WITH FOREWORD BY STEVEN ARCHER AND SAMANTHA STEPHENSON

e Strange-Fiction FantasyWorks of Myke Amend

e Strange-Fiction FantasyWorks of Myke Amend

AIRSHIPS and TENTACLES

e Strange-Fiction FantasyWorks of Myke Amend

Copyright © 2013 by Myke Amend. all rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written

permission of the copyright holder.

Additional Credits can be found on page138

VVisit Myke Amend online: www.mykeamend.com

AIRSHIPS and TENTACLES

Dedicated to my family, my friends, andmy loving partner and fellow Strange-Fiction Enthusiast: Bethalynne Bajema.

-7-

is book was made possible by all of the wonderful and friendly people I see while on the the road at every convention and every show, by every arts supporter, every kind and encouraging word from those who like what I do, every thought from every esteemed colleague; I am thankful for everyone who has ever linked to me, every interviewer, every feature, every such act of kindness, from every person I have had the pleasuthe pleasure of meeting, or have yet to meet.

You, make all of this possible. ank you.

Foreword From Steven Archer

Truth be told I have no idea why Myke thought to ask me to write the introduction to his book, because when it comes right down to it, you are sitting here with his lovely retrospective collection as opposed to my non-existent retrospective collection.

So me writing this intro is probably less an indication of my authority on art, and more on my ability to fool my peers.

at being said, this isn't about me.

is is about Myke.

IIn the age of social networking its a rare thing to find artists that are good and even rarer to find artists that are both great at what they do as well as genuine and sincere.

Myke falls into this very tiny category. In a world dominated and diluted by the advent of digital art, finding someone who maintains a mastery of paint and brush can be difficult. And to be clear, I don't use the word "mastery" lightly. Mykes work stands with the torch lit by Frank Frazetta and carried by Michael Whelan; a torch whose fuel is a deep understanding of ideas, skill, and flawless execution.

YYou hold in your hands a thing of beauty. As you look at it, stop and think about the amount of time it took to reach you. Not just the time it took to create the work itself, but all of the hours of mistakes, late nights in bed questioning every choice you ever made with no one to blame but yourself. ink about the strength it takes to pull through that, knowing even then that you have years of work ahead of you before your work is taken seriously. It is a feat requiring tremendous strength of character, and a work ethic willing to sacrifice relationships and oceans of time. Ponder what it takes to turn all of that energy into the act of creating work that you hope has hope has relevance to the viewer; work that is not just interesting on an aesthetic level, but possesses a sublime substance that exits inside each brush stroke, and beyond the frame.

Myke has accomplished a great feat in the creation of the work within this book––

a feat many dream of but few accomplish, and fewer still do well.

-Steven Archer

Baltimore, MD

Much of Steven’s art, writings, and music can be found via www.egolikeness.com. Steven and his wife Donna Archer are each, and together, a powerhouse visual, literary, and musical creativity, best known for their musical project: Ego Likeness, their wirtten works, and Steven’s profoundly-striking weird-tales and strange-fiction driven paintings.

As a musician and artist in the world of alternative art and culture I am fortunate to be exposed to a plethora of underground creative works. In the past few years the music project I have been involved with has been embraced by and become one of the mainstays of the Steampunk community, a movement that is growing exponentially across the globe. Performing in the US and in Europe I have had the pleasure of seeing work within the community that is deeply engaged in exploring the marriage of beauty and function.

OOne of the first steampunk conventions at which we performed was the World Steam Expo in Michigan where I met Michigan native and artist Myke Amend. A few months later I saw his work as part of an eclectic exhibit at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts which highlighted steampunk art in all different forms; painting, sculpture and functional repurposing of everyday objects with steampunk designs and aesthetic. Since then, I have seen Myke’s work become an integral part of the visual iconography for the retro-futuristic landscape that peppers the imagery of Steampunk. He infuses his steampunk inspiinspired paintings with plenty of whimsy and a sense of boundary-less-ness creating scenes of adventure in placid expanses. e scenes he creates have a sense of story as if the viewer were looking into a moment of suspended animation. ese kinds of images can lead to create one’s own story of adventure and engage one’s own musings through the lens of Mr. Amend’s imagination.

