One of my favorite art publications, Spectrum 18, came out earlier this month. This is the first volume to break the 300 page count. It’s big, yet still lean, without any unwanted fat. All of the pieces within are strong representations of the artists and field. There are lots of familiar faces and better yet, many are unfamiliar to me. Spectrum continues its mission of collecting the best in contemporary fantastic art for the year. A big thank you goes out to editors Arnie and Cathy Fenner for what is a massive undertaking each year to make Spectrum happen.
I am pleased to see that the two pieces I submitted on behalf of Mark Schultz and Jim Silke were both selected by the judges and included. The Schultz piece is his cover artwork used on our Xenozoic book collection and the Silke art is for his Jungle Girls book cover. I also enjoyed seeing pieces by William Stout, Petar Meseldzija and Bill Carman make it in. Stout’s “Pumpkin Brains” painting from his Zombies calendar was selected for the back cover of the paperback edition.
Each section is a joy to peruse. I find the unpublished section to be especially exceptional. It’s filled with gems. I’m guessing some of the pieces in this area are rejections from clients that may not otherwise have the opportunity to see the light of day. Or they may be personal works, but it doesn’t matter what they were intended for, I’m just glad to see them in a collection. Check out the Kinuko Craft art on page 283, wow! Other personal favorites include Dave McKean (page 261), Shelly Wan (page 297) and Donato Giancola (page 278).
Spectrum is available just about everywhere books are sold.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2011 John Fleskes