Frank Frazetta covers.
Tansy’s post about her new cover, reminded me how important cover art is. The artist, Dion Hamill, and I have been chatting about cover artists we admire and it made me realise how these artists have shaped my memories of books. People like Frazetta, Barry Windsor Smith, Boris Valejo and Jeff Jones spring to mind.
Are modern cover artists as iconic? Which recent book covers have struck you as remarkable? I think Marianne de Pierres Parrish books had strong covers. You can’t go past a girl in tight leather!
Which covers from the golden age speculative fiction do you remember fondly?
Dion,
I’m a Leyendecker fan. He created the ‘look’ of the 30s. I love the fabulous 30s.
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=ubs&resnum=0&q=Joseph+Leyendecker&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=ZinESouhKYHitgOF2pC2Cg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQsAQwAw
I’m really digging the art of Donato Giancola at the moment. He works in oils and has this amazing Pre Raphaelite/Romantic style full of kinetic energy and emotion. You can see his work at http://www.donatoart.com You’ve got to see his picture called “Mind Machine” a robot who encounters the ocean for the first time, really inspirational.
My favourite SF artist of all time is Margaret Brundage, whose iconic covers set the tone for Weird Tales for so many years
http://images.google.com.au/images?q=margaret+brundage&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=ffHDSvyjK5HSsQP4hOmhCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQsAQwAA
She worked mainly in PASTELS and sadly had to give up working for them eventually when Weird Tales moved its offices to another city, because her work couldn’t travel safely. I bet she would have killed for a scanner and wireless internet…
LOL!
Do you mean DF in leathers or as the writer, Natalia?
Anything with Dirk Flinthart on the front
Michael Whelan is a legend.
Other people talk about how if their book is made into a movie, they want John Williams to do the soundtrack. They want ILM to do the special effects. They discuss which hot actors and actresses they want in which roles.
I would die for cover art by Michael Whelan.
Also a Boris Vallejo fan, but I don’t think his chain-bikini women are in as much demand these days.
And I adore Rowena Morrill, David Delamare and Shaun Tan.
Thoraiya,
I’d forgotten about Rowena Morril and Michale Whelan. Thanks for reminding me.
Shaun Tan is my teenage son’s hero!