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Mythopoeikon
Mythopoeikon by Patrick Woodroffe.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Patrick Woodroffe
36 books17 followersPatrick James Woodroffe was an English artist, etcher and drawer, who specialised in fantasy science-fiction artwork, with images that border on the surreal. His achievements include several collaborations with well-known musicians, two bronze sculptures displayed in Switzerland and numerous books.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 11, 2026
This was the first artwork book I ever saw.
It somehow arrived in my house and as a kid and I was blown away by the meticulous, dazzling (and to a child, sometimes disturbing) images.
Woodroffe, although he is no longer with us is easily still my favourite contemporary artist to this day. His work was grandiose, breath-taking, sometimes disconcerting, whimsical and often literally fabulous.
Many of Woodroffe's paintings were used on book jackets and LP's throughout the 70's-90's and not a few books on my bookshelf and LP's in my vinyl collections were bought simply because I recognised his artwork on them, checked them out and became a lifelong fan of their writing/music.
Mike Moorcock, Jace Vance, Heinlein, Asimov, the Simon Rack series and many, many more. Budgie, Strawbs, Barclay James Harvest, Judas Priest too, although he's probably most famous for his Dave Greenslade's stuff.
I lost my original and much dog-eared copy of Mythopoeikon way, way back but it weas one of the few books from my childhood that I have actively tracked down and replaced - it is still as exciting to look at today - but as an adult it is fascinating too to read about the artists working methods, the underlying concepts, and his intentions of each piece of work.
Out of print but available second hand - buy it and marvel at the man's genius:)
It somehow arrived in my house and as a kid and I was blown away by the meticulous, dazzling (and to a child, sometimes disturbing) images.
Woodroffe, although he is no longer with us is easily still my favourite contemporary artist to this day. His work was grandiose, breath-taking, sometimes disconcerting, whimsical and often literally fabulous.
Many of Woodroffe's paintings were used on book jackets and LP's throughout the 70's-90's and not a few books on my bookshelf and LP's in my vinyl collections were bought simply because I recognised his artwork on them, checked them out and became a lifelong fan of their writing/music.
Mike Moorcock, Jace Vance, Heinlein, Asimov, the Simon Rack series and many, many more. Budgie, Strawbs, Barclay James Harvest, Judas Priest too, although he's probably most famous for his Dave Greenslade's stuff.
I lost my original and much dog-eared copy of Mythopoeikon way, way back but it weas one of the few books from my childhood that I have actively tracked down and replaced - it is still as exciting to look at today - but as an adult it is fascinating too to read about the artists working methods, the underlying concepts, and his intentions of each piece of work.
Out of print but available second hand - buy it and marvel at the man's genius:)
October 8, 2015
This book is almost as old as I am - now that is no way of an endorsement but it does give you an idea of how long it has stuck in my mind.
This is one of the earlier Paper Tiger books (back in the days when it also went under the name of Dragons Dreams). The reason why I have spent so long looking for this book - and even longer remembering it was down to one high school art teacher. Now this teacher I have no idea of his abilities or his skill but I do remember if he thought you had no talent (or at least talent he was interested in nurturing) then you were dead to him you might as well not exist you were an oxygen thief soaking up good sunlight that by rights should be reserved for his chosen ones. Okay that may be a bit harsh but for a school kid who wanted to impress it was a hard lesson to learn.
The other thing I remember about his art classes was that he has an impressive selection of resource books - many of which were Paper Tiger books. Now at the time I didnt realise this or even care (I was too busy waiting for the lesson to end so I could head to the chemistry lesson and see what were blowing up today). But what did stick in my mind were the images from these books and the cover of Patrick Woodroffe's Mthopoekon was probably the most memorable.
So why the long and drawn out search for this book - Well once you have read through it you realise how dated it was - and how very much it was a child of its era. Those who have read it will know what I mean. However as hard as some of he art is to see and appreciate you suddenly realise that there is so much here that has influenced modern commercial art - predominantly books and music.
Holding this book in my hands again so 30 years on it is amazing how familiar and recognisable so many pieces are - now I wonder how many books I have held in my hands recently I will be able to say the same about in 30 years time (that is assuming I can still remember anything)
But I am not sure if its nostalgia, closure - now that I can properly appreciate the book without having someone stand over me and judge me or if that this book and his work have contributed to not only my eduction but also the books I have read over the years.
This is one of the earlier Paper Tiger books (back in the days when it also went under the name of Dragons Dreams). The reason why I have spent so long looking for this book - and even longer remembering it was down to one high school art teacher. Now this teacher I have no idea of his abilities or his skill but I do remember if he thought you had no talent (or at least talent he was interested in nurturing) then you were dead to him you might as well not exist you were an oxygen thief soaking up good sunlight that by rights should be reserved for his chosen ones. Okay that may be a bit harsh but for a school kid who wanted to impress it was a hard lesson to learn.
