the 30th pan book of horror stories selected by clarence paget- released: 9th september 1989
ARTIST: MEL GRANT
Original painting to pboh #30
STEPHEN KING : THE LAWNMOWER MAN
MURRAY PICKLES: BOBBY BLUE EYES
DAVID WILLIAMSON: THE TOO GOOD SAMARITAN
DAVID WILLIAMSON: THE NOT SO GOOD SAMARITAN
JACK WAINER: PRINCESS
ALAN TEMPERLEY: REVENGE OF THE KITTIWAKE
ROSEMARY TIMPERLEY: UNKNOWN TERRITORY
ROSEMARY TIMPERLEY: LITTLE BOY HAUNTED
CHRISTOPHER FOWLER: COOKING THE BOOKS
NORMAN P. KAUFMAN: VIVISECTIONISTS
JACK WAINER: TRUST ME GAME
WILLIAM DAVIDSON: NO ROOM AT THE FLAT
B. SESHADRI: THE CRY OF THE CHURAIL
STEPHEN EDWARDS: THE SCENE OF THE CRIME
JONATHAN CRUISE:...AND THE SEA SHALL GIVE UP ITS DEAD
johnny holding the original #30 painting and standing next to the artist melvyn grant.
interview with mel grant - cover artist for #30
JOHNNY : What was the original brief when doing the cover for Pan 30? Were you asked to pick one story to paint - or were you specifically told to do something on the Stephen King short?
MEL: The brief was; here’s the book, come up with a painting for the cover. I was given no direction, it was entirely up to me.
JOHNNY: What preperations did you do for the painting? Do you do rough sketches before you go to canvas?
MEL: The first thing I did was to read the stories and come up with an idea for the cover art that summed up the feel of the whole book. I didn’t use a particular scene from one of the stories, but ideas, if I remember correctly (it was some time ago), from a couple of the stories, and then distorted them in my own particular way. Yes I do a sketch to start, and for the Art Director to pre-view, then transfer it to canvas, or in this case prepared board.
JOHNNY: How long did the painting take to finish?
MEL: I think the whole thing was done in about a week. It was needed urgently and was very rushed.
JOHNNY: Were you happy with the way it turned out? If not - why? And how do you view the painting today?
MEL: I was not really happy with the finished painting. I liked the idea, but the artwork was rushed and could have been a lot better given a little more time. But there you go, that’s deadlines. I still feel the same about the painting today.
JOHNNY: How does it feel knowing that your artwork graces the last ever Pan Horror Book?
MEL: At the time it was just another cover and I had no idea it would have such meaning as the last Pan Horror Book. The thing that mostly sticks in my mind about that job, is the irritating attitude of the art director (an ex-illustrator), who was a little arrogant to say the least, and insisted I deliver the artwork early in the morning then forgot I’d arrived and kept me waiting for an hour or so. But that's past and thinking on it now, it’s kinda nice to think I painted the door that closed on an era.
