Thomas S Brown (he/him) works as an artist, illustrator, teacher, performer and magician. He primarily deals in enchantment and wonder. He was raised by books in much the same way that Tarzan was raised by apes but with much less dramatic results. Born in beautiful haunted coastal New England , he moved to the UK in his fourth decade and settled there, having found his people and a new landscape to love.
He got his first professional illustration job when he was thirteen and has been working in the field since then.
His love of books and the printed word inspired him to work to constantly improve his craft in the service to story. He has worked in various fields and for many publishers and individual authors and creators producing art for books, graphic novels, games and album art.
Inspirations include Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Edward Gorey, Hayao Miyazaki, Jack Kirby, Barry Windsor Smith and the countless contemporary artists he follows and interacts with daily. Most importantly though, he draws from a relationship with the natural world.
ARTIST LINKS:
Website: thomassbrown.com
Bluesky: @tomsbrown.bsky.social
Instagram: @thomassbrownarts
Illustrated Collection of the Works of Lord Dunsany:
The Kith of the Elf Folk & Others – illustrated oversize paperback
The Kith of the Elf Folk & Others – illustrated hard cover edition
Book Elevator Pitch for Readers/Book Clubs:
A chance to discover the writings of Lord Dunsany (or rediscover) an Anglo/Irish author who is largely responsible for the existence of the fantasy genre, but more importantly a haunting, powerful, poetic writer (and one of my all time favourites) with new illustrations to introduce his work to a new generation. Also there is one never before published tale of his in this volume.
We’re here to talk about the illustrated edition of Lord Dunsany’s work which has just come out this year. How did you get this project started, and what was it like to see this through to completion?
I was at a low point, and sleepless. I found one of his novels I had not read before on Project Gutenberg and this reminded me of my first discovery of his work many years ago in art school in Providence Rhode Island many decades ago.
I remember the room, the time of year and the sudden desire to have the sort of life that would include illustrating his work. I did some drawings at the time based on “The Sword of Welleran”. So, with this in mind, I went on social media and said “It is time for a new generation to discover the work of Lord Dunsany. I am the illustrator for this job. Hire me, you cowards.” Well…they only went and bloody did!
It took exactly two emails to find a publisher and editor for the project. I started the cover art soon after. It took me three weeks on a vast sheet of toned paper using pencil, watercolour wash, white pencil and white gouache. I do not regret a second of that time. I spent all of the time I needed on each illustration as the writing deserved nothing less.
When did you first encounter Lord Dunsany, and what is your relationship like with his work, before you started this project?
I spoke above of discovering his work back in art school. (Lo these many years ago) I found him through the work of Sidney Sime who was the illustrator associated with him.
I started reading “The Gods Of Pegana” and then became a bit of a completist, reading everything I could find. His work has been a strong thread throughout my life since then, and an important part of my interior landscape.
What was your favourite piece to illustrate and can you tell us about that illustration design and colouring? How did you go from the original material to the finished piece?
I think my favourite was the cover, which illustrates the title track of the collection. It is a story that contains most of the themes contained in his book length The King of Elfland’s Daughter and has beautiful evocations of mood, light and detailed descriptions of the natural world. It is also very emotional. I did cry the first time reading the story.
I was aware that, at last I had the skill to do it justice (at the age of 65) so I poured everything into the work, including detailed depictions of the animal life, landscape, time of year. I also used some personal references because this was my dream come true and it was deeply personal as well.
In terms of the figures and characters you brought to life from Dunsany’s work – can you introduce us to some of them and talk us through where the design elements came from?
There are the Wild Things from “Kith of The Elf Folk”, which are described as brown skinned (or furred) and having ears like squirrels, only larger. The challenge was to make them look like a cohesive race that has existed since the dawn of time, and also be relatable as the events in the story are deeply emotional.
I had to draw the young man from “The Sword of Welleran”, and decided to mostly show motion and focus on one wild eye, to express the dire circumstance and let the viewer move into that figure. Welleran himself, I kept vague as he was impossibly heroic and fabled and anything I drew that more than suggested him, would reduce him. I had to draw the author’s soul in one illustration, which was an interesting challenge.
What was the most challenging part of the project for you, and why?
Tricky… I suppose it was believing I was up to the job in the way that I claimed I was, and to feel my individual way into the stories, knowing that one of my art heroes (Sidney H. Sime) had been there before me and had actually discussed all of his work with Lord Dunsany as he was drawing.
If someone is looking to read Dunsany for the first time, is there a piece you would recommend they start with in this collection?
The title track, “The Kith of the Elf Folk”. It is beautiful and heart-breaking and also exceedingly pagan.
Can you share your favourite feedback or reader reactions for the book so far?
I can share what the executer of Lord Dunsany’s estate said of the art:
“This volume is lavishly illustrated by Thomas S Brown, whose sensitivity to the weird and fantastic elements in Lord Dunsany’s work emerges unsurpassed.”
I…had a moment over this, as you can imagine. As it has not yet been released, I will have to wait and hear what you all think. The stories have been chosen by S T Joshi and myself from each part of Lord Dunsany’s career and each story is an absolute gem.
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