The other thing I remember about his art classes was that he has an impressive selection of resource books - many of which were Paper Tiger books. Now at the time I didnt realise this or even care (I was too busy waiting for the lesson to end so I could head to the chemistry lesson and see what were blowing up today). But what did stick in my mind were the images from these books and the cover of Patrick Woodroffe's Mthopoekon was probably the most memorable.
So why the long and drawn out search for this book - Well once you have read through it you realise how dated it was - and how very much it was a child of its era. Those who have read it will know what I mean. However as hard as some of he art is to see and appreciate you suddenly realise that there is so much here that has influenced modern commercial art - predominantly books and music.
Holding this book in my hands again so 30 years on it is amazing how familiar and recognisable so many pieces are - now I wonder how many books I have held in my hands recently I will be able to say the same about in 30 years time (that is assuming I can still remember anything)
But I am not sure if its nostalgia, closure - now that I can properly appreciate the book without having someone stand over me and judge me or if that this book and his work have contributed to not only my eduction but also the books I have read over the years.
December 26, 2022
Fantasies. Monsters. Nightmares. Day dreams. The paintings, etchings, Book jacket and record- sleeve illustrations of Patrick Woodroffe. Utterly exquisite drawings by a man with a 'fantastic' imagination and talent. He adds notes and commentaries for the variety of pictures in a wide range of materials. He says:"Fantastic art is the cartography of this nowhere-land." Which is, the world enclosed within the walls of the skull, confined to electric pathways between billions of minute brain cells.
Materials: oil on canvas, pen and ink, oil on wood, oil, copper and glass on wood, Rapidograph pen, oil on panel, pencil, watercolour, engraving, etching.
He discusses his early influences and also ideas he wants to work with. Influences include Bosch, Dali, the 'primitives' and writers, eg Michael Moorcock. Ideas include war, conflict, time, animals, ships, sci-fi, fantastic worlds. Each 'painting' has a beautiful elaborate story with huge amounts of intricate detail. some are disturbing, some border on the egde of violent, but many are beautiful in the true sense of the word. A truly wonderful read.
Materials: oil on canvas, pen and ink, oil on wood, oil, copper and glass on wood, Rapidograph pen, oil on panel, pencil, watercolour, engraving, etching.
He discusses his early influences and also ideas he wants to work with. Influences include Bosch, Dali, the 'primitives' and writers, eg Michael Moorcock. Ideas include war, conflict, time, animals, ships, sci-fi, fantastic worlds. Each 'painting' has a beautiful elaborate story with huge amounts of intricate detail. some are disturbing, some border on the egde of violent, but many are beautiful in the true sense of the word. A truly wonderful read.
August 25, 2025
A book showcasing the late Patrick Woodroffe’s earlier work (this book was published in the 70s and this edition is from 1995). it includes some interesting early work before his professional work and some personal pieces he did and a lot of commercial work like book covers and vinyl covers. Patrick in my opinion is an underrated artist, brilliantly fascinating yet not much recognized, (there’s another Patrick Woodroffe who happens to be a celebrated lighting designer and he gets most of the search results when searching the name!). Woodroffe’s art is captivating in two ways. The art itself: its whimsical dreamy surrealistic out of this world quality, his bold colors and his rendering style, all so charming. And his technical ability that is unmatched. Indeed one needs to observe a real painting in close up to appreciate his perfection and mastery of his craft. It’s why he hesitated to showcase his art in a website in the early days of the internet in a justified fear of having a great deal of intricate quality rubbed out due to technical limitations of that era. The book also features delightful marginalia or spot illustrations, my favorite is the snail-hand!
This is the first book I bought for Patrick Woodroffe and it’s how I was introduced to his art. I saw it sitting on a shelf and the snail-elephant creature caught my attention, I browser it and couldn’t put it away! There is a personal vibe that feels like an old memory or a forgotten dream that I get from looking at some of Woodroffe’s paintings. Just Imagine a graphic adventure game with art done by Woodroffe! Wouldn’t it be amazing? You bet it will!
كتاب يعرض أعمال الفنان الراحل باتريك وودروف المبكرة (نُشر هذا الكتاب في السبعينيات وهذه الطبعة من عام 1995). يتضمن بعض الأعمال المبكرة المثيرة للاهتمام قبل عمله الاحترافي وبعض القطع الشخصية التي قام بها والكثير من الأعمال التجارية مثل أغلفة الكتب وأغلفة الفينيل. باتريك في رأيي فنان غير مقدر حق قدره، رائع ومثير للاهتمام ولكنه غير معترف به كثيرًا، (هناك باتريك وودروف آخر وهو مصمم إضاءة مشهور ويحصل على معظم نتائج البحث عند البحث عن الاسم!). فن وودروف آسر بطريقتين. الفن نفسه: جودته الخيالية الحالمة السريالية خارج هذا العالم، وألوانه الجريئة وأسلوبه في العرض، وكل ذلك ساحر للغاية. ومهارته التقنية التي لا مثيل لها. في الواقع، يحتاج المرء إلى مشاهدة لوحة حقيقية عن قرب لتقدير كماله وإتقانه لحرفته. وهذا هو السبب الذي جعله يتردد في عرض فنه على موقع على شبكة الإنترنت في الأيام الأولى للإنترنت، خوفًا مبررًا من محو قدر كبير من الجودة المعقدة بسبب القيود التقنية في ذلك العصر. يحتوي الكتاب أيضًا على حواشي أو رسومات توضيحية رائعة، ومفضلتي هي رسمة الحلزون! هذا أول كتاب أشتريه لباتريك وودروف، ومن هنا تعرفت على فنه. رأيته على رف، ولفت انتباهي مخلوق الحلزون الفيل، تصفحته ولم أستطع إبعاده! أشعر فيه بأجواء شخصية أشبه بذكريات قديمة أو حلم منسي، أشعر به عند النظر إلى بعض لوحات وودروف. تخيل لعبة مغامرات رسومية برسومات من إبداع وودروف! أليست رائعة؟ بالتأكيد ستكون كذلك!
