AUGUST ARTIST OF THE MONTH: VIRGIL FINLAY has been called the most popular fantasy artist of the 20th century. He was born in New York in 1914 and, at a fairly young age, broke into the business of pulp magazine illustration by boldly sending six unsolicited illustrations to the king of all pulp magazines: Weird Tales. Needless to say, he got the job. He was only 21 years old. Finlay's distinctive look comes from his use of scratchboards (which looks similar to wood engraving); it's an artboard covered in white clay with a coating of black ink that, when scratched away with a sharp utensil, leaves a white line. Gustave Gore was obviously an influence and, consequently Finlay has been a huge influence on illustrators such as Berni Wrightson. Finlay was the most popular artist Weird Tales ever had; no less a personage than H. P. Lovecraft himself wrote Finlay fans letters! Below is Finlay's illustration for Lovecraft's short story "The Shunned House": Virgil Finlay died in 1971. Obviously this is only a glimpse into his artwork but even these few examples show the wonderful combination of the macabre with the lyrical, the elegant with the unsettling. There's something about a Virgil Finlay illustration that lingers with you after the lights have been turned out. And that is why I've chosen Virgil Finlay as my artist of the month.