Friday, May 20, 2011

Jeffrey Jones, RIP

I first encountered the work of Jeffrey Jones in the strip titled Idyl in the National Lampoon. It was like hearing Scott Joplin playing the piano in a bordello.

Here is the artist's site. Here is a retrospective appreciation.

Frazetta called Jones "the greatest living painter". There was a visible Frazetta influence in the early work, but there was a lot more going on. There were passages that reminded me of Whistler, N. C. Wyeth, John Williams Waterhouse and Alma-Tadema.

3 comments:

Steve Muhlberger said...

Oh, this is the Jeff Jones who did so many paperback covers in the late 60s. Man, it's tiresome getting old and hearing this unbroken stream of death notices of near contemporaries.

Warvair said...

I knew him from Idyl and his association with one of my all-time favorite artists: Vaughn Bode. I always thought they drew inspiration from one another.

I hadn't seen many of his book covers, but it looks like Frazetta was another influence. IMHO, FF is a very good influence.

Sad to know another bright light has winked out. But, at least he's left behind a legacy in his art.

Will McLean said...

Frazetta called Jones "the greatest living painter". There was a visible Frazetta influence in the early work, but there was a lot more going on. There were passages that reminded me of Whistler, N. C. Wyeth, John Williams Waterhouse and Alma-Tadema.