Barclay Shaw
Encyclopedia
Barclay Shaw is an American professional artist best known for his fantasy
and science fiction
artwork. He has been nominated five times for the Hugo Award
for Best Professional Artist
, and has earned a top ten ranking six times in the annual Locus Poll Award for Best Artist. In 1995, his work "Wonderland (wood)" won the Chesley Award for Best Three-Dimensional Art.
Since 1978 Shaw has painted more than 500 book and magazine covers, including covers for books by such science fiction luminaries as Isaac Asimov
, C. J. Cherryh
, Larry Niven
, and Frederik Pohl
. His work includes more than 20 cover paintings for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Beside his paintings, he works with sculpture materials. He has also illustrated cards in Last Unicorn Games
' collectible card game
Heresy: Kingdom Come
.
In addition to work for various publishing companies, Shaw freelances as a graphic artist and 3D animation consultant for various U.S. government and private sector clients, including DARPA, the U.S. Army and the National Reconnaissance Office
. His oeuvre is distinguished for its eclectic style, surrealistic overtones and crystalline rendering.
The artist credits author Harlan Ellison
for giving him his start in the business when he invited Shaw to paint cover illustrations for 16 paperback editions of Ellison's books. http://www.barclayshaw.com/links.html In 1995, Paper Tiger Books
published a compilation of Shaw's artwork entitled Electric Dreams: The Art of Barclay Shaw (ISBN 1-85028-364-8), with an introduction by Ellison.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
artwork. He has been nominated five times for the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Professional Artist
Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, and has earned a top ten ranking six times in the annual Locus Poll Award for Best Artist. In 1995, his work "Wonderland (wood)" won the Chesley Award for Best Three-Dimensional Art.
Since 1978 Shaw has painted more than 500 book and magazine covers, including covers for books by such science fiction luminaries as Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, C. J. Cherryh
C. J. Cherryh
Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
, Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
, and Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
. His work includes more than 20 cover paintings for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Beside his paintings, he works with sculpture materials. He has also illustrated cards in Last Unicorn Games
Last Unicorn Games
Last Unicorn Games was a games publisher that was eventually absorbed by Wizards of the Coast.Last Unicorn developed the collectible card games Dune and Heresy: Kingdom Come as well as the 2000 role-playing game Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium...
' collectible card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
Heresy: Kingdom Come
Heresy: Kingdom Come
Heresy: Kingdom Come was a collectible card game developed and published by Last Unicorn Games in 1995. The game was based around religion-themed fantasy in a cyberpunk setting.-Publication history:...
.
In addition to work for various publishing companies, Shaw freelances as a graphic artist and 3D animation consultant for various U.S. government and private sector clients, including DARPA, the U.S. Army and the National Reconnaissance Office
National Reconnaissance Office
The National Reconnaissance Office , located in Chantilly, Virginia, is one of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. It designs, builds, and operates the spy satellites of the United States government.-Mission:...
. His oeuvre is distinguished for its eclectic style, surrealistic overtones and crystalline rendering.
The artist credits author Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
for giving him his start in the business when he invited Shaw to paint cover illustrations for 16 paperback editions of Ellison's books. http://www.barclayshaw.com/links.html In 1995, Paper Tiger Books
Paper Tiger Books
Paper Tiger is a publishing house started in 1976 by Martyn and Roger Dean, on the back of their success at publishing Dean's Views graphic album under sister imprint Dragon's Dream...
published a compilation of Shaw's artwork entitled Electric Dreams: The Art of Barclay Shaw (ISBN 1-85028-364-8), with an introduction by Ellison.