EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 13 © 2015 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

63 artistic vision was so powerful that it had launched a whole school of imitators. As Jeff delved deeper into the world of fantasy art he discovered the art of Bernie Wrightson, Jeff Jones and Brom, all of whom influenced the young artist. The next stage of his artistic odyssey seemed pretty straightforward and, at the age of 18, Jeff enrolled at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design but, as is often the case, the course itself and, more particularly, the tutors did not live up to his expectations or needs. Fantasy illustration was frowned upon and the briefs that the students were working to were tailored more to serving the needs of advertising and commerce. The fees were also a consideration and, rather than continuing with the course, he cut his losses and left after two years. The need to fund himself whilst he honed his skill steered Jeff in the direction of his local Kinko , where he worked the third shift for the next two years. During the course of his time working the