Mark Wilkinson is an English illustrator. He is best known for the detailed surrealisticcover art he created for a number of British bands. Wilkinson's breakthrough came through his association with the neo-progressive rock bandMarillion in the 1980s. He went on to design art for the subsequent solo career of their lead singer, Fish, as well as bands such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Though versed in a number of techniques, he is considered to be a master of the airbrush. In 2012, his sleeve for the 1984 Marillion album Fugazi was chosen by Gigwise as the 29th greatest album artwork of all time. In 2015, Wilkinson designed the artwork for the Tya Brewery in Øvre Årdal, Norway.
Biography
Wilkinson was inspired by 1960s artists such as Hapshash and the Coloured Coat and Rick Griffin. Wilkinson's break came with his designs for Marillion in the 1980s, who were then second only to Iron Maiden in terms of their sales of T-shirts and merchandise. Wilkinson's first artistic creation for Marillion was the cover of their debut 12" EP Market Square Heroes . Subsequently, Wilkinson's art work would be used on all of Marillion's albums and 12" releases through The Thieving Magpie. When Fish left the band Wilkinson went with him, providing the artwork for several of his 1990s albums and singles. In 1997, he collaborated with Bill Smith Studios on the Best of Both Worlds compilation CD. The compilation included songs from the eras of the band with and without Fish, and the record label, EMI, decided it should also include artwork reflective of both eras. In 2000, Fish and Wilkinson collaborated on a book, Masque, which, in "back and forth" format, described the process by which the Fish and Marillion album covers were created. Wilkinson will likely always be most closely identified with Fish and Marillion. Wilkinson's work for Marillion gained attention and led to him designing Monsters of Rock posters. This in turn brought him to the attention of heavy metal band Judas Priest. He has named "The Four Horsemen" from Judas Priest's 2008 album Nostradamus as the work he is most pleased with. He has designed miscellaneous pieces for Bon Jovi, Jimmy Page, the Who and Kylie Minogue. Outside of the music community, he has also done numerous book covers, advertisements, comic art and commissioned pieces.
