The
Art of Robert E. Howard:
Peter Andrew Jones
By Bill Thom
This is the third in a series of articles that provides a showcase
for the many fine artists that have illustrated the works of Robert E. Howard
over the years.
Earlier articles can be found at the links below.
1. Michael William Kaluta
2. Virgil Finlay
Peter
Andrew Jones
Peter
Andrew Jones is a British artist born in Islington, North London in 1951. He is
the son of the late Reginald and Catherine Jones.
Peter
showed interest in the visual arts from a very early age. At school he
continued to pursue his interest in art and won school prizes for his work. During
his last years at school, he met Robert Spearman, a talented artist in his own
right, who encouraged his interest in art. As a result, Peter attended the St.
Martin's School of Art (now Central St. Martins) in London from 1971 to 1974.
He graduated in 1974 with an honors degree. Robert Spearman had taught Peter at
adult evening institute life drawing classes as a condition of pre-art school
tuition, and he also taught Peter the basics of classical painting and drawing.
In
1973, a college friend, David Case was reading a Panther Books paperback
edition of science fiction author EE "Doc" Smith's
"Triplanetary". David suggested the book to Peter who subsequently purchased a copy. His interest in science fiction grew. During a session with his tutor, visiting lecturer and
illustrator Fritz Wagner, Wagner suggested that Peter consider painting things
that don't actually exist, as in science fiction stories, because of Peter’s
“highly developed skill of rendering realistic imagery.”
Another
visiting lecturer, Gerry Downes, impressed by Peter’s ability to render
realistic images, suggested a meeting with Doreen Scott, Art Editor at Puffin
Books. Following a preliminary trial piece for Scott, Peter produced his first
commercial science fiction work for Puffin Books, the cover art for Penelope
Farmer's “A Castle of Bone.”
Jones
commenced several decades of producing cover art for science fiction and
fantasy publications. He has provided book covers for science fiction and
fantasy authors including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Greg
Bear, Larry Niven, Philip K. Dick, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Murray Leinster, Thomas
Burnett Swann, A. E. van Vogt, Frank Herbert, Tanith Lee, Piers Anthony, E. E. “Doc”
Smith and many more.
Jones' first three Robert E. Howard covers were published for Orbit in 1977. A fourth REH cover followed in 1978 for Panther. He also provided a cover for an anthology featuring REH that was published by Star in 1977. This work is somewhat reminiscent of American artist Jeff Jones, but has its own distinct style.
In
1980 an anthology of Jones science fiction art entitled SOLAR WIND was
published by Dragon’s World.
Jones
has also produced images for film publicity, creating the movie posters for The Sword and The Sorcerer and Alligator and has worked for the
Fighting Fantasy game books originated by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone in
the 1980s.
During
the 1990s, Jones pursued his interest in aviation-related art, becoming
involved with the RAF Benevolent Fund, and a number of World War II pilots.
Jones'
current work includes ongoing genre and wildlife illustration, the production
of handmade and self-published books, cards and prints, and occasional private
commissions
Peter
Andrew Jones/Robert E. Howard Checklist (Initial appearances
only)
Orbit
Three-Bladed
Doom (1977)
Son
of the White Wolf (1977)
Robert
E. Howard Omnibus (1977)
Panther
The
Dark Man Omnibus Volume 1 (November 1978)
Star
Books
Weird
Legacies (1977) [Anthology featuring REH]
References:
Solar Wind
All
art copyright Peter Andrew Jones and the respective owners.
Son
of the White Wolf (1977)
Robert
E. Howard Omnibus (1977)
The
Dark Man Omnibus Volume 1 (November 1978)
Weird Legacies (1977)
