Here is what Brad McQuaid wrote....
I’ve lost a close friend and I won’t lie to you and say it hasn’t hit me hard. It most certainly has. It’s also hit Sigil hard – Keith had a lot of friends there. I see the pain, whether it’s in a friend or family member. But we’ll also recover quickly because he would demand no less.
Most of you know Keith from his art work. You may or may not like his work. I do. He’s one of my favorites. I may have one artist who I think does dragons better, or something else specifically, but Keith can do it all, where the others often fail if you ask them to leave their safety zone. The man could simply do anything -- the most fantastic fantasy piece with lots of characters and action, but also simply beautiful scenery that could speak to you with its beauty. Look at Soul of the Fire by Goodkind. Compare that to Arcane Summons. It’s unprecedented. Both classics. But also so completely different.
Back when I was producing EverQuest I was looking at the UO box and the work the Hildebrandt brothers did for it. It was a cut above, especially at the time. The idea of having a professional painter do a box cover certainly wasn’t mainstream. But I approached Smed to see what he thought. I told him I wanted to go after a short list of the very best. He told me to go for it.
So I started calling around my favorite fantasy artists. Some were too busy, and then some even had attitudes. But Keith? He and I hit it off right away. I could feel his passion. I could also feel his desire to break out of just doing book covers and the like. He was never satisfied with limitations – he sought new experiences. So we started working together, designed the original box cover, designed Firiona Vie. We brainstormed so much early on that I was asked to justify the long distance bill one month.
You know, a lot of accomplished people have had fame or fortune affect them. It can be really disillusioning, for me at least, when I finally get to meet someone I idolized but then find that, as a person, they’re actually an ass. Some of those artists I called – they had that attitude. I won’t mention any names, but it was true. They didn’t know my name, or what EverQuest was, and so they didn’t have the time of day for me.
But Keith didn’t care and he treated me like he treated everyone – with respect and kindness. Jim Lee is the same way. He’s the man, the top comic book artist right now and he has been for years. But he’s a good friend of mine too, and when we hang out, he’s real. He’s genuine. So also was my favorite author, Roger Zelazny. I was lucky enough to meet him at a San Diego Comic Con shortly before he died. I approached him in-between panels. He was eating some pizza and I told him I loved his work, was working on some books myself, and really liked how he handled first person. Did he think to himself, ah man, I’m trying to eat and here’s another fanboy with more wild dreams when I need a break! No, he sat down with me, talked with me, advised me, even gave me piece of his pizza, and when he signed one of his books he didn’t just sign his name, he also wished me success in my writing endeavors.
These people who are talented and famous, who have enjoyed fortune and success, who are hounded by fans at conventions… when they experience all of that and still stay real… when it doesn’t get to their head… when they realize that what they have is a blessing, not an entitlement… well, when it comes to people whom I respect, those few rank high on my list. And Keith is way up there.
So you guys know Keith the artist, or at least should. And now you also know how I feel about him, his talent and also how he handled that talent and popularity. But now let me tell you about Keith the person. Not Keith the co-worker -- Keith my friend.
The more we worked together on the EQ expansion box covers the closer we got. I remember saying to him, ‘look sorry I’m picky about this, I mean, who I am to disagree with you’. His response was ‘bah! Your opinion is as valid as mine, and believe me, you’re a hundred times easier to work with than many book editors!’. We laughed. We had a lot of fun brainstorming, and then he’d send me concepts, and then roughs, and then I’d finally get the scan of the painting. Those were amazing times. I’d run around the office with a printout showing it to people like it was Christmas.
SOE owns those paintings. I remember when we got them and I was able to put them in the conference room the EQ developers used. I remember staring at them, looking at the detail. If you ever get the chance, try to check out one of his original paintings – you can see the brush strokes, the paint smudges, every little detail. And then when you back away and watch it turn into the masterpiece that it is, you can appreciate it even more, because the transition between bits of paint into the full painting, as you back away… well, I can’t explain it. Whatever part of the brain that allows those select few of our race to see things the way they do, I’m most definitely missing it.
When he was working on Kunark he called me one day and said “Brad, I know this is due tomorrow, and I can give you a great painting tomorrow. But you know, I’m really in the groove. Can you give me 10 more days? I want to do some really cool things with this”. I said, you bet, go for it. It would cut things close and I’m sure it worried marketing. But when someone with that talent tells you he’s so into what he’s doing that he’d really like more time to make it even better, then you know it’s not just a job. He was pouring his heart and soul into his work.
And you can see it. I don’t know about you, but my favorite EQ piece is Kunark. Take a look at the floor, the leaves, the roots. The amount of detail is amazing. All of the EQ paintings are great, but Kunark has something more. And it’s not because he was asked to do more, or paid to do more, but because he just wanted it to be that much better, voluntarily putting in even more late nights.
When I left SOE, took a break, and then founded Sigil with Jeff Butler, Keith and I of course kept talking. He wanted to know what I was doing. I told him our plan, to put together an all-star team of MMOG developers and make our dream game. He then said to me, “Brad, I’m a painter and not a game developer, but I would love to be involved… do you think that could work somehow?” I said “Are you kidding? You want to leave painting, working out of your house, making good money, and join my start up?” The answer was yes and he moved to California and became our Art Director. I was blown away.
