Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar

by John Jude Palencar (Artist), Arnie Fenner (Editor), Cathy Fenner (Editor)

John Jude Palencar is a rarity among modern artists, mixing meticulous technique reminiscent of the old masters with a soaring, darkly surreal imagination. There are touches of Bosch and Da Vinci in his visual allegories of netherworld landscapes and doomed characters. His painted book covers and illustrations for works by Stephen King, Lovecraft, Tolkien, and many others have won him wide acclaim, but Palencar is perhaps best known for his covers to the fantasy novels of Christopher Paolini. Origins is a sumptuous tribute to his work.

Genres: Art, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2006

Reviews

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good to actually pick up the books you own every so often. Not sure I ever looked all the way through this one - art and words. I came to Palencar through Charles de Lint. His art for de Lint features quite prominently in this book including the cover. The text itself was interesting but not completely compelling. The individual works themselves were more compelling. And yet the book itself didn't blow me away as a whole, where it does as individual art.

[Donyae Coles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really lovely art book. Have enjoyed this artist since I was in middle school. I have purchased so many books simply because he did the cover.

[saradevil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of his work. I enjoy that the artist describes his career as "a series of fortunate events." Would that all gifted creators could be so lucky.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a surreal simplicity to much of John Jude Palencar’s artistic output, images that immediately generate an emotional attachment, straddling the boundary between reality and an alternative existence. The layered technique he uses to paint bodies, clothing and natural structures is arresting, as are his earthy colours, intriguing small details, and the tangible sense of stillness present in most compositions. There’s also a deeper meaning within his artistic vision – book cover illustrations are framed art open to individual interpretation, conceptual in form and grounded by deep maturity.

Fun fact: 35 years ago, when I was a commercial art student at college, I wrote to JJP asking for information about himself and his career (and some printed work samples) to help me with an assignment about an ‘admired artist’. He eventually replied long after I required it, so I instead wrote an essay about another favourite illustrator – Ian Miller – who helpfully replied with greater speed!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I never cared for Charles de Lint's books, I always admired their covers done by John Jude Palencar. This book is a collection of some of his most notable work. The introductory biographical sketch featuring many interview quotes is insightful, but Palencar is deliberately vague about his paintings and the personal mythologies at work in them, which is frustrating. He states that he prefers to work in symbols, especially loving dichotomies such has dark/light, good/evil, earth/sky, rather than simply illustrating an important scene from the piece being illustrated. But he doesn't elaborate beyond that, and it would have been very helpful to have some interpretations accompany this paintings even though "[viewers] assimilate the image on a more personal level if they're not first told what to think" and "The art should be able to stand on its own...".
Yes, I do agree with those statements, but I would have also liked some background and explanation for the pieces presented. It would have enhanced the experience. For example, I would have liked to know who the figure dressed in white on the front of the Lord of the Rings box set is. I am guessing the figure in black next to him is Sauron, but I can't figure which character could be balancing him. Gandalf and two Ringwraiths are visible in the background. And I always wanted to know more about the painting "Someplace to be Flying" done for the novel by Charles de Lint of the same title. That's such an incredible painting; what does it mean?
Still, this is a lovely book, worth flipping through. You can really tell Palencar paints from live models even if you didn't read the introduction. He always paints the folds in a person's skin and reaslistically shades the subcutaneous tissue no matter how much of a surrealistic airbrush he gives the rest of the figure. He also portrays the draping of fabric like a Greek master. He has incredible technique in those two areas.

[Amnah]

CREEPY.