Artist: Daniel Gelon

Continuing artist month, today I look at Daniel Gelon.

Daniel Gelon was one of the original Magic artists. He started illustrating Magic cards in 1993 (he had nine cards in the Alpha, the very first set). His work appeared in many early core sets (Beta, Unlimited, Revised, Fourth through Sixth Edition) and expansions (Legends, The Dark, Fallen Empires, Ice Age, Chronicles, Homelands, and a few more). He was active through 2006 (Time Spiral), with only reprints since in subsequent releases. 

I don't know how to describe Gelon's style, but I like what I consider to be his nineties-era approach to fantasy art: creatures are done in a way that convey power without being scary (you know you're looking at the fantastic). Some even are light-hearted and amusing (like the Gobling Chirurgeon or Snowman, below).

Ultimately, what I like about his work is the nostalgia. I remember being awed by big creatures (Craw or Scaled Wurm) and enjoying the aforementioned light-hearted cards.

Today, you can still get many of his cards for reasonable prices. But not Wheel of Fortune . . . that will set you back $300 or more.

I use Scryfall for searching for Gelon's illustrations. The following syntaxes in scryfall

artist:"Daniel Gelon" not:digital not:artseries

artist:"Daniel Gelon" not:digital not:artseries unique:prints

yield the following results, respectively:
65 cards

232 cards

So he has illustrated 65 Magic cards that have appeared 232 times (some show up in multiple sets or special releases). Here are some of my favorites (Scaled Wurm, above, is number one):

Artist: Quinton Hoover

Continuing artist month, today I look at Quinton Hoover.

Quinton Hoover was one of the original Magic artists. He started illustrating Magic cards in 1993 (he had eight cards in the Alpha, the very first set). His work appeared in many early core sets (Beta, Unlimited, Revised, Fourth through Sixth Edition) and expansions (Legends, Antiquities, Fallen Empires, Ice Age, Chronicles, Alliances, Tempest, and a few more). He was active through 2008 

(Lorwyn/Morningtide), with only reprints since in subsequent releases. 

Hoover's style is defined as Art Nouveau or Art Deco. I don't know enough about art to articulate more, but I enjoy his work; it has a soft quality appropriate to the fantasy genre.

I use Scryfall for searching for Hoover's illustrations. The following syntaxes in scryfall

artist:"Quinton Hoover" not:digital not:artseries

artist:"Quinton Hoover" not:digital not:artseries unique:prints

yield the following results, respectively:
78 cards

262 cards

So he has illustrated 78 Magic cards that have appeared 262 times (some show up in multiple sets or special releases). Here are some of my favorites (Archangel, above, is number one):

Artist: Melissa Benson

In December 2022, I introduced an artist series where I look at favorite or prolific Magic card artists.

- 2022: I looked at Jesper Myrfors, Christopher Rush, Anson Maddocks, and Kev Walker

- 2023: Seb McKinnon, Rebecca Guay, DiTerlizzi, and John Avon

- 2024: Terese Nielsen, Greg & Tim Hildebrandt, Nils Hamm, and Carl Critchlow

Today, I look at Melissa Benson.

Melissa Benson started illustrating Magic cards in 1993 (she had seven cards in the Alpha, the very first set). Her work appeared in many early core sets (Beta, Unlimited, Revised, Fourth through Sixth Edition) and expansions (Legends, Fallen Empires, Ice Age, Chronicles, Homelands, Portal, Starter 1999, Urza's Saga block). She had the most cards in Legends (14). She was active through 1999, with only reprints since in subsequent releases. 

Her style often includes bold colors with a soft quality, evoking a sense of the surreal and fantastic. Her one card, Segovian Leviathan, is one of the few with a Bible verse on it (I don't know if she had a hand in that choice).

I use Scryfall for searching for Benson's illustrations. The following syntaxes in scryfall

artist:"Melissa A. Benson" not:digital not:artseries

artist:"Melissa A. Benson" not:digital not:artseries unique:prints

yield the following results, respectively:
63 cards

205 cards

So she has illustrated 63 Magic cards that have appeared 205 times (some show up in multiple sets or special releases). Here are some of my favorites (Kjeldoran Dead, above, is number one):