However, this collection of Myke’s works encompasses more than the steampunk genre. ough his subject varies, the thread of the fantastical remains with somber dreamscapes alongside elements of the macabre and the twisted that he imbues with just the right amount of humor. Under the moniker of Strange-Fiction Fantasy, the artist has brought together a collection that can be enjoyed by Sci-fi, Anime, Steampunk as well as a wide range of alternative art enthusiasts.

e visual and sonic landscape of the alternatie visual and sonic landscape of the alternative community is ever widening. Whether one is a musician, filmmaker, sculptor, painter, inventor or a fan of the arts, the imagery of an artist can open the pathways of one’s own creativity. Mr. Amend’s magical and mysterious worlds certainly accomplish that with the hand of a true artist. Enjoy.

Samantha StephensonSinger/percussionistFrenchy and the Punkwwwww.frenchyandthepunk.com

Foreword From Samantha Stephenson

A Word from the ArtistWhen I started to put this book together, my intention was to focus solely on the "Airships and Tentacles" collection: a large collection of works focusing on strange fiction and done in the steampunk and dieselpunk fashion – A series that accounts for a majority of my works over the past seven years; I decided, however, to make the book more-all inclusive, a retrospective of the works I've done since my return to being an artist.

“Return?” you might ask:

Many artists will say that they've been painting and drawing since they were four, and that they have *always* been an artist.

AAt one point in my life, I considered myself an artist, a designer, a programmer, a guitarist, a keyboardist, a bassist, a vocalist, a DJ, a promoter, an author, and a writer.

To the contrary, a friend of mine asserted that what you are, professionally-speaking, is whatever accounts for the majority of how you make a living – at there are a lot of people who call themselves artists, or musicians, or comedians, or entertainers who do little to none professionally: Authors without books, writers without articles, musicians without a band or an album or a gig; And so, for many long years, “being an artist”, was not who I was at the time.

I was an emplI was an employee of a company, an employee who liked to paint and to draw if and when I had the time… between work and social gatherings and camping and dance club nights… which was increasingly more and more “never”.

DDon’t get me wrong: I have been drawing, painting, carving, and sculpting since I was old enough to damage a wall with a crayon mural (giving all or most of the credit to my younger brother of course); I spent every bumpy bus-ride drawing, every class sketching on a stack of Xerox paper hidden under my work; I spent every childhood night with markers and pens duplicating “Dio” and “Anthrax” album covers on my folders, and my teenage nights copying “Iron Maiden” album covers in paint on my denim or leather jackets… Lunchtime and detention were spent making painstakingly intricate original works in ball-point pen in the form of fancy love letters, or otherwise expressive works.

I would neI would never have defined myself as anything other than an artist from childhood into my early adult years. It was my life, everything about me, 100% art. Everyone at I knew saw me as an artist; I competed in state competitions and often tied with myself for first place across multiple categories. Everyone, including me, was sure that I would be doing what I always dreamt of doing: Album covers for metal bands, book covers for horror and fantasy authors, showing my paintings in LA, NYC, Paris…

AAdulthood, however, was spent loathingly, in graphic design, advertising design, animation, programming, network technical, server administration, computer design, and various other things that eventually made me hate my life…

AAt first, I was happy to be able to make a living showing my artistic ability… I made beautiful, artistic, cryptic sites that one could lose themselves in. I did over-the top animation and advanced programming in java, javascript, php, and flash… I made the sorts of sites that had people oohing and aahing, exploring, becoming lost, and returning to. ese sites were more artistic games and mazes than they were informative… but that was the way the web rolled in the early days; I thought all of this would eventually become a stepping stone in my path to artistic notoriety, but I was working in the opposite direction…

As the As the web became less of a creative wonderland, and more weighted toward corporate presence – my life became smiling stock photo headset people, facing inward, on a near-white background amidst nearly-black minutely-seriffed text, bordered in shades of burgundy and de-saturated blues, subtle patterns hidden in this or that element to make it “pop” – a perfect display for nauseatingly-idiotic clusters of buzzwords and advertising jargon. I had become 100% graphic designer, 0% artist.

