Frayed – deluxe

Published 20 November 2003

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tara Samms was born in 1971 and has watched far too much television all her life.

A woman of mystery, she enjoys sitting both behind and in front of the artist’s easel and is the vexed owner of an insomniac hound dog: he slept once.

Tara’s other writing credits include ‘Glass’ (Short Trips, 1998), ‘Totem’ (More Short Trips, 1999), ‘Monsters’ (Short Trips and Sidesteps, 2000), ‘Distance’ (Short Trips: Companions, 2003), ‘Face-painter’ (Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors, 2003), and ‘Mordieu’ (Short Trips: The Muses, 2003), so Frayed represents her longest mature work to date.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Chris Moore was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire in 1947 and always wanted to be a commercial artist, even before he knew what that meant. He was educated at Mexborough Grammar School, after which he went to Doncaster Art School for foundation year.

Between 1966-69 he attended Maidstone College of Art on a Graphic Design course and was then accepted by the Royal College of Art to study Illustration 1969-72. (Dip AD, MA (RCA) Illustration) At the RCA Chris gained practical experience by doing illustration “Commissions”for his fellow students in the Graphic Design department.

In 1972 he formed Moore Morris Ltd with Michael Morris, also an RCA Graduate working in Covent Garden in the early ’70s, and from day one worked on book covers, magazine covers and record covers. Peter Bennett at ABP first commissioned him to do SF.

Around the early ’80s, Chris changed agents and joined Artist Partners which was considered by many to be the best and most established Agency in the UK. Dom Rodi, who was managing director at AP, had previously been the Art Director at Sphere Books and Chris and he had worked on many projects together. This has now developed into a virtually unique service that AP can offer clients. Concepts are worked out over the phone in collaboration with the Art Director, using faxes and emails in brainstorming sessions to provide highly original solutions to mass market paperback and hardcover designs which are then executed to a very high finish in Chris’ studio. It is a special relationship which successfully continues to this day.

His first trip to America around 1984 generated work for Dell and Random House. In the late ’80s, Chris acquired an agent in USA: Bernstein and Andriulli Inc, a relationship that continues very successfully.

In 1995, encouraged by his good friend Jim Burns, he attended a World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow where he showed some original artwork for the first time. He sold several pieces and met Jane Frank from Worlds of Wonder in Washington. She expressed great interest in selling his work and Chris began to realize that there was in fact a market out there for selling his paintings as paintings not just book jackets. At the same convention Chris met and became firm friends with Fred Gambino who has been instrumental in persuading him to begin incorporating computers into his work, and has been very generous with his help.

Chris lives in Lancashire, with his wife Katie, a hospital consultant, and their two children Georgia and Harrison. He has two children from a previous marriage – Robert and William. He spends his time working mostly, playing guitar in a local R&B band,walking and taking photographs.