RAVENHEART NOMINEE: BEYOND THE WALL OF TIME - GREG BRIDGES

"The inspiration for this was the idea of being on the waters edge watching the massive structure being impervious to the centuries of impact from the ocean waves. When working out the composition in this work, I used artistic license to have the building right on the waters edge and the doorway there as well, that way I could add a sense of drama with the waves crashing against it, giving it a sense of imperviousness. Being able to experience the drama of the scene, with a massive mid ground ocean building, with characters, as well as in the sky a porthole that is dark and filled with stars, was a challenge with this piece. Helping to make it possible was knowledge I gained from developing Design and Concept art work, while working on the feature film Narnia " The Dawn Treader" (due for release late 2010). During the many months I worked on this film with a brilliant crew, I worked directly with Barry Robison, an outstanding Production Designer and mentor, I learnt more about how to think about design in a way that captures a feeling of authenticity, which helped with the challenges on this cover. Also working with creative authors like Russell Kirkpatrick helps me explore these new worlds. Russell's intricately detailed and inspiring worlds make it that much easier to create covers. Also the excellent briefs from Helen Biles and the brilliant art department at Harper Collins. One of my aims with covers is to help draw the reader into the book, enhancing their reading experience, giving them some visual magic and adding visual fuel to the authors words. I love the idea of bringing an imaginary world to life with as much detail as possible. "
GREG BRIDGES

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Gregory Bridges was born in Victoria, Australia spending his early childhood in quiet leafy country town of Glen Waverley. His father Ronald was an Optometrist and Mechanical Engineer, who designed and built the house he grew up in. His mother worked in photography, teaching Photographic colouring at Swinbourne University. Greg’s mother encouraged his creative ability, which was apparent at an early age.

The family moved to Sydney when Greg was 12 years old, when his father accepted a position as General Manager of a large Aluminum company. At this time he created his first Futuristic work, which was selected to be sent to The British Isles as examples of Australian Children’s work.

He was gaining an interest in Science Fiction, being inspired by the background cities and designs from movies like Forbidden Planet. There were also books the family had that he was fascinated with including many works by HG Wells and Robert Louis Stevensons work. In the movies he loved the design of the cities these held a special fascination for him. Like the city in The Wizard of OZ, The ships in HG Wells War of the Worlds and the design of the steel submarine in contrast to the old wooden ships in Jules Vern's 2000 Leagues Under the Sea.

In the age of 14 in art class at High School he was introduced to the work of Salvador Dali by way of Dali’s painting The Burning Giraffe. This painting opened the door to his interest in Surrealism. Drawing on inspiration from this work Greg captured those colours in his own art at the same time and surprised the art teachers with an experiment of combining futuristic images like HG Wells War of the worlds and robotic buildings in a 4’x3’ acrylic work This was to set the direction Greg would explore. By the age of 18 he had achieved marks in Art that placed him in the top ten students in the state setting the stage for his future career.

He studied art at Gymea College in Sydney for the first year of the Arts Diploma. After this he set out to combine the work of fine art, surreal art and Sci-fi art into his now unique art form. His vision was to create science fiction art as fine art.

Bridges’ work is now represented in private and public collections in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. He is well known for his distinctive style with exquisite detail. He has carved a niche out of the art world with his surrealistic futuristic and fantasy art. Forging an International and National Award Winning self supporting career as an Artist and Designer creating SF and Fantasy art, spanning more than 25 years, with art published in six countries.