This is the first book I bought for Patrick Woodroffe and it’s how I was introduced to his art. I saw it sitting on a shelf and the snail-elephant creature caught my attention, I browser it and couldn’t put it away! There is a personal vibe that feels like an old memory or a forgotten dream that I get from looking at some of Woodroffe’s paintings. Just Imagine a graphic adventure game with art done by Woodroffe! Wouldn’t it be amazing? You bet it will!
كتاب يعرض أعمال الفنان الراحل باتريك وودروف المبكرة (نُشر هذا الكتاب في السبعينيات وهذه الطبعة من عام 1995). يتضمن بعض الأعمال المبكرة المثيرة للاهتمام قبل عمله الاحترافي وبعض القطع الشخصية التي قام بها والكثير من الأعمال التجارية مثل أغلفة الكتب وأغلفة الفينيل. باتريك في رأيي فنان غير مقدر حق قدره، رائع ومثير للاهتمام ولكنه غير معترف به كثيرًا، (هناك باتريك وودروف آخر وهو مصمم إضاءة مشهور ويحصل على معظم نتائج البحث عند البحث عن الاسم!). فن وودروف آسر بطريقتين. الفن نفسه: جودته الخيالية الحالمة السريالية خارج هذا العالم، وألوانه الجريئة وأسلوبه في العرض، وكل ذلك ساحر للغاية. ومهارته التقنية التي لا مثيل لها. في الواقع، يحتاج المرء إلى مشاهدة لوحة حقيقية عن قرب لتقدير كماله وإتقانه لحرفته. وهذا هو السبب الذي جعله يتردد في عرض فنه على موقع على شبكة الإنترنت في الأيام الأولى للإنترنت، خوفًا مبررًا من محو قدر كبير من الجودة المعقدة بسبب القيود التقنية في ذلك العصر. يحتوي الكتاب أيضًا على حواشي أو رسومات توضيحية رائعة، ومفضلتي هي رسمة الحلزون! هذا أول كتاب أشتريه لباتريك وودروف، ومن هنا تعرفت على فنه. رأيته على رف، ولفت انتباهي مخلوق الحلزون الفيل، تصفحته ولم أستطع إبعاده! أشعر فيه بأجواء شخصية أشبه بذكريات قديمة أو حلم منسي، أشعر به عند النظر إلى بعض لوحات وودروف. تخيل لعبة مغامرات رسومية برسومات من إبداع وودروف! أليست رائعة؟ بالتأكيد ستكون كذلك!
July 25, 2016
This book was my artistic bible as a young man, for a couple of years before Don Ivan Punchatz hired me and I entered the profession of illustrator. I was delighted by Woodroffe's detail, atmospherics, and rich finish, and fascinated by his explanations of his working process. One amusing detail: he often writes of using crayons, so I went out and bought a 64-pack of Crayolas. They didn't seem to be giving me the look I expected, when I tried applying them on top of acrylic washes, so I lost interest, especially when Don began teaching me the proper way to paint.
Years later, I found out that in the UK, "crayon" is the word they use for colored pencils. Duh.
Years later, I found out that in the UK, "crayon" is the word they use for colored pencils. Duh.
June 23, 2020
Fantastic artwork <3
June 4, 2024
didnt think id like this at first but the imagery is just so detailed and imaginative, hard to read through this and leave it not liking something
August 20, 2012
This book is a wonderful vacation from the world. I sat on the couch for hours looking through the illustrations and reading whatever caught my interest. The artwork is unique and profound in ways that appeal to all age groups. Everyone who has taken a look at my copy has had trouble giving it back!
July 25, 2007
I was fascinated with this book as a child. Elephants living in snail shells, soldiers with the heads of parakeets, moons and suns with childrens' faces...I still see his influence in contemporary speculative illustration.
September 18, 2015
i loved this book in my early teens,his use of colours using multiple mediums and his boundless imagination,have never ceased to amaze me. I hope to be able to procure a copy of this book someday.
May 31, 2013
My favorite art book. Bizarre and brilliant.
February 8, 2016
Very Good art book. Great selection of pictures. Very interesting subject matter. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews