1.      Please tell us a little bit of background on you life: your name, area in which you live, marital status, children if any.   Larry Elmore, married for 36 years, have two grown children and two grandchildren. After getting out of the Army, a million years ago, I got a job at Fort Knox, Ky. As an illustrator, I worked there for 8 or so years and then TSR hired me and I moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1981. I worked there until 1987. I went freelance and stayed at Lake Geneva for a year or so then I moved back to my hometown, Leitchfield, Kentucky, around 17 years ago, built my home and studio where I still reside.

2.      Does the place you live inspire some of the background in your paintings. Yes very much so.  I have traveled a lot and the area where I live reminds me a lot of Europe. A rural area with rolling hills, all kinds of vegetation and types of trees--from tall pines to huge old oaks, almost every type of hard wood trees. Also there are not only rolling hills but some areas with sharp hills and deep hallows, many streams and creeks. Two rivers, one on each side of the county have been dammed and we have two large lakes. We have four definite seasons, each one changes the landscape totally.and has it's own mood and emotional attachments. We have about everything but snow capped mountains and deserts...LOL!

3.      As a famous illustrator can you tell us if you have had any formal training to become an artist?  If so where did you get the training? I have a BFA degree in fine arts from Western Kentucky.

4.      Have you always wanted to be an artist? If so for how long?  Yes, as far back as I can remember I loved to draw, I always tell people that art chose me, I didn't choose art. It has been my lifes obsession. I started drawing around three years old and never stopped. One of my earliest memories was when I was around 2 years old, and we lived in a little house in the country and I had nothing to draw on, no paper, so I started drawing a car on the wall, I mean, there was a huge clean white wall, so why not draw there. I drew two wheels and a line connecting them before I got caught. I remember thinking that the two wheels were the most perfect circles I had ever drawn...while getting my spanking.  I drew constantly all my life. I am much better at drawing than painting (color); drawing seems to come naturally to me. Color does not, and I have to work much harder when painting.

5.      Did you ever want to do something else, what would you have done? Perhaps run off and join a motorcycle gang...LOL. I never thought of anything else. When I was young, my fantasies were being a racecar driver, mountain climber, speedboat racing, or just a big adventures!!! I liked about anything that had risk involved. I guess I have always been a risk taker, the thrill of an adrenaline rush. I am still that way, but now I try to stack the odds more in my favor.  I always felt more alive when my life was on the line. And I have put it there many times; I have been lucky I guess.  I always liked to be doing something, I hated to be bored and I got bored easily.  Art is the only thing I have patience with. I guess it has kept me alive over all these years.  Sometimes I think back over my life and I am lucky to be alive, I have done so many stupid things, but I love life and I love living it.

6.      Do any of your children show an interest in being an artist? Both do in different ways. My son is art talented but he saw how hard I have worked at it and how tough the life of a freelance artist can be, I don't think he wanted any part of that. My daughter is very “artsy” she loves art, a great appreciator of art, but the closest she gets to “hands on” is in crafts or decorating.

7.      What would you tell a young artist that wanted to make a career as an artist? This is always a hard question...If “art chooses you” is the best answer. If you had rather do art than anything else, then you may have a chance. It takes 100% of you effort— of your LIFE. I think it has to be almost an obsession. You must have training (schooling), anymore, that is almost a MUST, unless you are some kind of an art genius!!!  Learn how to do art on a computer ...computer generated art is here to stay and to compete as an illustrator, it is a must. You must be a good solid artist even using the computer. You must know anatomy and perspective...and learn to take criticism. The competition is tougher now than ever before, you have to be good to even compete.

8.      What is it that inspires your art?  Imagination, emotions—music and books—but NATURE inspires me above all things. I also love women (natures finest creation), I love everything about them...OK--OK, almost everything. Some may need a little attitude adjustments....LOL.  I also had a love of history, especially ancient history, great adventures that really happened!!! 

Why dragons? Well, I had never painted a dragon until I went to work for TSR (the company that published Dungeons & Dragons).  One of my first assignments at TSR was to do the first four Endless Quest Books, to kick off that new line of books. So I thought about how I should paint a dragon...I had sort of my own version in my head...but I had a box full of reference photos and pulled out the ones on dinosaurs, alligators and crocodiles—and I painted a dragon, after painting more and more of them (because I had to) I finally figured out my own type of dragon anatomy and they are not do difficult as they once were. I really do not like painting dragons that much...why you may ask???   Because they are HARD...they are not an easy thing to draw or paint.big ol' creatures that must look graceful and fierce!!!

But people seem to like the way I do them, and constantly get requests to do them; I have grown to accept them as part of my life (smiles).

