Prestwick Pirates: Cyclops Spider Pirate Step-by-Step

Initial base pose

Second photo under exact same lighting. Arms selected and placed over base.

Third photo under exact same lighting. Arms selected and placed over base.

Added red hair, skin texture and the one eye.

Blue tone overlay.

Placed different face from same session.

Final image in rusted portal frame with spiders and skull.

First Snow

The first substantial snowfall of the season never fails to inspire me. I love how, in a limited palette of black, white and gray, the starkness of the landscape becomes broken down into simple shapes and compositions...

Note that clicking on the images below will open a larger version.

The Abduction of Persephone (the beginning of winter)

Pirates of Prestwick – Part III

The Official 2010 Pirates of Prestwick In-House Class Photo was delayed a month due to the changing production timeline of our annual Resource Catalogue. The finished poster will feature all the 2010 employees of Prestwick House, Inc. portrayed in their finest pirate regalia and hung proudly in the Prestwick Cafe Conference Center. More to come...

Note that clicking on the images below will open a larger version for your enhanced viewing pleasure.

Our Captain of Industry saving his cargo of rum from the Dismal Swamp

Cap'n Scott in a discarded avian-inspired concept

Captain Scott shown during the photo shoot

The Moment of Escape is at Hand!

Vampirate prisoner unleashing her bloodthirsty minions upon her unsuspecting captors...

The King's Viceroy

The Leopard Buccaneer–tattooed with teeth filed into fangs–strikes fear into God-fearing sailors.

Water Music

It was forecasted to be a beautiful, almost balmy (low 50's?) first day of 2011. I had purposely avoided overdoing the celebrations the night before so I might head out early for the Cape. I had a couple compositions in mind involving dunes and or the ocean that I had wanted to realize for quite some time. Packing up my ready-made sculpture some Wellingtons and my camera, I headed south–about an hours drive from my house.

The amount of people in the park at so early an hour surprised me–joggers, lots of dog owners, surf fishing enthusiasts, hikers, and bird watchers–all eager to enjoy a rare temperate January day at the beach.

Lugging my sculpture in a shopping bag I made my way across the great dunes but a recent early winter snow fall made the trek a bit tricky–sand and snow. Along the trail I set up a few quick shots which apparently aroused a group of about 30 bird watchers on a nearby bluff a few hundred yards away–to the point where they eventually sent down an emissary to see what I was photographing so intently on the side of a dune (just over a fence as it is prohibited by the park to actually walk on the dunes themselves). The gentleman seemed quite amused and couldn't wait to get back to his pals and try to explain what he had learned.

Finally making it down to the beach I was happy to see it was low tide which meant I had plenty of flat areas at the waters edge to set up a shot.

Again, a lot of bemused passerby's including a few dogs who seemed a bit skittish when they saw the snakes.

One elderly couple stopped to talk and the old man wanted to know if I had a title for my composition yet.

"No," I replied.

"How about 'Water Music?'" he chuckled, quite pleased with himself.

"Hmm, Handel," I replied (the only piece I know by the composer). He seemed impressed.

"I just might," I laughed.

"Happy New Year, young man, good luck to you in 2011!" he said.

"And to the both of you too," I said, smiling and returning my attention back to the shot.

So far, so good I thought.

The Band Plays On

For my brother Howard.
Thanks for the love, friendship and the music.
You live on in my heart...

The Band Plays On
Copyright 2010 by Larry Knox

when I was a child
you were
my best friend
thick as thieves
until the bitter end

when we were boys
we sailed the sea
to England
with the Merry Queen

while the band played on
the music and the songs
but you're
not here
anymore

and the band
played on

soon we've grown
and you hurt so bad
numb the pain
the best you can?

now I'm alone
but the sound I hear
sweet harmony
ringing in my ear

as the band plays on
the music and the songs
and you're
not here
anymore

and the band
plays on...

Some say you left us
much too soon
never had a chance
to say goodbye
but I say
when you blow away the clouds
you're left with
the other half of the sky...

where the band plays on
the music and the songs
and you're
up there
for ever more

as the band plays on

Safe harbour awaits you...

This summer Prestwick House publishers lost a good friend and a valuable employee.

Paul and I were the same age and we lived through (and survived) many of our generation's highs and lows.

He was my first choice for the cover of Prestwick's A Midsummer Night's Dream book cover and as I new he would, brought to the photo-shoot his self-deprecating sense of humor along with a willingness to do it right the first time around–which he did–and far beyond my expectations.

Not too long before he passed away he posed for our yearly in-house "class photo" collage. Since we had the props and costumes still available to us from the newly shot Treasure Island cover–this year's theme is "The Pirates of Prestwick". The photo below is from that session.

