The Spindle's End

If there's a cover artist who can make me really want to pick up a book even when the summary/teaser turns me off, it's Donato Giancola. When I was still working as a page and shelving in the SF section, I had to force myself to put some of his covers back because I was very certain that I didn't want to read the book, but another story that would fit that cover. On the other hand, I have read books he's done the covers for and loved every page. Perhaps my favorite thing about this artist is his balance between modern ideals and classical form. Particularly with some of his more recent work, you can see the influence of Renaissance and Romantic artists, and I love that. You can see more of his work (and his incredibly extensive list of covers) on his website.