Charles Vess in his studio.
The greater Tri-Cities region is blessed with several world-renowned writers, musicians and visual artists living in our area. One of those is Charles Vess, a fantasy artist and illustrator as well as a comic book artist and a novelist. Vess has illustrated major works by fantasy masters Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, Charles de Lint and Joanne Harris, as well as drawings for many comic books.
The Abingdon, Virginia, community, where Vess resides, is celebrating Vess’s life and work at a special event Thursday, July 24 at 7 p.m. at the Martha Washington Inn & Spa. Sponsored by the Friends of the Washington County Public Library, the event is free for everyone as a gift to the community.
Joining Vess in this celebration of fantasy is Alix Harrow, a young fantasy, science fiction and gothic writer whose first novel,“The Ten Thousand Doors of January,”won a World Fantasy Award for best novel. A second novel,“The Once and Future Witches,” won aBritish Fantasy Awardfor best fantasy novel, and her third novel, “The Starling House,” was an international bestseller.
Vess and Harrow engage in a conversation on “The Lure of Fantasy.” There will be sales of their books, as well as posters and other memorabilia by Vess.
It has been several years since A! Magazine has talked with Vess. In this interview we asked about his recent success as a novelist and illustrator of the new Joanne Harris “mosaic” novel “Honeycomb” and new editions of “Peter Pan” and the Folio Society’s new edition of “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.”
Vess has received two Hugo Awards, one Mythopoeic Award, six Locus Awards, four World Fantasy Awards and 2 Eisner Awards.
A! Magazine for the Arts: Tell us about your childhood years related to your art.What were your favorite books?Did you do a lot of drawing as a kid?In other words, what forces shaped you as an artist?
Charles Vess: As a kid I grew up learning to read with the Greek Myths, then onto the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels (“Tarzan,” “John Carter of Mars,” “Carson of Venus”). I was watching all the sci-fi and fantasy movies I could find on TV before being completely ensnared by Marvel comic books and their super-heroes (Thor, The Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, etc.). During high school I discovered and fell in love with J.R.R. Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” and devoured collection after collection of Ray Bradbury’s lyrical short stories. I drew constantly as I read, doodled during studies, spending hours at the table and on the floor with pencil and paper any chance I could get. Most of it was on the back side of office paper that my Mom and Dad would find for me. Stories fueled me.
A! Magazine: How did your years of living in New York help influence your art and your career?
Vess: I moved to New York City in 1976 to share an apartment with Virginia friend and fellow artist, Michael Kaluta, who had been living there drawing comics such as “The Shadow” and “Carson of Venus” (there he is again). Besides living in our Upper West Side apartment, he shared The Studio downtown with three other fantastic artists, all of whom did work that inspired me. It was at one of their parties that I met an editor from Marvel who had seen my work there and asked if I wanted to draw a story for him. That story, “Jack Tales,” was only eight pages long — but I was so nervous about my “debut” that it took me eight months to write and draw.
A! Magazine: What fantasy illustrators did you admire in your youth — and today?
Vess: Hal Foster’s “Prince Valiant” and Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” were inspirational Sunday comic strips from the get-go, and all these years later their work continues to inform my art. Later I was enraptured by Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta, but discovering Arthur Rackham’s illustrative work in college put those two artists in the rearview mirror. Through reading about Rackham, I discovered his fellow illustrators Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen and John Bauer. All these later discoveries form the pantheon of my art gods today.
A! Magazine: Tell us about the inspiration for your novel,“The Queen of Summer’s Twilight?” Did writing a novel come easy for you?How would you compare it to illustrating?
Vess: My first published novel was inspired by the ancient Scottish ballad Tam-Lin, so naturally I made Scotland the setting of the story. My version began as a half-remembered dream image: two people astride a motorcycle were riding across a vast plain of dead grass leaving behind them a long strip of burning vegetation. The two characters began to talk, and I listened. Eventually they told me the epic tale that makes up the novel. I seldom remember dreams, so this had to be written down.
