Kevin's Watch

I'm too lazy to see if a topic for this has been started already. I also wasn't sure whether it should be in this forum at all, but i didn't want it in Gen Dis because it'd be smothered under rubbish.

I like fantasy art, when it's done well and is interesting, but I have little experience of it. One of the few such artists I know is more an illustrator than an artist, and is not very prolific. Gary Chalk:



The picture itself isn't particularly epic or grandiose, but I really like Gary Chalk's style (he illustrated the early Lone Wolf gamebooks, and old editions of Talisman, the best board game on earth). He creates slightly odd and very distinctive images, and shows an impressive attention to detail.

Any others people like? I'm particularly interested in recommendations.

Luis Royo.

Geoff Taylor

Thank you, gents.

Brinn wrote:Luis Royo.

He seems to like his revealed women

danlo wrote:Geoff Taylor

Hmm, looks like he's affiliated with Games Workshop. Interesting.

CovenantJr wrote:Any others people like? I'm particularly interested in recommendations.

Not really sure if his work would be called fantasy art, as I believe he's more associated with album covers than book covers, but I really like Roger Dean's artwork, especially:


Relayer


Canyon Cave


Badger

Menolly wrote:

CovenantJr wrote:Any others people like? I'm particularly interested in recommendations.

Canyon Cave

I like this picture.

Personally, I like the first one. Good atmosphere.

Warmark wrote:I like this picture.

His 'floating island' pictures, such as the one begun with the cover for the Yes album Fragile and continuing on through several of their covers as well as the covers for solo works by Jon Anderson and Steve Howe are some of his most famous work.

If you visit Cover Stories, you'll see all of the Yes album covers. From Fragile through Yesterdays and then others afterwards with other artists breaking it up on occasion, are what he is mostly known for.

Another artist I like is F.F. Long. I even own an original of his called Higher Love bought in 1988 at the church art fair that is run alongside the Coconut Grove Art Festival in South FL. I think I bought it before he ever made prints of it, as I have never seen it reproduced on his website anywhere.

Of his current work on display at the website, I like

The Bonding of Sacred Scribes

the best. Again, I don't believe he has done any trade fantasy work, so I am unsure if his artwork would be called 'fantasy art,' but it is how I think of it.

Robert Gould. I'll post an example or two if I can find anything that isn't gigantic.

Some nice pics there guys. I like that first one you posted too, Cj.

(There is a topic somewhere I think.)

Surprised nobody's mentioned Frank Frazetta

--A

Isn't the first Dean the cover to Relayer by Yes?

danlo wrote:Isn't the first Dean the cover to Relayer by Yes?

Yep!

Don't you mean yes?

CovenantJr wrote:Don't you mean yes?

:::groaning:::

Charles Vess - probably my favourite living fantasy artist. Has to with great effect with some of my favourite fantasy author such as Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman.

Boris Vallejo - in the '70's, alongside Frank Frazetta and Richard Corben, pretty much laid the foundation for fantasy art as we know it today. (Sidenote: his artwork was used for the French translations of the TC Chronicles)

Berni Wrightson - best representative of the more macabre side of fantasy art. Illustrated Stephen King's 'Cycle of the Werewolf'.

Barry Windsor-Smith - chief competitor with Vess for my favourite fantasy artist. His work speaks for itself. Awesome.

Arthur Rackham - the grandfather of fantasy art. His illustrations of 'Goblin Market' and 'Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens', in particular, are unsurpassed in their lyrical quality, whimsy and amazing detail.

That's off the top of my head - I'm sure more will come to mind.

Edited to add:

The late, great Rick Griffin - master of psychedelia, he was particularly prolific during the summer of love - designed album covers & posters for the Grateful Dead, Zappa, The Doors, etc. etc.

During the last years of his too-short life, his work talk on an increasingly spiritual quality, which led to some of the most unique fantasy art ever produced.

Back again, with more.

These are artists whose work you've seen, even if you don't recognise the names:

Brian Froud. Froud not only paints fairies (oops, I mean 'faeries') but apparently visits and chats with them, too! Has worked with Patricia McKillip, Charles Vess and Terri Windling. Author/illustrator of the ubiquitous 'Faeries', and the 'Lady Cottington' books.

His wife, an artist in her own right, is the designer/creator of Yoda, as well as characters from 'Labyrinth' and 'The Dark Crystal'.

John Howe - arguably the best illustrator of Tolkien's works. That picture of Gandalf, on a wind-swept hillside? Yep, that's his. He was also one of the concept artists for Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy.

Has also done illustrations and covers for Robin Hobb, Guy Kavriel Kay, Roger Zelazny and David Gemmel amongst others, as well as publishing a number of portfolios of his fine art.

Michael Whelon - if you didn't know his work, you probably wouldn't be here. Most acclaimed cover-artist of today. Heck, he did the cover for the American edition of 'Runes'. And he's illustrated for dozens of eminent sf/fantasy authors, from Isaac Asimov to Stephen King. Plus he's published numerous collections of his non-commissioned works, which he describes as 'visionary art'.

It's Whelan...and yes he is the master, but Geoff Taylor's pretty dang good too...

Susan Seddon Boulet is very Native American- and animal-oriented.
shop.store.yahoo.com/pomegranate/sussedboulga.html

Something I realized just a short time ago - Michael Whelan's cover art for Heinlein's Friday; a book I first read at about the same time I first read the Gap series, is my mental picture of Morn.

Would be incredible if he ever actually did some Gap-related artwork.