9.      Would you like to live during the times in which you paint or illustrate? Yes, I would love the adventure, the danger, and the romance!! Why or why not? But....it would have been hard living, if it was a reality, no modern conveniences...gaaaaa, I don't know, I am spoiled now!!! When I was very young, my father was extremely sick after WWII and was gone to the hospital to die, many times, he spent most of my childhood years off in a hospital (but he survived it all and is 85 years old)...anyway, we were poor. We lived in the country (in the early 1950's) and had no electricity and no running water, mom cooked with a wood-burning stove and we had a coal stove for warmth. It was tough, and everyday was a day of hard work just to live...I wouldn’t want to go back to those days.

One more little note, back then I would draw on old brown paper sacks by lamplight—hey, true story, not an Abraham Lincoln story—LOL. But most of our neighbors lived the same way, so we really didn't know how poor we were (smiles)!!!

10.  What kind of childhood did you have? The answer above helps you understand some. I was the oldest of three; we were born five years apart. Like I said above, my dad would go off to a hospital (got tuberculosis during WWII) and sometimes he would be gone for a year, to die probably, there wasn't a cure then...when he got to come home, he would just start working and get sick again and go back to the hospital for months...so we were poor, we got about $185 a month to live on...for EVERYTHING. But my mom had a large family and there were always people around and help when they could, I don't think there was welfare then because we never got any help from anyone. But life wasn't bad; you didn't need much back then. And people visited a lot, got together at night and told stories, sang songs, played music, and played games. No one was actually depressed, or feeling sorry for themselves, it was just life and we accepted it and made the best of it. My mother was a very beautiful young lady, living alone (just me with her) and she did her chores and sang, she could sing very good...sometimes she would sing old sad songs and make me sad.they were old ballads and most of them were very sad. She would tell me stories and my father and some of my uncles were great storytellers. I was fortunate to have that life...I remember going to church in old road wagons pulled by a team of horses.during the winter we would put a bunch of quilts over us to keep warm. This was shortly after WWII and during the Korean War. In the rural areas every day life hadn’t changed a whole lot since the Civil War. I always said I lived during the dying years of an earlier time, all the superstitions and spiritual beliefs, made life interesting. I mean, pirates, fairies, monsters and things lived in the deep woods, even a lot of adults, I think, believed that too... (smiles). I think it was a more innocent time and my imagination was wild, I loved it and all the scary stories told by the old timers. I remember my great grandfather with a long white handlebar moustache, and he remembered, when he was four years old, the soldiers coming home form the Civil War. People visited, shared, and communicated more then... families stayed close. Did you always have a vivid imagination? With all that I have said...what do you think? YES!

11.   When did you start illustrating?  I finished up all my requirements for college at the Christmas break in '70 and I was drafted into the army in late Jan of '71. When I should have been having my college graduation (cap and gown events) I was in basic training. Viet Nam war was going on then and I ALMOST escaped the draft! After I got out of the army, I got the job at Fort Knox as an illustrator, my first real job in life...and I have been an illustrator ever since.

12.    Do you use models for your characters?  When I can, especially for the women...man, it is a great excuse to photograph beautiful women!!! I may be an artist, but I am not crazy –LOL! Seriously, I use models when I can, it makes things go quicker and easier.  But I still love to just make up things and people as well. In most of my paintings at least 90% is all out of my imagination.  I try to keep it all totally original. If I use a model, I like to photograph him or her myself. I have a lot of books for reference, especially things I am not too familiar with, but I have tons of photos that I have taken myself and those are what I use the most.

13.    Do you have a piece of art that you have painted that is your favorite? “Avalyne, The Life Giver”. Why is it your favorite? Whenever I get an idea for a painting, I get like a quick snapshot on this little screen in my head....sometimes this snapshot is clear and sometimes it is not... but it doesn't stay there long...I must recall it over and over. When I start painting that snapshot, many times the painting takes on a life of it's own and changes, sometimes a lot, from the initial concept.  So most of my paintings hit within 70-85% of my original visual concept.  With the Avalyne painting, I hit almost 98-99% of that original little snapshot that popped onto my mental screen.

 (THIS IS THE PAINTING)

14.    What is the hardest painting that you have ever done?  I guess it was for Sony Online Entertainment; it was an EverQuest computer game box cover “Prophecy of Ro”. What made it so hard to paint? I think the reason it was hard was because it had a lot going on; magic stuff, transparent things, and two or three dimensions illustrated...it was a bitch and on top of that it was really LARGE!  They bought the original art also and wanted the paintings very large to hang in their headquarters. (SEE BELOW THIS PAINTING)

15.  Larry as a person that admires soldiers myself and have a son in the Navy now can you tell me how your tour affected your life and what effect it had on your art career as to what you see in your paintings. I learned so much in the Army...I didn't love it (my personality didn't quiet get along with the military frame of mind), but I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience and what I learned about life and people. It gave me a discipline I needed, and taught me patience and when to keep my mouth shut...I need all that. I wasn't a bad young man, but I was head strong, I guess. But I did work well with others, and I guess that skill was much improved. I learned of a bond between soldiers that is as great as family. I understand how a soldier can freely give his life for his buddy or for his country...I learned or obtained a new respect of people and the military. I always understood what responsibility and obligation meant, I had practiced those two qualities all my life and because of the military, those qualities grew deeper in me. After my active service, I got the job at Fort Knox and worked hand and hand with the military for the next seven years of so and, I don't know, a big piece of my heart is forever connected with the military and their way of life, I respect them and thank them for their service and many sacrifices they make so we can live our “normal” FREE lives.

