They're Invading

Direct observation of a group of folks exhibiting work at a fantasy and science fiction conference that I love and have been attending over the last few years tells me that there is something exciting and interesting going on in the fantasy illustration world. 

Someone on another F+SF illustration blog posed the question as to why there didn't seem to be an equal number of women artists in the F+SF genre as there were men. Immediately some smartypants posted that "gals just weren't as good at drawing that stuff" as the guys were (I can point to Julie Bell and Terryl Whitlach and adamantly disagree); others mused about whether the "gals" just weren't as interested, but studies show that numbers, while still disproportionate, are steadily rising in the gaming community and could influence a rise in numbers of female artists.  Still, the current ratio of women artists to male artists isn't so high: it appears that fewer than 1:10 females to males working professionally in the genre if you count up the names in specialized publications and directories on the genre.  

There was the typical gender and color disparity during this last show, where out of 50 exhibitors, there were only 3 female heavy-hitters and not one brown face. (This was not the fault of the show organizers. Whoever submits work to the show jury is considered as an exhibitor.) However, I was particularly struck by the fact that in the sub-show-- the show of up-and-comers--  that  almost HALF of the exhibitors were women. 
And while I have seen the excellent work of a few professional artists of color in this genre (Thomas Blackshear and Eric Wilkerson notably), the numbers are quite low for that general demographic.  

I'd like to think that a few boundaries are slowly being dismantled to allow for more F+SF artists of color and women : 

Because Art requires long unbroken stretches of time to really delve into such a difficult practice, it is a Herculean task for a person with kids, a daily manual labor job, or pulled in seventy different directions, to develop the excruciating, necessary skill sets for becoming a professional illustrator /artist. However, one can do it with dedication and a lot of patience for how much time it'll take. But you know the old joke: the young newbie asks the old illustrator how to succeed in the biz, he is told to "get a wife".  Actually, it's not really a joke... the "wife" is the laundress, the cook, the nanny, the housekeeper, etc., a domestic arrangement that most (male) artists have benefited obliviously from for many generations. However, things are merrily changing at a rapid clip; it is much more common today for couples to share domestic duties, and or be childless. 

How about the generational thing? It's only a matter of time before the artist ratio equilibrates and becomes more representative of the up-and-coming group, mainly because there exist more artists who enjoy gaming as a pastime vs. those who don't. Young people attracted to F+SF are generally gamers with boys  outnumbering the girls in gaming activities only 3:2. (But that doesn't explain the fact that there aren't more young men of color working in the genre.)

And perhaps the genre and industry itself is changing. What if the the industry, which tended to favor certain kinds of work is now admitting other kinds of styles and genres? By "conversation," I mean not only the content that is addressed  and subject matter that is used, but the way in which it is executed.  The look and speed of digital work has had much influence on this shift. Romantic Era (traditional) values have driven the industry for a long time and will probably continue to do so within some very narrow sectors of the industry (mainly for collectors of "fine art"). Heroic epic narrative and oil paint and canvas are as per usual placed at the top of the hierarchy, but there are some really great artists working in watercolor on paper and in digital media.  In that sector of the Industry, it's all about the idea, baby. 

Additionally, self-publishing has allowed more artists in general to get their work out there and not have to be dependent on any sector of the publishing industry where considerations of time, style, or content may keep them from participating.

For more on women in the arts, see Linda Nochlin's Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?