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In Conversation with Jon Ramer

AWB AstroArts Project chair, Daniela De Paulis in a conversation with Jon Ramer, President of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA). How did you get interested in Space Art? What was your first encounter with it? My interest in space came about as a child when my father was stationed in Florida and I got to see some of the Apollo moon launches in person. I remember the awe at the whole world shaking from the sound of a Saturn V booster going up. I thought rockets were pretty cool before that, but afterwards I was obsessed! I quickly discovered Star Trek and science fiction by Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Haldeman, Aldriss, and others and my imagination never came back down to Earth. My childhood was filled with drawing rockets, moon landers, and alien ships with lasers blasting; I even built entire fleets of spaceships out of Legos and fought giant space battles. Eventually I joined the US Air Force (like my father) as an officer because the Air Force dealt with space more than any other service. Shortly after coming on active duty, I was walking through a bookstore and saw a book on the shelf titled “The Grand Tour” by Ron Miller and William K. Hartmann. The instant I opened the cover I was hooked. The book was filled with image after image of incredible sights from around the solar system, places where humankind had not yet been, up close and personal. I was so inspired by the artistry in the book that... Read More..