John Harris (artist)
Encyclopedia
John Harris is a British painter and illustrator, best known for working in the science fiction
genre. His painting have been used on book covers for many science fiction authors, including Isaac Asimov
, Frederik Pohl
, Ben Bova
, Orson Scott Card
and Jack Vance
.
College of Art at 16. After completing a foundation course, he entered the Fine Art course at Exeter University
in 1967 to study painting. Graduating in 1970 he traveled and studied transcendental meditation
in India
, and surrounding provinces, for six years. On return to England in 1976 Harris began producing paintings with the common theme of monumental scale and space. In the late 1970s he joined Young Artists, a talent agency that also represented fellow science fiction illustrators Chris Foss
, Jim Burns
, and Peter Elson
.
From that point he has specialised large-scale commissions for companies such as Philips Electronics
and Shell
, as well as illustrations for science fiction novels, including Jack McDevitt
's Nebula Award
-winning Seeker
. His painting MASS: The Building of FTL1 was used by Psygnosis for the cover of their 1990 video game Awesome
.
During the early 1980s he was commissioned by Sinclair Research to produce cover art for the user manuals of the Sinclair ZX-81, and ZX Spectrum
home computers.
In 1984 John Harris visited the United States for the first time and on visiting NASA
's Kennedy Space Centre he was honored to be the first British artist to be invited to record the shuttle launch in a painting. That work is now part of the Smithsonian Collection.
In 2000 Paper Tiger Books
published a collection of his work, Mass.
Rainmaker Entertainment based in Vancouver, hired Harris in 2007, to help work on the The Weinstein Company
's movie, Escape from Planet Earth.
John Harris currently lives in Devon
, England
. He is married and has two children.
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...
genre. His painting have been used on book covers for many science fiction authors, including 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...
, 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...
, Ben Bova
Ben Bova
Benjamin William Bova is an American science-fiction author and editor. He is the recipient of six Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor for his work at Analog Science Fiction in the 1970's.-Personal life:...
, Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
and Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
.
Biography
John Harris began painting aged 14 and entered LutonLuton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
College of Art at 16. After completing a foundation course, he entered the Fine Art course at Exeter University
Exeter College, Exeter
Exeter College is a tertiary college in the city of Exeter, Devon, England, providing further education for 16-18 year old students, including apprenticeships, A levels and the International Baccalaureate, as well as a range of courses for 14-16 year-olds, higher education and adult courses,...
in 1967 to study painting. Graduating in 1970 he traveled and studied transcendental meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and surrounding provinces, for six years. On return to England in 1976 Harris began producing paintings with the common theme of monumental scale and space. In the late 1970s he joined Young Artists, a talent agency that also represented fellow science fiction illustrators Chris Foss
Chris Foss
Christopher "Chris" F. Foss is a British artist and science fiction illustrator. He is best known for his science fiction book covers and the black and white illustrations for the original editions of The Joy of Sex....
, Jim Burns
Jim Burns
Jim Burns is a Welsh artist born in Cardiff, Wales.In 1966 he joined the Royal Air Force, but soon thereafter he left and signed up at the Newport School of Art for a year's foundation course....
, and Peter Elson
Peter Elson
Peter Elson was an English science fiction illustrator whose work appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction paperback novels, as well as in the Terran Trade Authority series of illustrated books...
.
From that point he has specialised large-scale commissions for companies such as Philips Electronics
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
and Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, as well as illustrations for science fiction novels, including Jack McDevitt
Jack McDevitt
Jack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology....
's Nebula Award
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
-winning Seeker
Seeker (novel)
Seeker is a 2005 science fiction novel by Jack McDevitt. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2006.-Synopsis:The story is set approximately 10,000 years in the future, after civilization has expanded to inhabit countless worlds...
. His painting MASS: The Building of FTL1 was used by Psygnosis for the cover of their 1990 video game Awesome
Awesome (video game)
Awesome is a science fiction action video game released by Psygnosis for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990. It features a variety of gameplay styles, from overhead shooting to Asteroids-esque sequences, and a pre-rendered ray-traced intro sequence...
.
During the early 1980s he was commissioned by Sinclair Research to produce cover art for the user manuals of the Sinclair ZX-81, and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
home computers.
In 1984 John Harris visited the United States for the first time and on visiting NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Kennedy Space Centre he was honored to be the first British artist to be invited to record the shuttle launch in a painting. That work is now part of the Smithsonian Collection.
In 2000 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 collection of his work, Mass.
Rainmaker Entertainment based in Vancouver, hired Harris in 2007, to help work on the The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
's movie, Escape from Planet Earth.
John Harris currently lives in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He is married and has two children.