Connections: Titian and Jones

30 June 201111 August 2016 RC4 Comments

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a little time reading at random in Painting Techniques of the Masters: Painting Lessons from the Great Masters (revised and enlarged edition) by Hereward Lester Cooke, and came across a famous portrait by Titian that, to my eye and mind, could easily have been one of the inspirations for Jeffrey Jones’s oddly proportioned but striking portrait of Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane, created for the first edition of a collection of Solomon Kane short stories, Red Shadows, published by Donald M. Grant in 1968:

titian_portrait-of-doge-andrea-gritti_1544-45_oil-on-canvas_133.6x103.2cm — **ABOVE:** Titian, Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti (1544-45), oil on canvas, 133.6 x 103.2 cm.

titian_portrait-of-doge-andrea-gritti_1544-45_oil-on-canvas_133.6x103.2cm_flipped — **ABOVE:** Titian, Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti (1544-45), oil on canvas, 133.6 x 103.2 cm. Please note that I’ve flipped Titian’s painting horizontally, i.e., made a mirror image of it, in the above JPEG to facilitate comparison and contrast with Jeffrey Jones’s painting. Mirroring is strategy commonly used by artists to disguise their swipes, though I don’t think I’d go so far as to say that Jones’s “Solomon Kane” is swiped from Titian’s “Doge Andrea Gritti.”

jeffrey-jones_solomon-kane_1967_oil-on-canvas — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, Solomon Kane (1967), oil on canvas.

As the night wind said to the little lamb: Do you see what I see?

POSTSCRIPT:

I wonder, does anyone else think that Jones’s portrait of Solomon Kane is basically a self-portrait? Because I sure do.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Book/Magazine Covers (Jones) · Illustration Art · Jeffrey "Jeff" Catherine Jones · Look Here

Look Here: Three covers with art by Jeffrey Jones and Vaughn Bode

24 May 201111 August 2016 RC2 Comments

jones-bode_cover_vampirella-n4_april1969 — **ABOVE:** *Vampirella* #4 (April 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones and Vaughn Bodé.

jones-bode_cover_eerie-n27_may1970 — **ABOVE:** *Eerie* #2 (May 1970), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones and Vaughn Bodé.

jones-bode_back-cover_junkwaffel-n4_1972 — **ABOVE:** *Junkwaffel* #4 (1972), back cover art by Jeffrey Jones and Vaughn Bodé.

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Look Here: Five more fantasy covers with art by Jeffrey Jones

11 May 201111 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

From my collection:

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

**ABOVE:** Gardner F. Fox, *Kothar and the Demon Queen* (New York: Tower, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

**ABOVE:** Norvell W. Page, *Flame Winds* (New York: Berkley, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

**ABOVE:** Dave Van Arnam, *Star Barbarian* (New York: Lancer, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

**ABOVE:** David Van Arnam, *Wizard of Storms* (New York: Belmont, 1970), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

**ABOVE:** Heinrich Graat, *The Devil and Ben Camden* (New York: Belmont, 1970), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

Click here to view all of the book and magazine covers with art by Jeffrey Jones that I’ve posted so far.

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Look Here: One fantasy and two occult paperbacks, with cover art by Jeffrey Jones

6 April 201111 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

From my own collection, presented in order of publication:

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

jeffrey-jones_satans-child_ny-lodestone-books-1968 — **ABOVE:** Peter Saxon, *Satan’s Child* (New York: Lodestone Books, 1968), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_kothar-barbarian-swordsman_ny-belmont-1969 — **ABOVE:** Gardner E. Fox, *Kothar – Barbarian Swordsman* (New York: Belmont Books, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_the-vampires-of-finistere_ny-berkley-1970 — **ABOVE:** Peter Saxon, *The Vampires of Finistere* (New York: Berkley, 1970), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

To view three other “Guardians” paperbacks with cover art by Jeffrey Jones, click here, here, and here.

To view a couple more “Kothar” paperback with cover art by Jones, click here and here.

And finally, to view all of the paperbacks with cover art by Jeffrey Jones that I’ve posted so far, click here.

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Look Here: Three more R.E.H. covers, with wrap-around art by Jones

31 March 20118 May 2025 RC2 Comments

From my very own collection of crispy-crunchy sf-and-f paperbacks, here are three more classic Zebra/Kensington covers, with wrap-around art by Jeffrey Jones, whose new book, Jeffrey Jones: A Life in Art (IDW), is available in stores now, in both regular and signed/numbered editions:

To view a pair of Zebra/Kensington Robert E. Howard paperbacks with cover art by Jeffrey Jones that I posted earlier, click here.

