The Trophy paperback cover 1989

John Conrad Berkey made this paperback cover painting for The Trophy with dynamic brushstrokes and a sci-fi palette of blues, whites and golds. I'm imagining the act of painting this cover, the way the images would have emerged through trial, error and a ton of science fiction enthusiasm. Looking at it now, I can sympathize with John! What was it like for him creating these space adventures? What was he thinking? Maybe he wanted to imagine a battle, a war in the stars. I see texture, color, and surface, like a dance of light and dark. Look at the brushstrokes that make up the spacesuits. There's a real intention in those gestures, the intention to convey the action and dynamism of space travel. He and other painters are having a dialogue, riffing off each other's creativity, through different eras and styles. This piece, for me, reminds us that painting is a form of expression, full of ambiguity and ripe for endless interpretation.