Rodney Matthews, Michael Moorcock, and Fantasy Illustration in the 1970s

Rodney Matthews, Michael Moorcock, and Fantasy Illustration in the 1970s

The UK artist Rodney Matthews (b. 1945) emerged as a prominent commercial artist in the early 1970s when the Big O poster company began issuing posters based on his fantasy paintings.

At his blog, Matthews has an entertaining series of posts about how, in 1975, he initiated a collaboration with author Michael Moorcock about providing illustrations for the 'Elric' franchise. The collaboration is still going strong - as prints and NFTS - as of 2021. Matthews's posts also provide some interesting insights into the financial realities of being a commercial artist in the UK in the 70s and 80s.