Heavy Metal December 1980 Cover - Celtic Queen - Chris Achilleos

It had to be sometime in 2024 when I was looking at a gallery of Acheleos art at the IX Gallery and I found myself remembering how much I used to like his hyper realistic style. So of course I looked around and saw what was available there and on other sites but nothing quite spoke to me. Fast forward to CAL 11 and I saw this piece for sale. I had forgotten that this image was used as the cover for the December 1980 issue of Heavy Metal. The irony here is that when I started reading HM in the 90s I went back to the early issues and I thought they were fine but they didn't quite resonate with me. I guess teenage me wasn't quite ready for them. But now adult me appreciates things like The Bus, Den, and I'm Age. So of course I jumped at the chance to add another cover to my collection. Also this image has been featured as a statue, prints, trading cards, and in the art books.

This thing is crazy huge, 20 X 28 inches and came framed in a very 80's looking frame. I was thinking about getting it reframed, but now I find it endearing and feel that a piece of art from 1976 belongs in burnished, gold frame.