Patrick Woodroffe

Pallas have released a statement in response to the news of Woodroffe's death, saying "We have some very sad news from the family of Patrick Woodroffe: 'After a short illness, Patrick died before 3am in the early hours of Saturday morning.' Our thoughts are with his family. We are honoured to have been associated with his amazing artwork." He had succumbed to a long illness on 10 May 2014.

Through the 1990s and 2000s he continued to work on numerous other projects including a sculpture at Gruyeres Castle in Switzerland, based on his earlier picture The Vicious Circle (1979). The project is designed to show war as a closed circle of absurd, self-destructive futility. He continued to hold exhibitions, his latest work including a recent exhibition at Sainte Barbe, in Switzerland.

As well as providing cover-art for numerous authors, Woodroffe has also produced books on his art techniques (such as A Closer Look at the art and techniques of Patrick Woodroffe, 1986) and Mythopoeikon, published by Paper Tiger Books (1976)(.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN 978-0905895222).

In 1983 he created an album sleeve for the rock band Pallas, as well as related logos for merchandise. The same year saw Woodroffe creating art (including representations of a Snark - a subject traditionally taboo for an artist to do) for composer Mike Batt's 1984 musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark. The 1980s also saw another Patrick Woodroffe exhibition, Catching the Myth, at Folkestone's Metropole Arts Centre (1986), which featured 122 pieces selected from twenty years of work. In 1989 he prepared for conceptual art used in the film The NeverEnding Story II.

In 1979, Woodroffe then went on to create illustrations for The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony: The Birth and Death of a World (later shortened to 'The Pentateuch'), a joint project the symphonic rock musician Dave Greenslade. The Pentateuch purports to be the first five chapters of an alien Book of Genesis. The album consisted of two-discs by Greenslade, and a 47-page book of Woodroffe's illustrations. The record sold over 50,000 copies between 1979 and 1984. The illustrations were shown at the World Science Fiction Convention, at Brighton's Metropole Hotel in 1979. In 1976, his illustrated book The Adventures of Tinker the Hole Eating Duck was published by Dragon's World.

His career took off when he was asked to produce approximately 90 book cover paintings between 1973 and 1976 for Corgi, including Peter Valentine Timlett's The Seedbearers (1975) and Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber (1974). During this early period he was also commissioned to provide art for record album cover sleeves, including heavy metal band Judas Priest's album Sad Wings of Destiny (1976). This was followed by an exhibition of book-jacket and record-sleeve paintings in 1976, which appeared at Mel Calman's Workshop Gallery in London. That year the children's book Micky's New Home was published with illustrations by Woodroffe. In 1978 he mounted an exhibition of more than two hundred works at the historic Piece Hall in Halifax.

In 1964 he graduated in French and German at the University of Leeds, before going on to exhibit his first showing of pen and ink drawings, Conflict, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. However he did not become a full-time artist until 1972, the year in which he gave an exhibit of his paintings, etchings and related works at the Covent Garden Gallery in London.

He resided with his family in Cornwall, where he had lived since 1964.

Patrick James Woodroffe (27 October 1940 – 10 May 2014) was an English artist, etcher and drawer, specialised in fantasy science-fiction artwork, with images that bordered on the surreal. His achievements include several collaborations with well-known musicians, two bronze sculptures displayed in Switzerland and numerous books.

Woodroffe was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1940, the son of an electrical engineer.