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Table of ContentsChapter 1: Flights of Fantasy (page 16)page 18. Sabicupage 19. e Antarctic Experimentpage 20. Someday I Will Never Grow Uppage 21. Black Ships Ate the Skypage 22. e Dead Seapage 23. page 23. Undeath from Abovepage 24. Shadow, Mist, and Stonepage 25. Intermission (e Rescue)page 26. Behold the Machinepage 27. e Ruinspage 28. Desert Shadowspage 29. Sabicu (engraving)page 30. e Lost Citypage 30. e Lost Citypage 31. Attack from Planet.... MOON!page 32. Slave 1881page 33. e Navigatorpage 34, e Hanging Gardenspage 35. e TemplePage 36. Red Queenpage 37. e page 37. e Edge of Dreampage 38. e Harvestpage 39. e Clementinepage 40. e Albatrosspage 41. e Rescuepage 42. Aitships and Tentacles Flashpage 43. Intermission II (Santisima Muerte)

Chapter 2:Chapter 2: Whimsical Worlds (page 44)page 46. e Towerpage 47. e Kisspage 48. Happy Hunting!page 49. Missed Me!page 50. Balloon!page 51. Persistence of Timepage 52. O’ page 52. O’ Frabjous Daypage 53. Skerl!

page 54. Kitteh! page 55. Dollypage 56. Smiley Botpage 57. Smiley Plantpage 58. Welcome to Hellpage 59. Night of the Easter Bunnypage 60. page 60. Under the Pineapple Treepage 61. Intermission III (Doodles)page 62, Airship Pirates Glyphpage 63. MACH Turtlepage 64. Cheshire Catpage 65. e Young Engineerpage 66. Cerberus page 67. page 67. Intermission IV (Nero)

Chapter 3: Denizens of the Deep (page 68)page 70. See Monkeyspage 71. e Mighty Blooppage 72. Chaithulhupage 73. Awakepage 74. Uxiapage 75. ulhupage 75. ulhupage 76. Same Deep Water as Youpage 77. Deeper Stillpage 78. Dividepage 79. Squidpage 80. Clammitpage 81. Mermacornpage 82. page 82. Mermacorn IIpage 83. Mermacorns III and IVpage 84. Eelaborospage 85. Intermission V (Red Hand Assemblage)page 86. 20000 Leaguespage 87. Heptameronpage 88. Sea Monsterspage 89. page 89. Intermission VI (Beauty Never Dies)

Chapter 4: Darkened Dreams (page 90)page 92. Conceptionpage 93. Preachermanpage 94. Drill Baby Drillpage 95. First Flightpage 96. Mankind Has No Time page 97. I page 97. I Have a Special Plan for this Worldpage 98. e Waitpage 99. Freaky Tikipage 100. Beastmasterpage 101. e Resonator!page 102. e Empresspage 103. Pollenpage 104. page 104. Snow Whitepage 105. Scarecrowpage 106. Astudanpage 107. Henriettapage 108. e Infernal Devicepage 109. Intermission VII (Squiggle)page 110. Blood and Sandpage 111. e page 111. e Pathpage 112. Spiritpage 113. Intermission VIII (Drowning)

Chapter 5: Sullen Shadows (page 114)page 116. Red Right Handpage 117. Weaving Spiders Come Not Herepage 118. Tikiulhupage 119. e page 119. e Magic Hutpage 120. Wild Rosepage 121. Underworld Keypage 122. Willow page 123. e Vineyardpage 124. Arclightpage 125. Shellpage 126. I.D.page 126. I.D.page 127. Sevenpage 128. Westernizepage 129. Speak No Evilpage 130. Descent

page 131. Intermission X (e Curse)page 132. Exterminating Angelpage 133. Clovispage 134. e Catpage 135. e King In Yellowpage 136. Hope (e Light at the End)page 137. page 137. Intermission X (Cincinnati)page 138. Additional Creditspage 139. Additional Creditspage 140. Goodbyes

Chapter One:

“I could not help feeling that they were evil things - mountains of madness whose farther slopes looked out over some accursed ultimate abyss. at seething , half-luminous cloud-background held ineffable suggestions of a vague, ethereal beyondness far more than terrestrially spatial; and gave appalling reminders of the utter remoteness, separateness, desolation, and aeon-long death of this untdesolation, and aeon-long death of this untrodden

and unfathomed austral world.”

