|
Charles Vess 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. There he became a freelance
illustrator, working for many publications including Heavy Metal, Klutz Press,
and National Lampoon. His award-winning work has graced the pages of
numerous comic book, publishers such as Marvel, DC, Darkhorse and Epic. He has
been featured in several gallery and museum exhibitions across the nation, including
the first major exhibition of Science Fiction and Fantasy Art (New Britain Museum
of American Art, 1980) and "Dreamweavers" (William King Regional Arts Center,
1994-95). In 1991, Charles shared the prestigious World Fantasy Award for Best
Short Story with Neil Gaiman for their collaboration on Sandman #19 (DC Comics)
— the first and only time a comic book has held this honor. In the summer of 1997,
Charles won the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Penciler/Inker for his work
on The Book of Ballads and Sagas (which he self-publishes through his own
Green Man Press) as well as Sandman #75. Soon after, Charles finished
the last of 175 paintings for Stardust, a novel written by Neil Gaiman, for which
he was given the 1999 World Fantasy Award as Best Artist.
In 2002 Charles won a second Will Eisner award, this time as Best
Painter for his work on Rose, a 130-page epic fantasy saga written by Cartoon
Books' Jeff Smith. The year continued to be busy for Charles with the publication of
Seven Wild Sisters (Subterranean Press) and The Green Man, Tales from
the Mythic Forest (Viking), both making the 2003 American Library Association's
list for Best Books for Young Adults! By the end of 2002 he completed 28 paintings
for his first children's picture book, A Circle of Cats, done in collaboration with
writer Charles de Lint (Viking). This cover art won the Gold Award for Best Book Art
in the 10th annual "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" even before it
was officially published. A new edition of Peter Pan (Tor/Starscape) featuring a
cover as well as over 30 black & white interior illustrations by Vess was released this
past Fall. Another collaboration with de Lint, Medicine Road (Subterranean
Press) and the Young Adult anthology,The Faery Reel (Viking ) will be arriving
this Spring. Charles is currently hard at work producing drawings for several new books,
including, A Storm of Swords (MeishaMerlin), the 25th anniversary edition of
Moonheart (Subterranean Press) and a graphic novel collection of his ballads
material for Tor.
Charles and his wife Karen Shaffer established Green Man Press in
Abingdon, Virginia. The two of them successfully co-curated the amazing
Ancient Spirit, Modern Voice, the Mythic Journeys art exhibit in June 2004.
Along with Michael Kaluta, his art will be the focus of a Modern Fairy Tales exhibit
at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (546 Broadway, Suite 401, New York, NY)
on display from September 6, 2005 though January 6, 2006. For more information call
212 254-3511 or visit the museum's website at moccany.org.
Visit Charles Vess at Green Man Press on the Web
Return to Participant List
|