Then I got to see him work everyday. I was able to watch how he quickly learned to communicate his painting and art style to his co-workers. And it was the same with the constraints of technology – he simply made the transition and it worked. And then when I looked closer, I saw just how much time he’d spend with the other artists. He’d always go the extra mile to give them a pointer or some advice. Again, Keith Parkinson, one of the best painters in the world, taking time to sit down with an associate artist and teach them one on one.
Any intimidation some people might have felt was gone. He shattered it. He made people comfortable. He talked with you and you knew you meant something to him. There wasn’t a shred of ego or arrogance. Instead, you were confronted with humility and genuine interest, no matter your experience or your background.
My job is, as one could expect, stressful at times. I love what I do, but I’m also responsible for 95 people now. A while back I needed a break. I just had to take one. I don’t have a boss to tell me whether I’m doing good or bad. Those who report to you give you some feedback, but hey, you’re their boss. Well, when I was taking a break, I got a phone call. It was Keith. He wanted me to know how much everyone missed me, wanted to know when I’d be back, and told me the place wasn’t the same without me. Did anyone else make a similar call? Nope. But Keith did. I’ll never forget that.
I remember the day he was diagnosed. It seems like a while ago. We didn’t really know what was going to happen or what it really meant. But we knew how serious it could be, and so did he. At that point, you’d think a person would reconsider things a bit and perhaps realize that a job is, well, a job. Certainly if he had come to me and wanted time off, I would have given it to him.
But he did the opposite. Unless he was just terribly sick, he came to work. And then when he was at work, not only was he engaged, he was the same uplifting and happy Keith whom I’d met years previously. I know he knew what was going on, the risks, the statistics. I’m sure he was scared too. But he didn’t show it. The courage he showed every single minute I was with him through this ordeal is like nothing I’ve ever encountered. I don’t know how anyone could have been so strong.
The same goes for his wife Donna and son Nick. I could see their pain and I shared some of it, but I can’t even imagine the entirety. But they continued to do everything they could for Sigil and for everyone there. Sigil isn’t just a team of all-stars, it’s a family. And the Parkinson’s were and are key in making it that family and keeping it a family.
I’m going to miss this incredible man. So are a lot of people. He touched so many lives and so many people loved him. His last paintings were Jeric, Idarra, and Eila, each for Vanguard. But he got too sick before he could really work on the Vanguard box. I hope we can get what we do have used in some way. And I also know that one of his friends will step up and do an incredible box for us. But it still won’t be all that it could have been were Keith still with us.
Then there’s one other painting he didn’t finish. He was going to paint Aradune Mithara for me one day. Not based on the amateur descriptions of him from stories I wrote as a child. Not based on the crude text descriptions of him from Sojourn/TorilMUD. Not based in low polygon platemail, like in EQ, when he was supposed to be a Ranger. No, I was finally going to see the real Aradune, tall, proud, clad in green chainmail, and dual wielding fiery scimitars.
But whereas I’ll miss what the Vanguard box might have been – yeah, Keith you got out of that job – I’ll still get my Aradune. I’m very tenacious and I can wait, especially when I have my mind set on something. And so I’ll get my Aradune painting from him, just not now, not in this world. In the meantime, I will miss him, that’s for sure. But then this world is just a blink of an eye. One day I’ll sit with him in Paradise and we’ll brainstorm again, like in the old days, and figure out how Aradune really looks. And then I’ll watch him paint, and instead of that 10 extra days he was able to put into Kunark, he’ll have eternity to perfect this piece and I’m sure countless others.
Tolkien once wrote, in one of his later books, about a conversation between an immortal elf and an old wise woman. The elf wanted to know why men were so cursed, facing death in this world while his kind lived on. The wise woman smiled and explained that in exchange for men being mortal, they alone of all of Iluvatar’s creations would therefore have the privilege of taking part in the creation and design of the next world, the one Melkor would never have a chance to taint. Well, if so, I know who His art director should be.
Keith, my friend, I know you’re up there now looking down on us, in a better place, in the company of not just a lot of other loved ones, but also walking and talking with the Author of Life, like it should have been, and how it was meant to be. I’ll miss you, but I know too that when I look back one day, this separation will seem so brief it will be as it never even happened. Eternity awaits – you just got a head start and while I cannot understand why, I know there was a reason. I’ll join you too eventually, at whatever timing suits His pleasure. Sure, there’s free will, and sometimes we can prolong life, but then other times we can’t. It’s hard to accept that we’re not in control, easier perhaps to assert that no one is. But His sovereignty doesn’t require our understanding.
In the meantime, it’s an honor to be able to tell people about the wonderful man and friend you were and are, and how being such an amazing painter was only a small part of what made you such a great person and a good friend. Loyalty, Faith, Character, Integrity, Strength, Humility. Rare qualities alone, but you had them all. And on top of that, you were crazy enough to believe in, of all people, me.
I’ll miss you Keith, but then we’ll be together again soon enough :)
Brad McQuaid
CEO, Sigil Games Online, Inc.
Exec. Producer, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