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Connections: Jones, Jones, Jones

10 February 201111 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

jeffrey-jones_pencil-drawing_yesterdays-lily_p74 — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, untitled study (n.d.), pencil on paper, as published in *Yesterday’s Lily* (Dragon’s Dream, 1980), page 74.

jeffrey-jones_world-fantasy-convention-1984 — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, front and back covers of convention program, *World Fantasy Convention 1984*.

jeffrey-jones_the-puritan_oil — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, *The Puritan* (n.d.), oil painting. Here’s a better reproduction of the painting on the back of *World Fantasy Convention 1984*.

jeffrey-jones_study_1984_ink-and-watercolour_7x10in — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, untitled study (1984), ink and watercolour, 7 x 10 inches.

I believe the oil painting is called The Puritan and was one of a series of paintings by Jones that were based on Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane.

I gave readers a “Heads Up” back on 25 July 2010, and now the regular hardcover edition of Jeffrey Jones: A Life in Art (IDW Publishing, 2011) — a 256-page collection of Jones’s “personal favourites” from a long and celebrated career — is available for purchase at a bookstore near you. I haven’t received my copy yet, but it should be here soon…

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Look Here: Wonder Woman covers and pencil drawings by Jeffrey Jones

28 January 201111 August 2016 RC4 Comments

I don’t have any dates for the drawings; however, the first pencil drawing below was likely a prelim for Jones’s well-known covers for Wonder Woman #199 and #200 (1972), while the second looks to me like it’s from much later in Jones’s career, perhaps around the time of the story I Bled the Sea.

jeffrey-jones_wonder-woman-pencil_14x17in

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Look Here: Four paperback covers from 1968-69, with art by Jeffrey Jones

6 January 201111 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

More scans from the paperback library of yours truly:

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

jeffrey-jones_the-big-jump_ny-ace-1968 — **ABOVE:** Leigh Brackett, *The Big Jump* (New York: Ace, 1968), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_across-time_ny-ace-1968 — **ABOVE:** David Grinnell, *Across Time* (New York: Ace, 1968), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_thongor-and-the-wizard-of-lemuria_ny-berkley-1969 — **ABOVE:** Lin Carter, *Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria* (New York: Berkley, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_kandar_ny-paperback-library-1969 — **ABOVE:** Kenneth Bulmer, *Kandar* (New York: Paperback Library, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

To view all of the paperback and other covers with art by Jeffrey Jones that I’ve posted so far, click here. And fair warning: I still have a few more left to scan!

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Look Here: The cavalcade of Jones covers continues…

26 November 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

Here are three more covers with art by Jeffrey Jones, scanned from the copies I have on hand at RCN headquarters here in the Queen City and posted below in order of publication:

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

jeffrey-jones_day-of-the-beasts_ny-modern-promotions-nd — **ABOVE:** John E. Muller, *Day of the Beasts* (New York: Modern Promitions, n.d.), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_nine-princes-in-amber_ny-avon-1972 — **ABOVE:** Roger Zelazny, *Nine Princes in Amber* (New York: Avon, 1972), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

You can see the photo reference for the first cover — which, in terms of draughtsmanship and painting technique, I would describe as the weakest of the three, though I do find the composition interesting — on Jeffrey Jones’s official Web site. It’s the first image on this page, right beside the figure reference for the painting Age of Innocence.

The N. C. Wyeth influence is pretty obvious in Jones’s Nine Princes cover — see, for instance, Wyeth’s paintings for Robin Hood, etc. Years later, Jones revisited the idea of the knight on horseback in his Game of Thrones painting. Notice how the Wyeth influence is no longer right on the surface in the later painting but has been absorbed and transformed into a style that is less about trying on techniques and motifs like pieces of clothing and more about the pleasure of manipulating and thinking in paint.

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Look Here: “Colour Your Dreams” and more by Jeffrey Jones

19 November 201011 August 2016 RC7 Comments

When I win, you win:

jeffrey-jones_front-cover_colour-your-dreams_springfield-capitol-city-comics-1972 — **ABOVE:** *Colour Your Dreams* (Springfield, Virginia: Capitol City Comics, 1972), front cover, by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_back-cover_colour-your-dreams_springfield-capitol-city-comics-1972 — **ABOVE:** *Colour Your Dreams* (Springfield, Virginia: Capitol City Comics, 1972), back cover, by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_postcard_5x8in — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, blue postcard, 5 x 8 inches.

jeffrey-jones_cover_art-show-v1n2-jan-feb1978 — **ABOVE:** *Art Show: The Fantasy Art Monthly* volume 1, number 2 (January-February 1978), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_dark-mansion-v2n3-jan-feb1972 — **ABOVE:** *The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love* volume 2, number 3 (Jan.-Feb. 1972), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

No, I didn’t win that copy of Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love from an ebay auction, but I thought you might appreciate having a scan readily available to compare with the black-and-white original art that appeared on the cover of Art Show. As you can see, it was the fact that Jones’s original black-and-white artwork was mostly continuous tone that gave the Dark Mansions cover its striking appearance, which I’d characterize as somewhere between a typical comic book cover and a hand-coloured photograph.