-By Jesper Ejsing

I hate the internet!

All of a sudden I am able to see the best 5 illustrations some guy or girl on the other side of the planet is posting. It is always the best paintings that rises above the normal haze of art posting on the internet. And I get the feeling that everyone everywhere is being better, more genius, wild and daring than me. Not to mention the simple fact that they all seem to be way better technically than I am, or at least feel.

Back in the days it was different. Mainly because expensive art books or magazines were my only way of discovering new fantasy art.

I still remember the day I decided I wanted to be an acrylic painter. It all happened because of Dermot Power. I was frequently buying Duelist, a magazine about playing Magic the Gathering. This specific issue had a very engaging cover painted in the way/school of Glen Fabry, Simon Bisley and Kevin Walker, all some of my favourite artists. But in this issue there was on the back of the cover a little text about the cover artist. It said among other things, that Dermot was painting acrylics and that he was 27 years old! I turned the page; the cover was awesome and I had that strange voice within me saying; You should have painted that cover Jesper, You could have made that painting. just get to it. What are you waiting for?”

Right, then the more logical part of my brain kicked in, as it sometimes do once or twice a year, and I calculated that I had about a year to learn how to paint acrylics. Luckily a friend of mine Jan Kjær just got back from a School in US and he taught me the way of acrylic illustration.

I painted this Angel as my trial painting and I felt that the medium was welcoming me home… I also felt that a year might not be enough to get there.

My first acrylic painting