Charles Vess — Artist
About the Artist[]
Charles Vess is a fantasy artist who has worked frequently on books by Charles de Lint—both cover art and interior art.
- More: Goodreads | Charles Vess
Website[]
Professional Bio[]
Charles graduated with a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and worked in commercial animation for Candy Apple Productions in Richmond, VA before moving to New York City in 1976. It was there that he became a freelance illustrator, working for many publications, including Heavy Metal, Klutz Press, Epic Comics and National Lampoon.
His award-winning work has graced the covers and interior pages of many comic book publishers including Marvel (Spider-Man, Raven Banner) and DC (Books of Magic, Swamp Thing, Sandman). His work now is found more in book illustration, such as “The Ladies of Grace Adieu” (Bloomsbury), “Coyote Road – Trickster Tales” (Viking), and “Peter Pan” (Starscape).
Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' “Stardust," an illustrated novel with 175 paintings, was made into an acclaimed film by Paramount Pictures in 2007, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The impressive cast includes Michelle Pfieffer, Robert DeNiro, and Claire Danes.
Charles' art has been featured in several gallery and museum exhibitions across the nation including two exhibitions in New York City: "Modern Fairy Tales" with Michael Kaluta at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, and Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators. In Europe he has shown in Paris, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the UK.
Outside of publishing, Charles completed a 3-year project in 2009: the design and co-sculpting of a 16’ bronze fountain based on “A Midsummer Night's Dream” for the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA.
Currently Charles is putting the final tweaks to “The Greenwood,” a contemporary middle grade novel told with a unique combination of text, illustration and sequential narrative art. ~ Charles Vess & Greenman Press
Recent[]
Charles art is featured in a newly released book written by Charles de Lint, "The Cats of Tanglewood Forest," (LittleBrown, 2013) boasting 71 paintings. Other recent publications are "Blueberry Girl," a picture book for mothers and daughters based on a poem written by Neil Gaiman, and “Instructions,” also from a Gaiman poem. Both made the New York Times best-selling picture book list for many weeks. And “Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess” a lavish, 200-page retrospective of his art, was published by Dark Horse Books (2011). ~ Charles Vess & Greenman Press
Personal Bio[]
Charles Vess was born in 1951 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been drawing ever since he could hold a crayon and crawl to the nearest wall. He has resided on a small farm in the southwest corner of Virginia since 1991 and works diligently from his studio, Green Man Press, in Abingdon.
Cover Art for Charles de Lint[]
Title | Interior | Notes |
---|---|---|
Tapping the Dream Tree (2002) #12 | no | Collection |
"Seven Wild Sisters" (2002) #12 (short) | no | in Tapping the Dream Tree; (Excerpt) |
"A Circle of Cats" (2003) | no | (Viking, 2003) set near Newford (city) (same chars) |
Medicine Road (2004) #14 | yes | first in a series profusely illustrated by Charles Vess |
The Very Best of Charles de Lint (2010) #23 | no | Collection (about half are Newford) |
Title | Interior | Notes |
---|---|---|
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007) | no | Anthology: "Crow Roads" by de Lint |
Moonheart (1984 & 2013) | no/yes | 20th anniversary (signed, limited) |
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest (2013) | no | middle-grade book; (Excerpt) Tor.com |
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest | no | "Somewhere in My Mind There Is a Painting Box" |
Awards[]
Charles' awards include the Ink Pot, three World Fantasies, the Mythopoeic, two Spectrum Annuals - a Gold and a Silver, two Chesleys, Locus (Best Artist), and two Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
See Also[]
External Links[]
Websites: Vess & Portfolios:
Galleries:
Other Pages with Art:
- The Geeky Nerfherder: The Art Of Pop Culture: Charles Vess *
- TLC Workshops: Meet the faculty! - Charles Vess
- SFRevu Review
- Neil Gaiman’s Instructions as Illustrated by Charles Vess | Gathering Books
- Midnight Grove by Charles Vess
- Spoutwood Faerie Festival, Charles Vess, and Mermaids | I am a mermaid
- Minicon 42
- Charles Vess | Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Charles Vess Original Comic Art - Thor Pencil Prleim
Comic Art:
- Charles Vess/Cover Artist - Marvel Comics Database
- Charles Vess - Comic Artist - Gallery of the Most Popular Comic Art
Posted Art:
Bibliographies—Book Art:
- Charles Vess - Summary Bibliography ~ isfdb
- Charles Vess ~ Goodreads
- Charles Vess Author Page ~ Shelfari
- Charles de Lint · OverDrive: eBooks, audiobooks and videos for libraries
- The Art of Magic Making: Charles Vess, Legend of Fantasy and Comic Art
- Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- Charles Vess (Person) - Comic Vine
- The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Charels de Lint cover gallery:
Special Presentation:
Essays by Artist;
Interviews:
- Exclusive Interview with Artist and Illustrator Charles Vess | Legendarium ***
- SFRevu Review - Interview
- Charles Vess | Out of Step Arts
- Mythic Imagination Institute - Charles Vess
Articles:
- Interstitial Arts Foundation: What: Charles Vess Essay
- Charles De Lint (Person) - Comic Vine
- Acclaimed Illustrator Charles Vess at FaerieCon West!
- Mallory Fine Art hosts Charles Vess exhibit | Kingsport Times-News
- Charles Vess: 'I want to tell stories from my heart' - TriCities.com: News
- Book Review: Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess | Parka Blogs
- Charles Vess, guest artist and illustrator - 2/16/2012 - East Tennessee State University
- Meeting with Charles Vess
- ENCORE! - Fantasy artist Charles Vess enchants Paris gallery - France 24
- Attempts: 100 Great Pages: Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess's Sandman #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", p. 13
- Fairy and Faerie: Uses of the Victorian in Neil Gaiman's and Charles Vess's Stardust
Artist–websites, bios, etc:
- Welcome to Green Man Press ~ Vess website
- Charles Vess ~ Wikipedia
- Charles Vess ~ Goodreads
- Charles Vess - Artist Profile - Gallery | Tor.com
- Charles Vess | Vertigo
- Charles Dana Vess - Comic Book DB
- Library of Congress LCCN Permalink
Community, Fan: