Legendary artist John Harris is best known for his almost ethereal paintings of sci-fi landscapes – and there’s a new collection of his work coming soon for fans to delve into. Titan Books has announced The Art of John Harris II: Into the Blue, a hardcover book curating decades of the 73-year-old painter’s work. The new collection will focus on his more futuristic paintings, giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at how specific projects progressed from sketch to finished work.
Among Harris’ most iconic works are book covers for people from Isaac Asimov to Jack Vance. And while he has a very distinct and surreal style – he says he gets ideas through meditation and lucid dreaming – Harris previously told The Verge that he doesn’t consciously paint a certain way.
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“It always baffles me when this style question comes up because I don’t have a conscious style,” he explains. “That’s not disingenuous. I just try to paint what’s in my mind’s eye. When people recognize my style, what they see might just be a feeling or a vision that is personal to me. Maybe that’s why it seems to stand up to fashion—because it’s not fashion.” (Harris previously released a collection with Titan in 2014 called Beyond the Horizon.)
Into the Blue will be available on October 11, 2022. You can see a selection of his work from Beyond the Horizon in the gallery above and take a look at the cover of the new collection below.
Image: Titan Books