They call it an escape.
They call it a way out.
A way to ease the troubles of the day-to-day.
They throw "fantasy" around like slander.
They say "it's all just a bunch of make-believe."
And the thing is...
They're right.
For us, and for John Avon, this is make believe.
In exactly that order.
Make, believe.
Today, I want to explore the portfolio of one of Magic's most renown artists.
In part one, I want to show you how the use of light can give a painting its life and provide a painter with a signature move.
Part two will look at perspective.
That is, where we, the viewer, stand in relation to the objects we see in the painting.
Wielding these two elements of design, John Avon is able to take us to places that don't exist and make us believe that they do.
John was born in Cardiff in the United Kingdom and has been creating art his entire life.
He says that art was always his thing.
Always.
By the time he was a teenager, he had mastered classical oil painting
and decided to pursue art in higher education.
This decision led him to the southern seaside city of Brighton where he graduated with a degree in graphic design.
But school wasn't a walk in the park:
John had to teach himself the painting techniques he employs in his work today,
claiming that the professors were more focused on the other, trendier students, and their experimental work.
Upon graduating, John's first commissions were for book covers, and by 1980, he was producing up to three covers per month
for big-name authors like Arthur C. Clarke, Terry Pratchett, and Steven King.
Most of these covers featured normal-looking humans and figures placed in strange, otherworldly settings,
like this one, for the Dark Tower series.
16 years later, in 1996, John was approached by Wizards of the Coast.
When asked which type of commissions he would prefer, John responded "Mountains."
Unbeknownst to him, this would begin a fruitful career of painting landscapes,
and the subjects of his most notorious works in the game.
For it started with a Mountain, in Mirage, and a bold move that probably wouldn't fly by the company's standards of today.
John was assigned four pieces, all Basic Lands, and his approach was unconventional even early on.
"The Mirage mountains will always mean a lot to me," he says, "they were my first Magic cards and I thought I would do them differently."
The result: four entirely different vistas, each depicting a unique element of nature.
The purple mountain, which is Mike Linnemann's favorite Avon piece, is especially noteworthy.
It was the first example of a card breaking the color of its border.
Now, John has been creating work for Magic practically since the beginning.
As such, his style and approach has gone through eras and has evolved significantly over time.
In much the same way a Cubist Picasso will differ from a Blue Period painting, early Avon pieces and the work we're seeing now are dramatically different.
This is partially due to John beginning with oils, then moving into airbrush, and now fully working in Photoshop to compose his images, which he says allows him to think faster.
It is also because he's human: life changes, people grow, and artists always seek to improve their craft.
One thing that has remained consistent, however, is John's utilization of light.
Almost every single one of his Magic cards incorporates at least one source of pure, white light.
And I mean absolute white.
You may be saying, "well of course, Sam, every artist has to be mindful of the light source in a painting.
You can't compose without it!" While that's true, John's use of white light is what makes his style his own.
Once you see it, you'll forever be able to distinguish an Avon piece from all the rest.
Let me show you.
Here's a very early Avon piece from Visions: Jungle Basin.
Here's another, from four years later in Odyssey, called Cephalid Coliseum.
Seventh Edition brought us Adarkar Wastes, and twelve years after his first commission, John gave us Murmuring Bosk.
What do you see?
You see light.
More specifically, you see a cloud of blank, white light emerging from the background, pulling the viewer into the piece.
The light source in Avon's work often corresponds exactly to the vanishing point, which we will discuss later when we explore perspective.
On a general level, light functions as a means of guiding the eye.
In John's work, it has a similar pragmatic quality.
Whites, by default, help darken the deeper values in relation.
But light can also help give weight and size to a piece.
Eternity Vessel, for example, is far more ominous without that white light.
But with it, the piece carries a sense of hope.
Light can be used aggressively too.
Explosive Vegetation has three very distinct beams of light bursting from the vantage point,
which allows Avon to add silhouettes of debris everywhere, and gives the painting its high velocity.
Gaze of Justice takes this further and turns light into a weapon.
Dissension brought us Azorius Chancery, and with it, more Avon white lights.
Here, the viewer is drawn into the air of the high ceilings of the court's domes.
You can imagine being here, because you've been here before.
It's a calm afternoon; the dust is swimming in the light beams above.
You're daydreaming, and feeling sleepy.
You wake up and walk outside and are met with a setting sun, revealing the magnitude of the city before you.
The spires and vaults seem endless as they stretch into the horizon.
And as night falls, the citizens reveal themselves, one by one, as their lanterns glow and flicker in the windows.
You see, John Avon's use of light isn't some cheap special effect or afterthought.
It is a central character in his landscapes.
The entire composition hinges on its presence.
Given that Avon is not often allowed to include figures in his pieces, as per the style guide and the art director's orders, he must tell a story using the subtle details, which often manifests in the light.
Take his most famous land cycles as examples, the full-art Unhinged and full art Zendikar basics.
The first set of lands are in contention for the most coveted in the game, and have held a high price point for over a decade since their printing.
Each have the signature white light present on the horizon, giving depth and presence to the pieces.
Without the white light, the fingers on the Swamp's eerie trees lose their wickedness,
and the nearly black trunks of the forest would lack contrast with the glowing atmosphere of the background.
Avon dislikes the monochromatic tones in lands like this
and the ones from his earlier work around Urza's Saga,
but players are drawn to them for this specific reason.
His Zendikar basics provide more depth and a higher range of color.
Again, light is present, and this time, it works in conjunction with the colors to give room for more hues.
The Mountain has warm light up top, then falls into cooler light towards the bottom and into the valley.
The Island does the same thing:
cyans are closer to the light source,
and deep aquamarines seep into the waters of the ocean below.
There are also more details in these pieces, which help tell John's story.
But before we can fully dive into John's imagination,
and the reasons for which he creates art,
we have to look at another element of design:
Perspective.
And perspective, combined with light, will take us to other worlds in part two of the Magic Art of John Avon.
Thanks for watching!
If you enjoyed this video, check in and subscribe. I would really appreciate it.
There are a few announcements:
The first is there's a huge Kickstarter for the GP Vegas Art Show put on by my buddies Josh Krause and Mike Linnemann.
Without them I'd be nowhere in terms of the art world
so, I'm very excited to see this event fire and if you would like to contribute to that Kickstarter, I would really appreciate it
so, check out the link for the Kickstarter in the description.
I'm going to be at the GP Vegas Art show and if this funds, then that's awesome because it means we can put on more art shows for more GPs and grow the art community.
Secondly, check out my Patreon page. I put out two videos every month and they are always of this kind of quality and research.
Patreon allows me to treat this like my part-time job.
Which is super helpful.
So, if you'd like to support the arts and support my work, then there are goodies involved!
For example, you can get in the credits!
Or you could also get personal shout outs!
Shout out to Brian Beck, Alexander Kilnger, Taylor Rogers, Charles Rubin, and Kevin Gilbert!
Those guys are my highest-tier Confidant Patrons.
And you could also get monthly signed cards from me!
This month's signed card is Thragtusk!
None other than Thrag-daddy or a lot of you said Swag-tusk.
I'll be sending those out very soon, so it's not too late to get a signed copy from me of Thragtusk!
So please help support me on Patreon.
Alright, that's my shtick! Let me know your favorite John Avon piece in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching, as always!
Cheers, guys!
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