Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

Spectrum #4

by Cathy Fenner (Editor), Arnie Fenner (Editor)

For nearly 15 years, Spectrum has been known as the premiere annual showcase for fantasy artwork. Early editions are now collector’s items, priced out of the reach of most buyers, but fortunately, this reissue makes Spectrum 4 available again to fans new and old. In its pages are 250 dazzling full-color works by nearly 175 fantasy artists from around the world, including James Gurney, Rafael Olbinski, and the year’s Grand Master Award winners, Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon.

Genres: Art, Fantasy, Science Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love fantasy and SiFi art of any area paintings, drawings, sculpture, cartoons then this is the book for you. Fantastic selection of the years art. You can't help but find something you like inside. Highly recommended

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

i remember first coming across the Spectrum art books in my twenties, when i would buy books simply for their dust jackets and hope the story inside wasn't too awful... the art in these books is amazing, creative, imaginary, dreamlike, fascinating, and ultimately full of life and the love of wonder and wondrous things... i would own them all if i could... extremely highly recommended...

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume celebrates all the best submitted art of 1996. And they certainly deliver it! They have old school and the new styles mingling wonderfully throughout the book. They also showcase the teamwork of Leo and Diane Dillon, rather than one artist this time. For the sake of the readers I'm going to mention some artist imagery in parentheses. Highlight artists like David Bowers, Daniel Brereton, Gnemo (amazing airships), James Gurney (the wonders of Dinotopia), Scott Gustafson (adorable version of Puss in Boots), Stephen Hickman (an electrical storm dragon), Greg and Tim Hilderbrandt (giving Disney's Evil Queen some edge and dimension), John Howe (want that night cloak), Victor Lee, Todd Lockwood (made a badass Cerberus), Don Maitz, Dennis Nolan, Omar Rattan, John Rush, Mark Sasso (brought to paper my favorite Extreme Dinosaurs character), and Douglas Smith (brought some Wicked imagery) appear here. Also Michael Whelan contributed quite a lot this year. His meditative maid painting reminds me of Arthurian imagery with the Lady of the Lake, of legendary sirens, or even of the maiden from Roger Christian's Black Angel short (pop culture reference). A great collection with only a few images going toward the erotic (an odd vexation of mine). The majority wins out though with this eclectic, fantastic art book.

[Carly Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic compilation of fantasy art. Comes out yearly (every Novemeber). Awesome series!!!!