- H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness

ese worlds explored by flying machines are the better-known parts of the Airships and Tentaclescollection, though the series itself is a bit more broad than only dirigibles, zeppelins, and airships.e series brings Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert W. Chambers, Leonardo Davinci,E.A. Poe, and other favorite influences together into one strange and haunting world of surreallandscapes, with a human viewpoint added (mostly) by brave and even foolhardy explorers.

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Landscapes Explored by Manmade Flying Machines

FLIGHTS of FANTASY

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“Sabicu”

High mountains and tentacled blossoms in a red and white color scheme.A commission done in oil on wood panel at 24x24 inches.

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“e Antarctic Experiment”“All in all, the experiment was a brilliant success, though it ran for a shorter time than desired.

Ultimately, the machine had to be shut down prematurely, else we might not have had enoughcrew to make it comfortably back to port. Over forty Russian tribesmen bravely gave theirlives to science this day – a terrible tragedy; ey will surely be expensive to replace“

-20-“Someday I’ll Never Grow Up”

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“Black Ships Ate the Sky”An undead horde sweeps across the land and skies in this large and detailed digital painting.

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“Dead Sea”A micro-painting (not much bigger than this image), done for a regular buyer who wantedme to paint something small and more colorful than my (then) usual muted colors.

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“Undeath from Above”A pen and ink commission for Gatehouse Gazette (a favorite dieselpunk magazine).eir covers were all in black and white, but I decided to go back and digitally color it

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“Shadow, Mist, and Stone”A family parks their airships at dusk for a picnic on a sea-side cliff. Sea monsters swim in the fog and waters below. is was a commissioned family portrait, painted in acrylic onwood panel at 24x24 inches. ere is some tarot card imagery in this piece, subtle, but

not entirely hidden.

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“e Machine”

Painted at 48 inches by 24 inches on wood panel as album

cover art for the dark steampunk electronica band “Vernian Process”,

A group of airship explorers find a mysterious craft floating, seem

ingly abandoned, in the frozen South.

Angels, birds, cloaked figures, and goggled self portrait are some of the hidden im

ages to be found within this piece.

“e Ruins”

Painted on Bristol Board at 14x11 Inches. Explorers find the remnants of a forgotten city in a jagged m

ountain range.

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“Desert Shadow

s”Painted in Acrylic at 36 by 24 inches on w

ood panel. A land of sand and floating cages, backlit by lightning.

“Sabicu”A 5x7 engraving on clayboard, and original airship concept for the sam

e-named oil painting.

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“e Lost C

ity”Painted on bristol board at 14x11 inches. Explorering the rem

ains of a lost civilization, dwellings and tem

ples carved into steep plateaus.

“Attack from PLanet M

OON!”

A 5x7 engraving on clayboard, and companion piece to “I have a Special Plan for this W

orld”

-32-

“Slave 1881”Painted at 36x24 in acrylic on canvas as a com

mission for John Strangew

ay.

“e Navigator”

A 5x7 engraving on clayboard. A steam-powered m

echanical drone helps a ship navigate over a rocky pass.

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“e Hanging G

ardens”Painted at 18x12 in acrylic on w

ood panel. A Zeppelin drifts through a sea of floating islands.

“e Tem

ple”A 12x9 inch engraving on clayboard. Pirates explore an ancient and seem

ingly-abandoned temple found on a jagged coastal cliffside.

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“e Red Q

ueen”Painted at 48x24 inches in acrylic on w

ood panel.Extraterrestrial vam

pires and crawling darkness probe the Earth in search of sustenance.

