley Bonestell Archives

Great scans from an old magazine article: Mr. Smith Goes to Venus. Illustrations by Chesley Bonestell. Coronet Magazine (1950).

Wikipedia: Chesley Bonestell

Art Books: "The Art of Chesley Bonestell" by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III with Melvin Schuetz is a compilation of Chesley Bonestell's paintings. The book contains more than 300 illustrations, 200 in full color, and a full-length biography of the artist. "A Chesley Bonestell Space Art Chronology" contains well over 700 entries and is the definitive reference guide to publications containing Bonestell's space art. You can buy these books from Amazon.com please use the link below.

The Art of Chesley Bonestell
by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III with Melvin Schuetz

To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: The Art of Chesley Bonestell, by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durante, with a foreword by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, showcases more than 300 drawings by the renowned architect and space artist, from illustrations of the chief engineer's plans for the Golden Gate Bridge (for the benefit of funders); to his favorite among his paintings, The Engulfed Cathedral A Fantasy; to his pre-space-travel lunar and Martian landscapes for magazines like Galaxy and Astounding.
From Publishers Weekly. © Cahners Business Information, Inc.

A Chesley Bonestell Space Art Chronology
by Melvin H. Schuetz

To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Book Description: A Chesley Bonestell Space Art Chronology is a 250-page book contains some 750 entries that catalog virtually every appearance in print of Bonestell's space art from 1944 to the present. The contents, among other things, include an essay on Bonestell by Ron Miller, a chronological biography compiled by Hulda Bonestell and Schuetz, and three indexes. This book is an invaluable resource for the Bonestell enthusiast and collector.
© Bonestell Space Art.

NASA Spider Space Station Concept

2006-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Description: A 1977 concept drawing for a space station. Known as the Spider concept, this station was designed to use Space Shuttle hardware. A solar array was to be unwound from the exhausted main fuel tank. The structure could then be formed and assembled in one operation. The main engine tank would then be used as a space operations control center, a Shuttle astronaut crew habitat, and a space operations focal point for missions to the Moon and Mars.

Click image view full size:

If you want to download Hi-Res images, click the link: Spider Space Station Concept. GRIN - Great Images in NASA.

Thumbnail: JPEG 135x99, 16 KBytes.
Small: JPEG 1080x795, 526 KBytes.
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Large: JPEG 4500x3314, 13,596 KBytes.

For more information about history space station concepts check out the Space Station Concepts of the 1970's.