Remembering artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones

I’ve been busy lately, so forgive me for being a little late with this.

On May 19, 2011, the fantasy painter and illustrator Jeffrey Catherine Jones died, leaving the world a poorer place. Jones brought an etherial approach and fine-art techniques to book covers and comics, prompting Frank Frazetta to call her “the greatest living painter.”

Jones’ work graced numerous book and magazine covers in the ’70s and ’80s, including those by fantasy luminaries Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. Indeed, it was her space-suited alien riding the back of a sea monster that convinced me to buy my first Leiber book (The Swords of Lankhmar) — and for that I’m forever grateful.

If you’re looking for more information on Jones’ fascinating life and groundbreaking work, take a look at the documentary Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones. (This sentence was added later, since the documentary wasn’t available at the time of Jones’ death. — Sanford)