“e Edge of D

ream”

Painted at 18x12 inches in acrylic on wood panel. A child draw

s her dreams upon the W

orld. Bethalynne and I were expecting w

hen Ipainted this one. I think you can see in it the happiness and dream

iness of my mood at the tim

e.

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“e Harvest”

Painted at 18x12 inches in acrylic on wood panel. M

iners harvest shimmering chips of stone from

dull-colored formations in the desert.

is image w

as done as promotional art for H

endrick’s Gin™ and also served as a cover for the M

agazine “Beneath Ceaseless Skies”.

“e Clementine”

Painted at 36x24 inches in acrylic on camvas. A Scene from

Cherie Priest’s N

ovella “Clementine”.

Pirates chase their stolen ship, stolen again.

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“e Albatross”

Digital Painting - A retro-futurist take on “

e Rhyme of the Ancient M

ariner”

“e Rescue”

Painted in acrylic on wood panel at 32x22 inches as a com

mission for C

aptian Robert of the Steampunk band “Abney Park”

-42-

“Airships and Tentacles Flash”Drawn in pigm

ent ink and color pencils - a collection of many of the airships and m

onsters from the series.

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correctly.

Chapter Two:

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."

"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

ese, are pieces I did in various randomly happy or otherwise manic moods: Life events,large projects completed, being between commissions, working on my comic books orchildren’s book, and pretty-much any space in time where I was without deadlines or majorconcerns. ese times are few and far-between for any person living full-time as an artist,

so one must take advantage of those moments whenever they come.

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Musings, Mostly

Whimsical Worlds

-46-

“Taligent Tower”Another illustration done for Dexter Palmer’s novella “e Dream of Perpetual Motion”

-47-

“e Kiss”A digital illustration done for Dexter Palmer’s novella “e Dream of Perpetual Motion”

-48-

“Happy Hunting”Between large projects, I take a few days to expand on this “Smile” series, wherein I work to be abit less serious, and in images that are 5x7, in sets of three. is is the first of “Smile II”.

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“Missed Me”Painted at 5 x 7 on canvas board, the second painting in the second part of the “Smile” series.

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“BALLOON!”Painted at 5 x 7 on canvas board, the third painting in the second part of the “Smile” series.

-51-

“Persistence of Time”One of my earlier digital pieces - 400-some layers of objects and effects... a monster of a file...

and still, each year around New Year’s Eve, I go back and refine it a bit more.

-52-

“O’ Frabjous Day”11x14 on Bristol board in pencil. A battered mechanical Jabberwocky smolders, as a young Alice

chats with her caterpillar friend.

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“Under the Pineapple Tree”Engraved at 5x7 inches on clayboard as a valentine for Bethalynne Bajema, who likes

pineapples and lemurs.... each for different reasons.

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“Airship Pirates Glyph”

Painted at 14 x 11 in acrylic on Bristol Board. is image w

as originally painted as a cover for this book.

“MACH Turtle”

Painted at 11x14 in pencil on Bristol Board, digitally painted. A loosely “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” inspired piece.

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“Cheshire C

at”Engraved at 7x5 inches on clayboard. Another retrofuture take on Lew

is Carroll’s Alice stories.

“e Young Engineer”

Drawn in Pencil on Bristol Board at 14x11 inches. A preview

of a children’s story I am currently w

orking on.

-66-

“Cerberus”

Drawn in pigm

ent ink on bristol board at 10x8 inches, enlarged and digitally colored as a tee shirt design.

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Chapter ree:

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the

present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.”

- H.P. Lovecraft

When I was a child, into now, I have long loved news, magazines, and tales related to exploration,especially those stories wherein the Oceans, deep underground, or deep-undersea caverns are concerned.ough most works related to this interest and wonder are presented in other chapters, especially“Flights of Fantasy”, there were still some works remaining that needed their own section;

is is that section.

-69-

Visions of the Vast, Exploring the Endless

DENIZENS of the DEEP

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“See Monkeys”A 5x7 inch engraving in clayboard. Mermaids, mermen, and stranded deep -sea explorers.

