Join us on Thursday, May 21, 7:00pm for “Charles Vess: An Evening with the Artist,” an in-depth and fascinating conversation with Vess about his creative work over the years, The Book of Ballads project, his artistic process, and what inspires him. Attendees can also participate in a curator-led tour of the special exhibit Charles Vess: The Book of Ballads at 6:30pm.
Date: Thursday, May 21
Location: Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Hours: 7 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public (RSVPs are encouraged!)
Special thanks to the United Company Foundation for their support of this program.
About the Artist
Charles Vess is a well-known illustrator of mythic fiction. Born in Virginia, he began his career working on Marvel’s “Spider-Man” followed by work for other graphic novels and illustrated books.
Some favorite collaborations include Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition (Saga) and Rose (Scholastic) with Jeff Smith, as well as Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Folio Society) Joanne M. Harris (Honeycomb) and Charles de Lint (The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, Seven Wild Sisters). Over the years he has also worked extensively with British writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman), including their novel Stardust, which was made into a major film.
In 2022 his first novel, The Queen of Summer’s Twilight (NewCon Press) was published. Set in Scotland as well as across the border into Faerie it is based on the ancient ballad of Tam-Lin.
Vess’ artwork has also been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. He has won two Hugo, four World Fantasy, three Chesley, six Locus, one Mythopoeic, and two Will Eisner awards for Best Artist over the years.
He lives on the North Fork River in southwestern Virginia where he works diligently from his studio, Green Man Press.