The affect on my art...? Well, it had a tremendous effect on me; so my art is me....there is the connection???

16.     How long does it take from start to finish for the average color illustration? It used to only take me two weeks. Now it takes longer, mainly because of “business”… so many interruptions and business things to do ...all the “crap” things I hate!!! I just want to paint and draw! I have an Assistant that has been with me for nearly seven years and she tries to take care of all that stuff...but I still get dragged into the business things all the time...I am running a small business---I mean legally...It has to be that way or you couldn't exist. I am the manufacturing end of it and the president at the same time...gaaaaa. Andrea, my assistant, sure has to put up with a lot from me, but it seems like I couldn't do it without her, she is Godsend!!!

17.    Is there a goal in your career that you would like to see happen?  If so what is the goal? I am working on it now...kind of doing it, it seems to be going in baby steps...I want to just simply paint and draw what I want to do, sounds kind of selfish, but it is true. I have illustrated products, games, books, toys, and magazines, almost everything...and they were always someone else’s product or creation...I have no desire to do that anymore. I mean sometimes I do for a friend but I just want to paint MY ideas. My best paintings over the years were the ones that left me total creative control.  I loved doing those old Dragon Magazine covers....like the Avalyne painting, all they said is that this issue is going to be about clerics—so, do us a cover!! Man, ya can't beat that!

But right now, it takes so much money to run the business, the home—everything that I stay busy doing a lot of personal contract art, for private individual, not publishers. I have more freedom there than publishing, but still not TOTAL freedom...so that is my goal, to achieve total freedom to paint just what I want and make a decent living from it.

18.  Larry we always ask our people we interview two important questions and the first being please tell me how you feel about the shape our earth is in and what you feel about the animals of the earth. Well, I could probably write an essay on that...I love nature, the earth and animals. Those are the REAL things in this old world. The earth, the elements and all it's bounty, were here long before we came along.  We, as humans, are part of it as well; I think many people forget that. We stay so wrapped up in a man made cocoon, everything is at our fingertips...living is so easy for us and what do most people do? We isolate ourselves even more—in our little self-constructed manmade cocoon...forgetting about all that is really REAL! I think there are horrible things being done to all of Gods Creation---to our Earth...our HOME, and most people don't even think about it. All the man made things are temporary, Gaaa, just look at our man made economy! It is some kind of wicked balancing act based on greed and money! Everything we make will slowly fade away, if people would only realize the only thing we do in life that will go on and on is our children and their children and their children...that will last longer than anything we own, or make or possess!! And those children are part of nature, part of this earth and we must have this earth for OUR EXISTANCE...for their existence. Just thinking about it over powers me...there is so much to be said, I think people need a wake up call, and if we wait on mother nature to give us one, it will be a hard call, a big sign, and maybe almost too late for us!!

19.  Second we like to ask if you had a wish or a dream what would it be and can you share a little bit with the readers about that wish or dream. LOL, world peace, everyone living in harmony....LOL---yes, that would be nice, but I am afraid that is only a dream. I think if every one would just simply follow the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” would change a lot of things in this world. I think as you get older, I turned 60 this year (I feel like I am 35), my wife thinks I act too young for my age anyway...but as you get older, you see things a little clearer, not so much through rose colored glasses as you did when you were young. I wish people could find more of a personal happiness in this world. Live and let live, do not try to change everyone to your thinking or religion, or politics, or whatever, but accept people for just who they are and try to find happiness with in yourself.

Do what you can to spread a cheer, a good word, a laugh, a smile to someone else....try to laugh more, share more, love more. I feel that if more people did these things it would brighten their lives and those around them, maybe helping to create a better world, without so much greed and corruption, hate and war. Have tolerance toward your fellow man, appreciate this Earth, help take care of it, and be RESPONSIBLE, don't blame other people or things or events for what you do, be responsible for what you do... the good things and the bad, the intelligent things and the stupid things, just be responsible!

Thank you,

Larry

Larry I want to thank you for your very precious time.  My son and I are fans of your art and we have been collecting comics and cards for years.  Also my son grown now has also played years in the Dungeons and Dragons Games.  My girl Mystic and I are honored to share with you this Interview and our readers will love it.  You are a very talented man and we look forward to years more of your cool art.  Thanks so much for this 2009 NEW YEARS INTEVIEW….   Cindy, Mystic and Peaceful Art Jewelry/Design LLC and Team.