December 7, 2019 - Here is a cover I recently painted for 'The Cunning Man', a novel by D.J. Butler and Aaron Ritchey, published by Baen books. The story takes place in Depression-Era Utah, and follows a man named Hiram Woolley. Hiram is a man with mystical abilities derived from the commonsense application of Scot-Irish folk wisdom and German Braucher magic. He possesses an arcane Bloodstone that allows him to see a lie the moment it is spoken. I felt like this book had a very unique blend of magic, religion, and superstition, set in early America, that resulted in a really cool vibe, not quite like anything else I've had a chance to illustrate. For whatever reason, that sensibility immediately evoked a sense of light and color in my imagination. Something about my notion of the West, and…