My first cover for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Jan/Feb 2011) was written by Paul Park and is a strange science-fiction tale of aliens, odd spacecraft that come to Earth and is a story is full of dreams and premonitions.
The accepted sketch for the cover.
Park’s story goes deep into the maritime superstition that a baby born with a caul around its face or head (en caul, “veiled birth”) was thought to be protected from drowning, fire, or other catastrophes. Mothers would keep the caul to maintain its protection for their children. Or, the preserved caul could be sold (sailors and lawyers would pay big money for these rare items) and its magical properties would be transferred.
I hadn’t painted many images of newborns prior to this one and was fascinated by the caul aspect so I wanted it to be a terrifying image (acknowledging my own horror of childbirth) and yet intriguing.
The machines/ aliens that come to Earth in the story really have nothing to do with the newborn but I liked the idea of conflating parts of the story by encasing the baby in the weird alien machine, cyborg-like, screaming in its caul. Some of the most fun I’ve ever had painting was smearing the pigment and oil over the face so I could achive that watery quality of the amniotic veil and the fluids that emanated from it. Lots of Alizarin crimson in this piece allowed me to get that pink newborn, waterlogged skin.
I hope it makes you go and get the archived story from M S+F— it’s a fun read.
Feel free to drop your comments below!