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“e Mighty Bloop”Painted at 12x24 inchesin acrylic on Wood Panel.Ocean explorers are takento see the Ocean Monarch.

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“Chaithulhu”Painted at 12x24 inchesin acrylic on Wood Panel.A not-too happy ancientdeity stares at the painterin extreme disdain.

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“Awake”A 9x12 inch engraving in clayboard. A sleepy deity rises from the deep and

lashes out at an annoying light source.

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“Uxia”A 9x12 inch engraving in clayboard, with slight color added digitally. e mermaid princessfrom “Dagon”, a movie based loosely on H.P. Lovecraft’s “e Shadow Over Innsmouth”.

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“Starry Night”A 5x7 inch engraving in clayboard, decorated with gold leaf.

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“Same Deep Water as You”An 8x10 inch mini painting in acrylic on wood panel.

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“Deeper Still”An 8x10 inch mini painting in acrylic on wood panel.

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“Divide”A 9x12 inch engraved in Clayboard, during the 2006 midwestern ice storm. I was readingand re-reading whatever I could find in book form - in this case C.S. Lewis’ “Perelandra”.

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Chapter Four:

“But he recognized that the illusions of the child

only differed from those of the man in that they were

more picturesque; belief in fairies and belief in the

Stock Exchange as bestowers of happiness were

equally vain, but the latter form of faith was ugly as

well as inept.”

- Arthur Machen, Hill of Dreams

Herein is a collection of various dark images; Some lean more light and even humorous, thoughmost all are inspired by dark literature, lore, television, movies, and World events, socio-

political, and environmental concerns.

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Glum, Grim, Gloom, and Ghouls

DARKENED DREAMS

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“Conception”A mechanical Dragonfly uses its creator’s knowledge to create its own offspring.

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“Preacher Man”A mechanical gunslinger and preacher - one of my earlier digital art works, and a draft of a

character from one of my comic books.

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“Drill Baby Drill”Painted in acrylic on canvas at 24 x 36 inches, inspired by the DeepWater Horizon

oil spill, among others.

-95-

“First Flight”e third illustration done for Dexter Palmer’s novella “e Dream of Perpetual Motion”

-96-

“Mankind Has no Time”Painted in acrylic on 11x14 inch Bristol board. is image was done for the DieselpunkMagazine “Gatehouse Gazette”, wherein they wanted images of war with a Diesel feel.

-97-

“I Have a Special Plan for this World”Engraved at 5 x 7 inches on clayboard. is image was done for the Dieselpunk

Magazine “Gatehouse Gazette”, for their Halloween Issue.

-98-

“e Wait”Painted at 24x36 inches in acrylic on canvas. is, is the second painting that marked my

return to the craft after nearly a decade of advertising design.

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Chapter ree:

“Along the shore the cloud waves break, e twin suns sink behind the lake,

e shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies,

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead, Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed

Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa.”

- Robert W. Chambers,e Yellow Sign and Other Stories

Herein are random thoughts, waking dreams, visions made from shadows, or inspired bydark strange-fiction tales. Many of these are odds and ends that didn’t quite fit any of the otherchapters. Mostly these are speed-paintings, sketches, experiments, early works, and forgottenpieces I found while building this book and felt might serve to show where I re-began, having

returned to art from over a decade of graphic design and advertising “art”.

-115-

A Gallery of the Ghostly and Ghastly Grim

SULLEN SHADOWS

-116-

“Red Right Hand”Painted as a part of an assemblage for a China Miéville inspired art show held by Super Punch.

-117-

“Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”Painted as a part of an assemblage for a China Miéville inspired art show held by Super Punch.

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“Tikithulhu”Engraved 8x12 inches on clayboard.

-119-

“e Magic Hut”Drawn at 11x14 in pencil on Bristol board.

-120-

“Wild Rose”Digital painting of a ghostly girl finding a lost teddy bear.

-121-

“Underworld Key”Painted in acrylic at 9x12 inches on tempered hardboard.

-122-

“Willow”Engraved at 9x12 inches on clayboard.

Pages123-137 are absentfrom this preview.

