TWENTY YEARS AGO was my first day as a *full-time* professional illustrator. To celebrate, here are 20 of my artworks spanning the past two decades. Cover art for Michael Moorcock's ELRIC: SWORDS AND ROSES. Cover art for Jack Finney's classic INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. 1/14

Regarding Elric: I'll always love Mike Moorcock because back on my 1st gig, his belief in me made me believe in me (shoutout to @RickKlaw too). Pictured here: Cover art for Frederik Pohl's GATEWAY and Walter M. Miller Jr.'s A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ (shoutout to @dianagill). 2/14

I've done cover art for a LOT of publishers over the years. @LouAnders will always be one of my favorite ADs. We were two jazz musicians riffing back and forth. Both of these won Chesley Awards. Cover art for SFF anthology FAST FORWARD 2 + @brendacooper's THE CREATIVE FIRE. 3/14

Some of my earliest memories are watching STAR TREK: TOS. Bucket list item checked when I was asked to do official 40th Anniversary covers back in '06. TREK was my thing 'til @starwars came along in '77. STAR WARS lifer ever since. Doing SW covers might be fun some day. 4/14

I get asked all the time why I don't do comic book covers. I will if the right opportunities knock. (waves to Batman) Here's my art for HEROES AND MONSTERS featuring Alan Moore & K. O'Neill's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (thx, @jessnevins @chris_roberson @allisontype). 5/14

Looking back, I've done a fair number of wraparound cover artworks. Here's one for James Morrow's THE CAT'S PAJAMAS AND OTHER STORIES. 6/14

Here's another wraparound cover. It's also an older piece from about 14 years ago. People still buy prints of this one all the time. Cover artwork for George Alec Effinger's short story collection A THOUSAND DEATHS. 7/14

FAQ: Do you have to love a book to do great cover art? A: Not necessarily. But you have to make the art personal, no matter what. It has to be you, as an artist, connecting to the story in a genuine way & sharing w/ the audience. Cover art for Robert Silverberg's SON OF MAN. 8/14

A 'deep cut' here. Three covers. One shadowbox. For @jeffreyford8's THE WELL-BUILT CITY. Oil paint + found objects. No digital. You have to work past your influences. @davemckean was one of mine. (Apologies, Dave!) Thx to you + @neilhimself for so much early inspiration. 9/14

On the left is a favorite from my @wildcardsseries work for @tordotcom -- for @MMSnodgrass' 'When The Devil Drives'. (Thank you, @IreneGallo!) On the right: Cover art for the limited edition of Dan Simmons' DROOD. 10/14

. @GRRMspeaking and @LBardugo are two of my favorites. Both of these opportunities were joy. I did this Ned Stark art for the official 2012 ASoIaF Calendar before the HBO show became a phenomenon. Leigh & I were friends before her 1st book debuted. This was for NINTH HOUSE. 11/14

It's hard for me to select 'favorite' #Loteria works. Here are two: 'El Arpa', which taught me I was part of a story and not just making a picture series. And 'La Calavera', which so many of you have been wearing on your face as a pandemic mask. https://johnpicacio.com/store/the-calavera-mask/ 12/14

And two more #Loteria artworks to round out this 20th anniversary day. 'La Sirena', which won a Chesley Award back in 2013, and one my most recent works, 'La Maceta'. MORE new Loteria Grande Cards on the way this year! And one final note... 13/14

THANK YOU to all of you who have supported my work these past 20 full-time years. Thanks for sticking with me. This June will be my 25th anniversary as a pro artist. Took me five years before making the full-time leap. We'll do something special then. Back to work here! 14/14