Keith Parkinson – Summoner PC Game Cover Original Art, 2001

Year: 2001

Game: Summoner

Developer: Volition

Publisher: THQ

Artist: Keith Parkinson

Medium: Oil on board

Size: 27.6 × 39.4 inches (70 × 100 cm)

Signed

An exceptional original painting by Keith Parkinson, created as the cover artwork for the PC edition of Summoner, the fantasy role-playing game developed by Volition and published by THQ.

Parkinson creates a panoramic fantasy world populated by the game's heroes and creatures, with Joseph, the game's protagonist and Summoner, advancing through the foreground. The extraordinary level of detail, dramatic landscape and monumental creatures are characteristic of Parkinson's finest fantasy work.

Summoner belongs to an important late period in Parkinson's career. After becoming one of the defining artists of Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms, he increasingly turned his attention to video games. His official biography specifically identifies THQ's Summoner alongside EverQuest as major projects in this transition.

Parkinson's Summoner image became recognizable beyond the game itself and was reproduced as a limited-edition signed and numbered print, which remains represented in the official Keith Parkinson Gallery.

Artist: Keith Parkinson

Keith Parkinson (1958–2005) was one of the most important American fantasy artists of his generation. During his years at TSR, his paintings helped define the visual identity of Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. His subsequent career included major cover work for Terry Goodkind, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card and Terry Brooks, before his celebrated move into video-game artwork for EverQuest, Summoner and Diablo II.