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Omitted Pages

Additional Credits

-138-

e Infernal Device” (page 108): Additional project help by David Baar, Nan Braun, Bethalynne Bajema, omas Birks, Alicia VanHeulen, Kelli Stakenas, Kaye Marie Zbaciak-Stitches, Joachim Jensen, Ross Vanderweide, Deana Weibel Swanson, Glen Swanson, Haylea Grey, Jody Grenier, Bethany Grenier, John Hyatt, Megan Brown, Stacy Simmons, Matthew Arpin, and George Komar. Photography is by Nan Braun, Bethalynne Bajema, omas Birks, and Alicia VanHeulen.

Appearances:

NY NY Ink - e Learning Channel - Episode 15 “Movin' On UP” 2 Feb. 2012Artworks appearing: Red Queen, Chaithulhu, e Mighty Bloop, Behold the Machine, 20,000 Leagues Under, Airship Tattoo Flash

Fox 5 News (Grand Rapids) - e Infernal Device, project exclusive. Home Strange Home - HGTV - the Steampunk Episode October 2012AArtworks appearing: Red Queen, Chaithulhu, e Mighty Bloop, e Rescue, 20,00 Leagues Under.

e Lyrics of Abney Park - A lyrics book by Robert Brown of the band Abney ParkArtworks Appearing: e Rescue, Undeath from Above, Sabicu (engraving)

Abney Park’s Airship Pirates - an RPG sourcebook by Robert Brown, Peter Cakebread & Ken Walton, Cubicle 7 EntertainmentArtworks Appearing: e Rescue, the Rogue, Clementine, Sabicu (Painting), e Temple

SSteampunk Tales Magazine Issue 10 - G.D. Falksen, Peter Woodworth, Austin H. Williams, Cindy MacCleodArtworks Appearing: Diplomacy (cover)

Weird Tales Magazine Spring 2009 - Wildside PressArtworks appearing: Conception, others (sorry, I can’t find our copy)

Gatehouse Gazette #8, #10, #14 - Gatehouse.ottens.co.ukAArtworks appearing: I have a Special Plan for this World (cover), Mankind has No Time (cover), Undeath from Above (cover)

Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issues #29-#34 + the Printed Anthology “Ceaseless Steam” - Firkin PressArtworks appearing: Sabicu (cover), e Harvest (cover) Kilter Magazine - Winter 2009 - Kilter MagazineAArtworks appearing: Wild Rose, Hope (the Light at the End), Clovis

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Vampire Art Now - An Art Collection by Jasmine Beckett-Griffith published by Ilex PressArtworks Appearing: Red Queen, I.D., Willow, Wild Rose

Gothic Art Now - An Art Collection by Jasmine Beckett-Griffith published by Ilex PressArtworks Appearing: Hope, e Wait, Exterminating Angel

Behold the Machine - Album by the darkwave Steampunk band: Vernian ProcessArtworks Appearing: Behold the Machine (cover)

RReliquary - Compilation Album by Darkwave Post Punk band: e Borgia Popes Artworks Appearing: Astudan (cover)

Her Majesty's Mysterious Conveyance - Nick Valentino, Sean Hayden, Elizabeth Valentino, Jennifer Williams, published by Echelon PressArtworks Appearing: Sabicu (cover)

Fatalysia Issue 2 - A comic book by Liam Kemp, Chris Tabor, Uriel A. DuranArtworks Appearing: Scarecrow (cover)

CCredit Where Credit is Due:

Aurelio Voltaire - Musical inspiration, since the 90s - Visual Inspiration since the 80’s (MTV shorts), and use of two of his comic book characters (Deady and Beastmaster) in this book.

Eliza Gauger (aka Magdalene Veen) - Airship design - *the* Airship design that kicked off the entire series of steampunk works, and alerted me that many of my favorite gothic and post-punk bands were still active and touring convention circuits as “steampunk”.

China China Miéville - Inspiration for the Red Hand Assemblage, which is based on creatures from his awesome strange-fiction worlds.

Cherie Priest - Inspiration for “e Clementine”, plus funding for time spent on that particular painting.

