My last Official Wheel of Time Artwork under Bandersnatch Group:
Min Farshaw - Doomseer
As many of you are aware by now, The Wheel is turning to a new age, and the story we all know from the Wheel of Time books has been picked up by Amazon for production as a television series. There is now the opportunity for many potential fans around the world to become exposed to Robert Jordan’s characters and epic tale in a medium that those who are not voracious readers like ourselves may find more accessible. “Pshaw,” as Cadsuane (or we First Fans) would say… but true none the less.
In the process required for the production to take place, artistic licenses and merchandizing rights have moved away from Bandersnatch Group, which includes Harriet McDougal and others that you know from JordanCon, to Sony Pictures Entertainment. What this means for me is that as of the day after JordanCon 2019, I am no longer able to produce Official Wheel of Time artwork. At least for now… who knows what Sony may decide to do with it’s licensing in the future, and whether that might include me? I am, however, allowed to continue to sell my stock of current Wheel of Time artwork until the end of October this year. And I’m not sure if all of you know this, but my Wheel of Time prints are available on my website’s print page: http://www.edselarnold.com/prints For those of you who attend DragonCon in Atlanta, I will also have prints, framed prints, and some metal prints available at the Art Show, so make sure to drop by on Labor Day weekend! And, because the art is part of my body of work, and is allowed to continue to be part of my portfolio, the images will remain on my website gallery forever, even if only for the viewing pleasure of my fellow Wheel of Time fans.
I know that change makes most of us nervous, but remember we don’t have even small glimmers and hints of the future like Min does. We have no clues at about the future at all. We can only trust that ,”The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.” Certainly when I painted Pink Ribbons back in 2012 and took it to one of Harriet’s and Brandon’s book signings, I had no idea where it would lead. No idea that Jennifer Liang would take note of the work at the book signing. No idea that April Moore would start following my Wheel of Time work on Deviant Art… nor that she and Wilson Grooms would start conspiring to get me to JordanCon and in the Art Show. Certainly no idea that Harriet would then grant me a license to paint the characters I already loved. And because of that license I was able to meet and work with buddies Jeff and Kiley Daniel and Sophie Coleman from Tavern Tees, leading to a WoT Calendar that introduced me to fellow artists Paul Bielaczyc, Joe O’Hara and Ariel Burgess… who all became my little artist cadre and dear friends. Working with Bandersnatch gave me the opportunity to get to know Maria Simmons, Stephen Hanson and Alan Romanczuk, not to mention Alan’s wife and fellow WoT artist Amy, who shares my same birth year and considers me her “litter mate”! Heck, even my very obvious artistic style has developed and solidified itself over the last few years while I was working on my Wheel of Time artwork.
I’ve become connected to so many people because of reading one book, creating one piece of art, and obtaining one license… and since the book started the rising of that little “wind,” I guess I owe the biggest debt to Robert Jordan, though we never actually met. So I look forward to seeing where that wind flows next, and what it becomes. And though I lose the title “Official,” I don’t lose any of these relationships that have so enriched my life…nor the artwork that has given me so much joy and creative release. So buy the art while you can… look to see what artistic inspiration moves me next… and make sure you come see me at JordanCon next year, because I’ll definitely be there!