A! Magazine: Recently you illustrated Joanne Harris’s“Honeycomb,” which has been described as a “mosaic novel” made up of 100 interconnected fairy tales.Tell us about that experience and your relationship with Harris.
Vess: I’ve been reading Joanne’s novels since I discovered “Chocolat” a good long time ago. Through our mutual friend Charles de Lint we met online and corresponded. In 2017 she and her husband visited us when my wife Karen and I were vacationing at a house on the Isle of Skye. She is lot of fun to hang out with. Joanne told me that she was writing a novel that she would love for me to illustrate. This novel was written ‘live’ on Twitter, featuring many seemingly disconnected short tales whose characters eventually meet and intertwine. It was a delight to illustrate.
A Magazine: What works have you been illustrating recently?What plans do you have for the future?
Vess: Over the last two years I’ve illustrated a collection of both Peter Pan stories by James M. Barrie, plus a favorite contemporary novel by Susanna Clarke, “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.” These were sumptuous productions published by limited edition library houses, Conversation Tree Press, and the latter by The Folio Society. Interestingly, neither production is available in bookstores, but only by special order through their publishing websites.
For the near future I have a backlog of commissions to complete, another book to illustrate for Folio and the correspondence between Ursula K. Le Guin and me while working on “The Books of Earthsea” is being painstakingly assembled for eventual publication. I have a Ballads themed art exhibition that will be at the Bristol Country Music Museum next year as well.
A! Magazine: How has your art changed throughout your career?
Vess: Apparently, it seems that my work has grown and matured a bit, but only the viewer can decide if that’s actually true.
A! Magazine: Tell us about your new studio that you designed and helped build.
Vess: Every artist dreams of building their own studio, a space devoted entirely to their creative pursuits. After 26 years of renting a basement space in Abingdon, Virginia, I decided it was overdue to have mine. Young architect and family friend, James Harte, worked with my quirks, and we came up with a good, simple, spacious plan. The basics are wood and stone and plenty of light. Actual construction became quite challenging since it coincided with the 2020 Covid pandemic and lumber became scarce as prices shot through the roof, so I did a bit of stone and garden work on my property to kill some of that down time. However, today I amble through my own 800 square feet of space devoted to my art, my collection of books and a quiet place on the river at the mountain’s slope to dream up new worlds to draw.
A! Magazine: You are appearing with Alix Harrow, a young fantasy/science fiction writer, at a special event at the Virginia Highlands Festival. Tell us about your relationship with Harrow.
Vess: A few years ago, a friend asked if I’d read the novel “The Ten Thousand Doors of January.” I hadn’t, so she loaned it to me, and I fell in love with Alix’s fine writing and spectacular themes. Not long after, a publisher asked me if I’d like to illustrate a limited edition of “Ten Thousand Doors.” Of course, I said yes. That put me in contact with her, at least through the Internet. More novels followed (although, alas, I haven’t illustrated any others) and each has proven to be a great pleasure to read. Now I’m excited to say that that weekend I’ll finally be meeting her in person.
A! Magazine: Give us tips on which contemporary fantasy/science fiction novels and writers you would recommend.
Vess: Well, my reading tastes are usually on the outer edge of true sf/fantasy genre literature. I’m a big fan of Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus,” and any book by Alice Hoffman, but start with a favorite of mine, “Practical Magic.” There’s Helene Whecker’s “The Golem & the Jinni,” Imogen Gowar’s “The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock,” and I defy you not to tear up from reading the tales in Ellen Klages’ wondrous short story collection, “Portable Childhoods.”
A! Magazine: What else should our readers know that we forget to ask?
Vess:Just remember during these unsettling times to have courage and be kind.
The eraser is your best tool when drawing.
The award-winning Sandman story (#19) that I drew from Neil Gaiman’s script has been adapted to series TV and will be broadcast this July, as the third episode of the “Sandman” series on Netflix.
For more information, visit Vess's website.
