News is spreading that Christopher Rush has passed away. He was responsible for the the design of many iconic pieces of art from Magic's start including Black Lotus & Lightning Bolt as well as having a hand in the design of Magic's logo & mana symbols.
Sad news. Especially on the heels of Wayne England passing away a few days ago.
RIP guys. Thank you for all your contributions to this Magical world.
I stopped by his booth at the Legacy GP in Edison NJ a while ago and got to ask him about something my brother and I have been wondering about for a long time. There's a certain shade of orange (as well as some related reds and yellows) that shows up a lot in his work. Was there anything special or otherwise significant about it? His answer was that not only did it really make the lighting and other aspects of the art pop, but the physical properties of the paint made it really enjoyable to work with. I had never considered something like that and I thought it was really cool.
Sad news. I took a stroll down memory lane looking at his pieces from 20 years ago. Beyond his iconic pieces like Lightning Bolt and Black Lotus i feel he really set the ascetic for the early years. Cards represent a specific thing in magic and with Rush you always knew what it was. Even across from the table in a poorly lit basement his cards stood out. Cards now look much better on a website or other digital media where you can zoom in and notice the billion little details. I feel that Rush knew that this game would be played in dusty game stores and poorly lit basements and crafted pieces that would really work in that environment.
In addition to the logo and mana symbols, his work includes Black Lotus, Brainstorm, and Lightning Bolt: Christopher Rush painted the original art for the single most format-defining cards of Vintage, Legacy, and Modern. He was just as responsible for the game's iconic character as Garfield or Rosewater.
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In addition to the logo and mana symbols, his work includes Black Lotus, Brainstorm, and Lightning Bolt: Christopher Rush painted the original art for the single most format-defining cards of Vintage, Legacy, and Modern. He was just as responsible for the game's iconic character as Garfield or Rosewater.
Agreed. Hopefully more people will learn about his influence on the game.
According to MaRo, it was Christopher Rush that came up with the original idea for full art lands. Which is just insane when you think about how popular the Zendikar basics & Expeditions have been as of late.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Those early days had a lovely aesthetic quality, charmingly innocent and yet very honest. His work was a huge, huge part of that, I wish they would reprint some of the old iconic pieces, of which Rush's stand out. Today's art feels safe, always superficially impressive, but with one artist much the same as another, as if there is less of the artist in there and more of a rigid direction from above as to what is required.
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People with belligerent signatures are trying to compensate for something....
I got to meet him at a few gps. He was such a great guy that was genuinely happy to meet people that loved his work.
He always had such a huge smile and was so warm and friendly. He wasn't just one of the great artists of magic, he was one of the great personalities of magic.
Huge loss for the community and i know i will always be grateful for his contributions.
Makes me wish I had really talked to him when I met him at GP Vegas last year. I don't recall him having much of a line there strangely enough. I'll miss the lotus I had signed by him since I parted ways with it a few months ago. Luckily I still have my set of simplified fifth chinese brainstorms signed by him to remember him by.
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Sad news. Especially on the heels of Wayne England passing away a few days ago.
RIP guys. Thank you for all your contributions to this Magical world.
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his unglued zombie token is also excellent.
He was one of the people who helped Magic become what it is. A great loss of a great man.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Very sad to hear indeed, and brings memories of how I discovered this game 20 years ago... This picture is really touching. Rest in Peace.
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Agreed. Hopefully more people will learn about his influence on the game.
By the way, if someone have one of those, i want it for my collection
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Poor you...
Familiy, friends and fans lost of theirs and you complain that you cannot get a card signed drawn by him? Really?!
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He always had such a huge smile and was so warm and friendly. He wasn't just one of the great artists of magic, he was one of the great personalities of magic.
Huge loss for the community and i know i will always be grateful for his contributions.
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