Lawrence White Field: Graphic Artist Email: Laysiv@cs.com Location: Salt Lake City, UT Member Since: 7/9/2000 Featured Artist:Click Here

The Battlestar Galactica Fan Club Co-President Shawn O'Donnell "BGR" (bgresurrection_1999@yahoo.com) recently spoke with Lawrence White (Laysiv@cs.com), Sci-Fi artist and BSG fan. Lawrence's Artwork is featured on this site in the Special Features Section of this site. He is also active in the efforts to revive the show.

LW: I don’t know, to be honest. The desire was there for as long as I remember. Keep in mind, I was a child of the ‘70’s so I suppose me interest stemmed from the cartoons I watched and the comic books I read. With Space Ghost and Superfriends on the tube and the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Savage Sword of Conan on the comics rack, how could a little tyke not be inspired?

LW: Very much so! I admire any artist that can visualize what they have thought or read and translate that into something beautiful on a blank sheet or canvas. I see the works of so many artists who do it well and it inspires me to be a better artist. To me, it becomes something pure when my creative energies are unleashed. It’s one of the things that make life worth living.

LW: I am a storyteller who draws. Even if I do a pin-up or a cover drawing, I want those who see it to get a sense that there is a story behind the picture.

LW: In many ways, I’m still small potatoes in the business so I guess I’m still waiting for my ‘big break". However, I have met Richard Hatch on a few occasions and he has gone out of his way for me to meet editors and publishers that under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have. So I am grateful for everything he has done for me and consider all of them "big breaks".

LW: One of the best stories I have was when I ran into an old high school teacher of mine. It was a couple years after graduation and she was now teaching some underprivileged minority students. The people sponsoring the program were a worldwide communications company and they needed some type of logo to represent their new ethnic program. I had no idea at the time I drew the logo that it was an international program, so I figured I was just helping out the local community.

To keep a long story short, my logo was chosen out of hundreds to be the official logo for this educational undertaking. Unfortunately, I signed the picture and some of their board members had a big problem with my last name—WHITE! It seemed that while they were trying to promote diversity among minority groups, my name was an undermining factor. Which is even funnier, when you consider that I am part Native American.

The last thing I heard was that my logo underwent a few drastic changes and my name was taken off the final product. As far as I know, the entire program no longer exists.

My other favorite story is when the movie "Titanic" came out. It seemed every woman I knew asked me if I would draw them like Kate Winslet only with bigger---- y’know.

LW: Oh, that’s an easy question. The first time I saw the commercials for the pilot when I was seven. I couldn’t sleep the night before it came on. That day alone seemed like a week. I never stayed up past nine o’clock but my parents knew it meant a lot to me so they let me watch it. I’ve been hooked ever since.

LW: I love most of them. "Greetings from Earth" is probably my least favorite.

I think the best written episode out of them all was "The Hand of God". But when it comes to kick ass adventure "Saga of a Starworld", "Living Legend", and "War of the Gods" in my opinion buries most of the science fiction that has come out since!

Period.

LW: Why Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer, of course! The writers had such a great dynamic going between the three that I thought was never fully explored. What made them so loyal to each other? That question alone is worth the return of Battlstar Galactica for me.

LW: It is. The reason it’s different, is that now I’m faced with depicting characters and ship designs that most people have known for years and have a certain idea how it should look. If I’m unfaithful to the original source, people will recognize it immediately (take note, Sci-Fi Channel).

Face it, if I’m drawing the Galactica, it better look like the Galactica! Everybody knows what Starbuck looks like, so if I draw him it better look like Dirk Benedict!

It is a challenge and sometimes I am unhappy with my drawings because it doesn’t do the original material justice. But I think it has made me a better artist and I truly believe my best work has been some of my Galactica pieces.

LW: I want it to burst back on the scene in all of its past glory, sans "Galactica 80". I turn on the TV and cringe at all the crap that passed for science fiction these days. I truly believe that if Battlestar Galactica returned with the original cast and themes, as Richard has envisioned, that it would be the best thing to sci-fi in a long, long time.

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