The Nameless Day (cover illustration), oil on canvas, 1999

Another cover for a novel by Sara Douglass, book 1 in the Crucible Trilogy. The series is set in medieval Europe, taking in real history but representing angels and demons as very real and present political players. And the angels seem to be far worse than the demons, tyrannically self-righteous, which is what I tried to represent in this painting. By this time I developed my own briefs, the publisher knew me well enough to just send an unpublished manuscript in the mail, and I'd send back a prelim sketch for approval, then a final painting.