Rest in Peace, Paul. We miss you...

You will embark on a fair sea,
and at times there will be fair weather, but not always.
You will meet storms and overcome them.
You will take it in turns to steer your boat through fair weather and foul.
Never lose courage.
Safe harbour awaits you...in the end.
- Daphne Du Maurer

Gravity's Wake

For the children of divorce...



Gravity's Wake
Copyright 2010 by Larry Knox

you and I
caught between the lies
welcome to my parlor
says the spider to the flies

the love we lost
came at such a cost
3 lives left shattered
one beneath the killing frost

there's no illusions
make no mistake
were either here in the moment
or caught in gravity's wake

this time we're through
say good bye to all your lies
but to your son
be true
he needs your love to see him through
to see him through

tears are shed
when innocence is bled
like the empty heart of love
drained and left for dead

years to come
when the healing has begun
I hope I see the truth that is
a mother and her son

there's no illusions
make no mistake
were either here in the moment
or caught in gravity's wake

Nixon: Up in Smoke (Gimme Some Truth)

I've had this flyer (printed on the cheapest of cheap newsprint–how it survived 37 years is a miracle) since June, 1973 when a scruffy looking Yippie-dude handed it to me while walking towards the gates of the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. I was attending my very first rock concert–Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon Tour. I was 16.

The concert was nothing short of life-altering.

The Smoke-In? It seemed a bit risky to me (my friends and I were convinced Nixon had spies everywhere–especially in his backyard!) –but one year later, under the threat of Impeachment, tricky-dicky did indeed resign the presidency.... coincidence?

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
It’s money for dope...
– Gimme Some Truth, John Lennon

A Mournful Cry

A Mournful Cry
Copyright 2010 by Larry Knox

I see a white cloud
against a blue sky
I hear a blackbird
sing his death cry

I smell the sweet rain
on the new mown hay
I hear the river rise
and the dogs at bay

BRIDGE

I was an orphan
before I was born
In this life,
there's nothin' for certain
one day joy–the next we mourn

I hear a mournful cry...

I see my lady smile
When I look her way
I hear her baby cry
at the break of day

the nature of impermanence

Early Light

I spent a good number of weekends this summer on assignment getting up well before dawn and heading out to different locales in hopes of catching the first light in all its glory. Waiting for a cloud bank to move or a fog to lift takes patience. But standing in a marsh or alone in the woodlands waiting for nature to reveal itself in ways you never anticipated has it's own rewards...

The Raging Sea

A new song demo I composed this summer.
It's about contradictions and duality, and looking deeply into the essence of all things...
It's also about anything you want it to be.

The Raging Sea
Music and Lyrics Copyright 2010 by Larry Knox



Coming into focus
a struggle to be free
the beauty and the anger
that is the raging sea

Walking on the water
a vision comes to me
She's dressed in silk and linen
I fall down to my knees

She hands to me a pearl
She says it holds the key
To the beauty and the anger
That lives inside of me

"Ah, you have to look deep
my son
past the swirling madness
of a milion suns"

"Ah, you have to look deep
my child
for the grain of kindness
that's in everyone..."

She leaves upon a lotus
swallowed by debris
from a thousand ships all lost
to the raging sea

The Pirates of Prestwick~Part II

More co-workers portrayed as pirates for Prestwick House, Inc.'s upcoming, in-house class photo of 2010. Note that clicking on the photo will open a larger version of the image.

Kathy K., Customer Service Representative– portrayed as the venomous
Katherine the Serpent.

Doug G.–Writer requested a flamin' skull and I was happy to oblige.
The croc is a reference to another famous pirate and his relentless nemesis.

Paul M., Senior Editor–Paul's request was perhaps the strangest. He learned to tie a hangman's noose in grade school and wanted to fashion one out of the rope we provided for the Treasure Island book cover photo shoot–insisting he wanted to be portrayed as a pirate who at long last meets his doom!
I injected a little humor into the morbid scenario by depicting his soul at peace and content when finally released from his mortal coil...
The Albatross, known as the harbinger of death among many superstitious mariner does a low flyby to seal his fate.

The Pirates of Prestwick House!

Samantha C, Warehouse Manager. Insistent on not being portrayed as a helpless wench. Arming her to the teeth–literally–and giving her a minor flesh wound makes her pretty bad ass in my book...

Prestwick House publishers started a fun tradition of few years ago when after an impromptu gathering it was decided to take a quick group photo to mark the occasion. Not content with having everyone standing in a warehouse surrounding by boxes of books, I opted to Photoshop in a background (the iconic Sgt. Pepper's album cover with all of us taking the place of the crowd behind the Fab Four). Strictly for in-house use–it quickly became a fun activity for all involved to look forward to every year. The entire staff has been portrayed as senior citizens (from the 1930's), a 1950's 5th grade class, and included in a ficticious WWII recruitment poster.

