Books
body of work The sumptuous paintings of this illustrator and teacher are gathered together in this career retrospective
This book does an excellent job of collecting a decade’s worth of Patrick’s work
Author Patrick J Jones Publisher Korero Press Price £26 Web www.koreropress.com Available Now
Patrick J Jones is one of the biggest names in fantasy and sci-fi art. With a career that includes credits for Disney and Lucasfilm, the artist from Belfast has worked hard to remain true to his childhood dreams of becoming a fantasy artist. After a stint working in advertising in London, Patrick now lives in Brisbane, Australia, where he complements his studio work with teaching.
Renowned for the luminous quality of his paintings, Patrick’s work shows a flair for individual style and a technical accomplishment that elevates him from the legion of artists who try and emulate this style. This is evident from the cover image, an oil painting of characters from Jason and the Argonauts with creative composition and a confident grasp of anatomy [and also why we chose him to create our cover for ImagineFX 144, see p.54].
The book opens with a foreword by US contemporary Donato Giancola before leading into an interview between Patrick and fellow fantasy artist Mike Cody. Here we get an overview of Patrick’s life and profession, which provides a valuable insight into the meandering career path of an illustrator. This interview does a good job of detailing his years as an advertising illustrator and sets up the context for the following chapters.
Split into five main sections, the bulk of the book covers Patrick’s career from 2005 when he first moved to Australia and started working for New York publishing giant Roc Books. Tracing the ebb and flow of his working life, these chapters each open with a short explanation by Patrick of what his life was like at the time of painting the following pieces.
Thanks to a considerate page layout that gives over 100 pieces of artwork room to breathe, the book does justice to the lavish paintings. Each image is accompanied by notes on the size and medium of the piece. However, you’ll find yourself referring back to each chapter’s opening spiel if you want to get an idea of when they were made.
At 175 pages, this book does an excellent job of collecting a decade’s worth of Patrick’s work. Topped off with digital and traditional composition drafts, there’s plenty in these pages for artists to admire and learn from.