Description
Note from Keith: Sometimes, you need a change. Sometimes you have to try something new. Sometimes you just throw caution to the wind. With that wild attitude in mind, I used a palette knife to paint the background in this painting. That’s what we professionals like to call “knife painting.” Yea I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right, don’t try this at home, because you very well could put out an eye. If the truth were to be told though, and far be it from me to do anything but that, for us serious knife painters this martial ART can be very effective in the right situation. I deemed this the right situation.
While this was not the first of the paintings I did for the Sword of Truth series, it is the first book in the series. The original cover was done by another artist, and when they reprinted the book I was asked to do another cover to replace the original. Often publishers want the same artist to do all the covers in a series for continuity of appearance. Terry was adamant as well that I repaint the cover. So far be it from me to be contrary, I did a new cover for the already best-selling book.
Terry’s thoughts on this piece:
“After years of trying, I was finally able to convince my publisher to commission Keith to do a new cover for the first book, WIZARD’S FIRST RULE, in order to reflect the true nature of the story. Since my novels long ago grew beyond a narrow genre audience to be embraced by general fiction readers, I wanted the art to finally reflect the central themes of the stories, and that central theme is a human story. The cover Keith did for WIZARD’S FIRST RULE reflects this human theme through the central characters, Richard and Kahlan-the sense of the things that bridge their lives and the monumental forces keeping them apart. At the same time, in the expansive panorama, we begin to see, as do they, the wider world around them.”