Mike Skoog - Patron, and a damned interesting, sometimes bizarre patron, whose life seems on-par, oddly synced with the chaos in my own; ere were days, months where I might have had to give this life up, were it not for arts supporters like him.

SSteven Archer and Samantha Stephenson - ank you so much for the incredible foreword. I look up to you both so much for your cross-spectrum creative ability: both of you are so incredibly gifted at so many things, and this is why I asked you. You two, are creation incarnate, and I admire the both of you tremendously.

Bethalynne Bajema - e artist and author I admired for 13 years before meeting, and more so every new day together.

YYou - If you have purchased this book, you have allowed for another several hours of painting, working on my craft - ank you so much for helping this project to pay off, for encouraging me to continue working. ank you.

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ank you for buying, and thank you for reading.

Goodbye and Good Night!

Myke Amend lives in a phantasmagorical world where airships soar and tentacles reach out from the ocean depths and other dark places. His wonderful and whimsical style and subjectmatter create the kind of world we all dreamed of escaping to as children... and some of us still do as adults.

-Aurelio Voltaire (musician, author and artist) www.voltaire.net

"Myke Amend brings scale and detail to a whole new level. e beauty of his work draws you into his own world where you will get lost in wonder and awe."--John F. Strangeway (Dragon*Con™ Media Relations and Steampunk Boba Fett) steampunkbobafett.tumblr.com

"When we were early in the writing process of Behold the Machine, I stumbled upon Myke's gallery, and KNEW that he had to be the one to handle the duties for our cover art on the album. I wasn't sure if he'd even be interested, but I contacted him anyway. He was so into it, that he created a gigantic painting that would wrap around the entire case of our album. He went so far above and beyond my expectations, and what he created for us became just as important as the music in presenting our album as a whole."

--Joshua Pfeiffer (Lead Singer/Songwriter of Vernian Process) www.vernianprocess.com

Myke Amend's art gives us a glimpse into the mind of a fantasist with the heart of an engineer. His images tell stories of the adventures waiting to be had at the edge of dreams.

-Brigid Ashwood (Artist and Illustrator, Geekmom Blogger) www.brigidashwood.com

Myke Amend’s vision, and the artistry with which he expresses it, has inspired me for years. ere is a depth to the world he creates that captures the imagination, and inspires some part of your mind that you may have forgotten.

--Robert Brown (Captain of the band Abney Park, Author) www.abneypark.com

"Passable art makes a fleeting impression on the viewer. If it is of sufficient passibility, it might even class up a room full of IKEA™, & lull your visitors into complacency...e Art of Myke Amend, on the other hand, leaves permanent scars on the psyche. Possessing but even one of his mad renderings confers instant badass status. As for visitors, let's just say you'll save a mint on Halloween candy that will have no one to receive it. Use the savings to acquire more of Myke's work...Can I get an Amen(d)?"

-Veronique Chevalier (Veronique Chevalier, Polkahauntus) www.weirdval.com

PProving that fascinating themes can be hidden and in clear view simultaneously, Myke Amend’s work is truly astonishing. A tasty broth of Roger Dean and Francis Bacon, with slices of 1970’s British comic art, these pieces are the plot of a great surrealist novel yet to be cooked up. Aquatic suckered Lovecraft giants and clanking robots of no obvious provenance populate beautiful skyscapes infested by impossible balloon-machines and strange floating faces. e more human characters wear vibrant expressions, presenting the observer with real human emotion in a dreamlike world.

-Paul Devine (Siiiii and Niceville) www.last.fm/music/Niceville

is book contains a selection of vivid images fis book contains a selection of vivid images from Myke Amend's pioneering work as a travel journalist and artist exploring the alternative realities that exist parallel to our own. Mykecreates his paintings by scraping them directly off the back of his retina andonto canvas using his patented 'Amend Technique'. When his eyes are full,he returns to his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to catalogue the wondershe has seen. He does this so we don't have to. --Myke Amend, we salute you. -Andy Heintz (e Men at Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing) ww www.facebook.com/blamedfornothing