The challenge has been to find a group theme to base the photo on. This year, on a suggestion from CEO, Jason Scott, it was decided, after setting up an in-house tropical island set to shoot the Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island book cover, to portray everyone as pirates!

Gathering as many props as possible we photographed 30 employees over the course of a few weeks in all sorts of poses from the serious– to the macabre–even the hilarious –whatever they wanted (within reason), was at least attempted, including our Senior Editor wanting to be "hanged" as pirate who's past had finally caught up to him–and yes, we pulled it off!) Everyone bought into the spirit of the shoot and we had a great time coming up with the different scenarios and photographing them. Of course we knew a lot of the magic was going to take place in our imaginations and eventually realized in Photoshop.

Again, these are for in-house use, only with no absolute deadline (in-between revenue producing projects). In the last 2 months we've begun to enhance each of the portraits with no rules, except one– to have fun! The portal was created by fellow in-house designer, Jen Mendoza.

Once all the portraits have been completed the plan is to assemble them over a nautical background with headline text proclaiming the arrival of "The Pirates of Prestwick!"

I'll be posting more as I finish them along with the final image–hopefully sometime in the fall of 2010.

Dan R, Staff Writer, was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist for the U.S. Air Force before joining the equally dangerous field of writing for the high school English Grammar and Literature markets.

Chrissy M, Customer Service Manager, runs a tight ship but I've never, ever seen her look this bad ass (she is always upbeat and positive–quick with a laugh) so I thought the Golden Mask was fitting...(oh god, not another pun!)


Jason S., It was Jason's idea for the Pirate theme for this year's "Class Picture"
He loves french cuisine and Froot Loops...

Mandee W, Warehouse Specialist, looking waaay too comfortable holding onto her pirate arsenal...and two Sugar Gliders thrown in for good measure.

Dream Garden

Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.
~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782

Pigs On the Wing

Let Him In

Let Him In
Words and Music
Copyright 2010 by Larry Knox

When you fall out
going to hell
you take it with you
never want to tell him
you'd better let him in

you hear him knocking on your door
you'd better
let him in

nothing more to say
I don't want to
nothing can make me
feel this way
but you

tell me what you always knew
nothing more that we can do
there's nothing more to say
there's nothing left to play with
you and me
were gone
were gone
were gone

nothing is ever going to be the same again
it's what we do
it's what we do

take it down
break it down
without a gun
we'll never see the sun
you and me
were finished here
taste the sweat
feel the fear

The Mask of Night

The Mask of Night
Music and Lyrics Copyright 2010 by L. Knox
Verse by Wm. Shakespeare

Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
Romeo & Juliet, II, ii



I've seen you
out of the corner of my eyes
it took some time
for me to realize
that I
I loved you
and you
loved me too
it took some time

they say love
is all you'll ever need
when nothing's lost
there's nothing to concede
so I
stand before you
with my heart in your hands
and yours in mine

There's time to sleep
  there's time to cry
  there's time to live
  and there's time to die
There's time on my furrowed brow
  there's time for one more
  there's time for the sentry
  asleep on the floor
There's a time to remember
  there's time to forget
  there's  time to disassemble
  time for regret

but I have no regrets
for the time I spent
with you...

Repeat first verse

My true love's passion: therefore pardon me,
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath so discovered.
Romeo & Juliet, II, ii

Treasure Island Book Cover

Off to the printer tomorrow–here is the final cover design, along with the frontispiece art and recurring chapter artwork for the Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic edition of Treasure Island. The only part of the collage that is not original is the painting of the British sailing vessel.

In addition to the novels and plays in the popular Touchstone series, Prestwick House has introduced a new Touchstone Teacher's Edition line this year which will undoubtedly become a welcome tool for English teachers who find themselves teaching any of the over 75 classic works of literature currently offered. It also presents me with yet another opportunity to use additional images from the session and in a larger (8.5 X 11) format– in my book–that's as good as gold!

Note: you may see a larger version of the images below by simply clicking on them.

All images Copyright 2010 by Prestwick House, Inc.

Concept collage

Finished back, spine and front cover

Frontispiece

Chapter heading

The Pirates of Prestwick

A few basic cover shots (sans text and series branding) for the Prestwick House Touchstone Classic Edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Special thanks to David Nickolson who did an outstanding job as our pirate– enduring a couple of hours of playing dress-up with swords, daggers, skulls, and fake blood. On second thought, not a bad way to spend a Wednesday morning! By the way, those dreds are actually David's. He cut them off for his wedding last year but decided to save them–just in case. 

Photos Copyright 2010, Prestwick House, Inc.