Richard Shenfield – Gryphon Commodore 64 Game Cover Original Art, 1984

Year: 1984

Game: Gryphon

Platform: Commodore 64

Developer: Wizard Development Company

Publisher: Quicksilva

Artist: Richard “Rich” Shenfield

Medium: Acrylic on board

Size: 27.6 × 17.7 inches (70 × 45 cm)

Original painted cover artwork by Richard “Rich” Shenfield for Gryphon, the 1984 Commodore 64 game created by Antony Crowther for Wizard Development and released by Quicksilva.

Shenfield's extraordinary composition combines fantasy and science fiction within a single continuous landscape. The magnificent gryphon dominates the right of the painting amid an intricate natural world, while the left transforms into a surreal futuristic environment filled with monumental structures, floating spheres, skulls and strange mechanical forms. The abundance of tiny creatures and unexpected details is particularly characteristic of Shenfield's imaginative work.

It is a superb surviving example of the elaborate traditional paintings commissioned during the early years of computer gaming, when cover artwork was instrumental in attracting people to purchase and depicting the game in a way computers weren't yet able to.

Artist: Richard “Rich” Shenfield

Richard “Rich” Shenfield (1959–1987) was a British illustrator closely associated with the pioneering years of the UK video-game industry. His involvement began with Quicksilva, where he created cassette inlays, cover illustrations and advertising artwork. Rich was one of Quicksilva's principal artists alongside Steinar Lund and Dave Rowe.

His documented video-game artwork includes QS Scramble (1982), Space Intruders (1982), Meteor Storm (1982), Mined-Out (1983), Ocean Trader (1983), Gryphon (1984), I, of the Mask (1985) and Hive (1986).