A review by jgintrovertedreader
Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess, by Charles Vess, Susanna Clarke
5.0
Charles Vess's fantasy artwork has been collected in a beautiful volume.
I love just about every piece of art in this book. The few that I don't like are probably the few that are science fiction. I am not at all knowledgeable about art so I can't write in any kind of meaningful way about it. I do know what I like and I most definitely like this.
I tried hard to take my time poring over this book. I can flip way too fast through illustrated books, focusing too much on the words. I knew that Vess hides a lot of details in his work and it would be worth the time to look carefully at every page. It was. The vibrant colors, the classic fantasy elements with the occasional modern twist thrown in, this collection was all that I expected it to be and more.
The problem is that now I want to add all of the books he's worked on to my wishlist! He's been a busy man! I already own quite a few of them because he tends to collaborate with authors I love in their own right, such as Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman. I did not realize that Vess had worked on an illustrated edition of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series but now that I do, I feel the burning need to own it. Unfortunately, it was apparently a limited edition and is now pretty much unavailable or way beyond my means. Here's hoping for a wider release.
Fans of fantasy art and/or writing will love this collection. It will be displayed proudly in my home.
I love just about every piece of art in this book. The few that I don't like are probably the few that are science fiction. I am not at all knowledgeable about art so I can't write in any kind of meaningful way about it. I do know what I like and I most definitely like this.
I tried hard to take my time poring over this book. I can flip way too fast through illustrated books, focusing too much on the words. I knew that Vess hides a lot of details in his work and it would be worth the time to look carefully at every page. It was. The vibrant colors, the classic fantasy elements with the occasional modern twist thrown in, this collection was all that I expected it to be and more.
The problem is that now I want to add all of the books he's worked on to my wishlist! He's been a busy man! I already own quite a few of them because he tends to collaborate with authors I love in their own right, such as Charles de Lint and Neil Gaiman. I did not realize that Vess had worked on an illustrated edition of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series but now that I do, I feel the burning need to own it. Unfortunately, it was apparently a limited edition and is now pretty much unavailable or way beyond my means. Here's hoping for a wider release.
Fans of fantasy art and/or writing will love this collection. It will be displayed proudly in my home.