Rebecca Guay
| Rebecca Guay | |
|---|---|
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[[File:{{#setmainimage:Rebecca Guay.jpg}}|250px]] Rebecca Guay | |
| General Information | |
| Born | Aurora, Nebraska |
| Status | Inactive: Alliances to Magic 2010 |
| Style | Classical, water colors |
| Education/ Training | Pratt Institute in New York City |
| Scryfall Search | |
| artist:"Rebecca Guay" | |
Rebecca Guay (pronounced "Gay"[1]) is a Magic: The Gathering artist that has developed a large cult following since she began in Alliances.
Style
Her artwork has a strikingly classical style that favors heavy use of watercolors.[2]
Much of her artwork appears extremely soft and is considered feminine in form. Her palette and style makes her easily recognizable and lends itself primarily to green, blue and white cards, particularly elves, angels, and faeries. Outside of Magic she has worked for White Wolf, DC Vertigo Comics and World of Warcraft TCG amongst many others.[3]
Early life, education, and training
She graduated from the Pratt Institute in 1992[1] and has since taught an Illustration Master Class at Amherst College.[3] She currently resides in Amherst, Massachusetts with her husband Matthew Mitchell and child Eliette.
Career
Her cult following is anything but undeserving with work being chosen as "Best in Show" at Gen Con in 2004, and being elected "Best Artist" in 2005 by InQuest Magazine's "Fan Choice Awards". She has also received critical acclaim for her work in children's books. As a direct descendant of Emperor Charlemagne of France she seems destined for greatness.[1] Many of her fans admire her strong feminine presence that stands out from much of the macho artwork of the modern fantasy landscape. Alongside Melissa Benson and Terese Nielsen, she brings a strong flavor to Magic from the female perspective.
Guay hasn't worked on a set since Magic 2010, but did loan her artwork to Channel for From the Vault: Exiled; additionally, a version of Serra Angel, painted in 1996 and previously only found in an oversized version, finally appeared at tournament size in From the Vault: Angels. In 2016, she also contributed the set of basic lands in Commander 2016 as a guest artist.[4]
She contributed her first new spell art to Magic in ten years in the Mother's Day 2021 Secret Lair (Mother of Runes). Her child Eliette Mitchell also contributed a piece in that series. The next year, she also illustrated her first planeswalker character in Elspeth, Sun's Champion.
Controversy
After her exclusion from Legions ending an unbroken streak of five blocks, it was incorrectly reported that Guay was fired from Wizards of the Coast due her feminine style:
| “ | Sadly, the new art director, Jeremy Cranford, thinks my work is too feminine for the vision he has for the game. I would love to continue with Magic but it is not in my hands.[5] | ” |
Art Director Jeremy Cranford responded that she wasn't fired - Wizard's artist policy was to use freelancers, who cannot be "fired" so much as not having renewed contracts[6] - but simply not used due to her style conflicting with the style guide for Otaria:
| “ | In the Legions set, the creative team had to think of a way to show what happened to Otaria after Kamahl destroyed the Mirari. We decided we would show the effect of this magic by making really intense exaggerated versions of all of the creatures. We would have 'super versions' and 'hyper versions' of Soldiers, Clerics, Wizards, Zombies, Goblins, Elves, etc. Even the land would evolve over the course of Onslaught block. When selecting artists, the creative team selected artists that we felt would fit precisely within this vision of what Otaria was becoming.[7] | ” |
This response was not reassuring for the community. The controversy persisted when she was not included in the art team for the subsequent sci-fi influenced Mirrodin block, as it gave the impression that Magic's art direction was moving away from Guay's style permanently. The controversy was parodied in the Un-cards Persecute Artist (illustrated by Guay herself) and Fascist Art Director, and the controversy died down after her work was featured for several blocks after.
Artist Series
In 2023, Guay's work was highlighted in the Spring Superdrop 2023 Artist Series: Rebecca Guay.
Gallery
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Channel - From the Vault: Exiled version.
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Elvish Piper - Green cards shine around her artwork.
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Gaea's Blessing - Perhaps Guay's most iconic artwork.
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Sustaining Spirit - An early and high-recognizable art.
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Sylvan Echoes - Highly impressionistic artwork.
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Vitalizing Cascade - Similar to Golden Age depictions of nude women & water.
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Wilderness Hypnotist - Guay can get dark, despite her normal style.
References
- ↑ a b c "ProTour Staff" (Unknown). "Pro Tour–Valencia 2007 Artists". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Tom Jenkot (October 26, 2010). "The Phantom's Back". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Rebecca Guay (2010-4-29). "The Art of Rebecca Guay - Bio/FAQ". Retrieved on 2010-09-07.
- ↑ Vorthos Mike (2016-11-17). "Commander 2016 Art Review". Retrieved on 2022-12-19.
- ↑ rancored_elf (2003-02-04). "WotC Fires Artist Rebecca Guay". MTG News. Retrieved on 2010-09-07.
- ↑ Matt Cavotta (November 30, 2005). "Mythbashing". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Jeremy Cranford (Febuary 7, 2003). "Ask Wizards - February, 2003". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
External links
- The Art of Rebecca Guay - Official Site
- Unofficial Rebecca Guay Gallery
- The Magic Artwork of Rebecca Guay - Massive 3 Part Retrospective on her Magic Artwork
- Rebecca Guay's Books - Amazon listing (illustrated and authored)