More On Book Covers: The Illustrations Of Pauline Baynes & A Fellow Artist’s Tribute
Recently, I have been taking a look at a few favourite book jackets and reflecting on what makes these covers “speak” to me as a reader.
The initial post was:
SFF Cover Art Love: Some Favourites—& Reflections On Why They “Work” For Me
The second, posted just last week, was:
SFF Cover Art Love: More Favorites
which included the covers for Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar trilogy created by artist Martin Springett. When I checked out the artists’ website I found a sub-page titled:
Pauline Baynes Page
I was instantly hooked because the art of Pauline Baynes, both the jackets and interior illustrations, have always totally defined CS Lewis’s Narnia series for me. On opening the page I was correspondingly delighted to find both a few examples of Baynes’ lovely Narnia artwork and Martin Springett’s personal tribute to and remembrance of her as a friend and fellow artist.
A lovely little jewel of a site and the more so for being happened upon so unexpectedly.
In many ways, too, it reminds me of Neil Gaiman’s tribute to his friend, Diana Wynne Jones:
Being Alive: Mostly About Diana
Among many other projects, Pauline Baynes also undertook illustrations for JRR Tolkien and did the original jacket art for Watership Down. To find out more about her wonderful artistic legacy, click on: