I feel like it’s necessary to post this because of all of the support everyone has given my dad over the course of this group. Earlier today, he passed away peacefully. My brother, uncle and I were there for him, holding his hand and telling him we loved him. To everyone who reached out or commented on my post about him being sick, thank you so much. It means a lot to us, and it meant a lot to him. Afterwards, I went to his house and looked at all of his old paintings. I wanted to share this one from the ‘70s with you all — a scene from The Hobbit, a book my dad forced me to read as a kid (I’m not complainin!) it’s a picture of the painting, not a scan, so I apologize for the unlit sections. But if everyone could please continue to share his art in this group and wherever else, my family would really appreciate you helping us keep his memory alive. He was a talented man, and I love seeing the stuff everyone shares.
Jim contributed to many RPG publications over the years, and I had the pleasure of working with him on a few different projects. Jim was always easy to work with and kind---a true professional who managed changes as requested and always delivered his work on time. I wish I'd have had the opportunity to work with him more.
I pulled a few of his pieces from those books, as well as some other personal favorites in the sampling below. In all of the captions I've described each work---they're not "official" titles in any way, either from Jim himself or from the respective publishers.
This is one of the full-page chapter pieces to the Black Blade/Usherwood Adventures edition of OSRIC, the AD&D 1e retroclone. It's the header for Chapter 6 Monsters, and depicts a wonderful (if brutal!) coup de grâce:
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| Dwarven Coup De Grâce - OSRIC - Art by Jim Jolloway |
Jim also provided the covers and most of the interior artwork for Rob Kuntz' first two modules from Pied Piper Publishing, Cairn of the Skeleton King and Tower of Blood. When we republished the two adventures with Black Blade, we were able to bring the two Tower of Blood pieces of color art together for the front and back covers. Here's Tower of Blood:
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| Tower of Blood front and back covers - Art by Jim Holloway |
Jim mentioned in email that he was planning to revise or update the Tower of Blood artwork to suit his own preferences, and as I consider these some of the best pieces of his work, I'd love to see those someday.
Two pieces from facing pages in the ICE/North Pole Productions RM2 The Shade of the Sinking Plain (1983):
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| The Shade - Art by Jim Holloway |
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| Orc Horde - Art by Jim Holloway |
Jim contributed many covers to Dragon Magazine over the years, but Dragon Magazine #74 (June 1983) remains one of my favorites, and is an excellent issue in its content, too!
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| Dragon Magazine #74 - June 1983 - Art by Jim Holloway |
In closing, Jim's artwork for TSR's 1982 S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth are one of the many highlights to that classic adventure! In addition to his interior art, JIm provided the title page artwork, as well as the back cover art:
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| Demonic Conjuration - Art by Jim Holloway |
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| Derro Ambush - Art by Jim Holloway |
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| Stone Giant Downfall - Art by Jim Holloway |
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| S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth back cover - Art by Jim Holloway |
Rest in peace Jim, and thank you for making RPGs more fun, more engaging, and bringing out the humanity in our fantasies through your works!
Allan.
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