Carl McCoy is a man of many talents. Not only does he write amazing lyrics that make multiple references to ancient mythologies, and include quotes from both ancient and modern sources, he is also an artist of great ability. Like his lyrics, many of his works are layered with references to things we often do not perceive at first glance. Some are chilling in their implications. Others seem a culmination of all his interests, capturing bits of Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare, H.P. Lovecraft and others in a fusion that is enigmatic and thought provoking. There is a bit of magic in all that he does.

All the images following on this page are the copyrighted work of SheerFaith/Carl McCoy. By no means does the simple offering on this page portray the tremendous scope of his graphic talents. A visit to the Fields of the Nephilim website will give you an even broader view. There you will find examples of web-design, graphics, Flash, 3D animation and artwork. Here, you will find a short tour of some examples of Mr. McCoy's different artistic talents.

Enjoy ~;>

Going through the lyrics again of this early FotN release, it seems that McCoy has tried to capture the madness of the tortured souls within the songs in this drawing. The songs are full of pain, madness and suffering. The drawing was originally black on a red background, but it was colorized for this cover. The subject of the picture seems free of the inhibitions that plague us - a freedom that often comes when the mind breaks. With her arms raised over her face in an attitude of despair, she captures all the pathos and insanity that run rife through these songs.

"Haunted by these times..."

The cover-art done for the Nefilim's PENETRATION EP is one of McCoy's more disturbing pieces. Upon first glance one sees blood and more blood. The crucified being's flesh, shredded and torn threatens to reveal what is underneath; the face nearly a skull. Down the right side, we see something like a hand trailing down a blood-drenched glass. Shadows infer something sinister and indefinable. The outstretched arms and their shadows give an imitation of wings, suggesting not so much the crucifiction of Christ, but the crucifiction of an angel. A Watcher, perhaps? True, none of the Watchers were literally crucified, but they were in a virtual sense by what is written about them in Enoch, the Kebra Negast, and Jubilees. Villified by the original authors of the Bible, their story was relegated to few strange lines left in Genesis. Enoch was thrown out of the biblical canon by the Council of Nicea in 320 CE for being 'too old'. Jubilees was also rejected. The Kebra Negast was lost. Apparently, the story of the Watchers was something the Church would just as soon forget. But when Enoch was found and brought to light, the world knew their story of infamy once again.

There is something about this sketch done for Storm Constanine's book "Hermetech" that reminds me of the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci, dividing the body into geometric proportions. Yet there is more going on here...a bit of astrology and cabbalism, at least. There are many other magical and perhaps alchemical and astrological sigils contained in the squares. I say 'perhaps', because I cannot see them clearly. I've no idea what it all means, but it's quite interesting.

The sigil at the bottom is of course Carl's Watchman 'signature'.

This artwork was done for Andrew Collins' 2003 Questing Conference flyer by Carl. The version on the left is the one that was seen on Collins' site, and in fact that is where I got this copy of the picture. It's quite an interesting picture in this mode...but I lightened it up and look! Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw this. Why? Because this is so typical of his lyrics -- to obsure inferences and references -- and here he is doing it in his art.

There is quite a bit more going on in this picture than meets the eye in the darker version. Quite a bit indeed. The background is a grid of a sort of graphic glosslalia of symbols that are perhaps some ancient script or something 'channeled'. We can also find this on the ZOON cover in a less structured presentation.

Behind the priestess is a green seal that may or may not be Carl's sigilic signature seal. In front of that is a green hexagram which is both the Star of David (Magen David) and a symbol of the union of male and female. The finials appear to be Maltese crosses. There is also a red cross behind the priestess and a downward pointing red triangle that signifies both the feminine and watery elements. An interesting melange of symbology here.

The priestess herself is horned, indicating that she belongs to a pagan fertility diety. Her head is shaved, inferring that she is celebate. On her forehead is a symbol that seems intentionally ambiguous, inclusive of several symbols -- such as the sigil of Neptune, an alchemical symbol of antimony and perhaps a fleur-de-lys. Perhaps it incorporates all of these. Only Carl knows.

In her hands, she holds a cup of offering. The original Holy Graal perhaps? It is sometimes said that this offering was a cup of mixed menstruum and semen. With the hexagram behind her, indicating the union of male and female and the implication of a fertility god or goddess, perhaps this is his intention.

All in all, one of the best things he's ever done. The best -- in my opinion -- can be seen on his site - the 3D animated fire-angel. You can see this by entering either side of the the site (XUL or XON) and going to the WATCHMAN section. There is another pretty cool pic in the 24th MOMENT section -- a sort of living hexagram -- angel and mortal woman. If you go in by the XUL side and want to skip the Flash intro, simply click on the "Lumenis" button. But keep in mind that Flash is also another piece of this talented man's artwork.

This image can now be seen on the cover of Andrew Collins' latest book "Twenty-First Century Grail: The Quest for a Legend".

click on cover to see close-up

I can hardly wait to see what Carl will come up with next!