I just read the news that artist Gino D’Achille passed away, and want to pay tribute to his brilliance. Although this memorial comes over one year late, it is nevertheless heartfelt. Gino D’Achille was a renowned Italian oil painter who came to my attention when I was performing Chamber Magic in London. His period-perfect cover paintings on the George MacDonald Fraser book series Flashman caught my eye when shopping at Waterstones. 

These cover illustrations compelled me to locate the artist, and I found him through his representative, Artist Partners. In 2008 I commissioned Gino to create new cover art for my Chamber Magic show program. He worked very quickly, and sent back two pencil sketches:

Artwork by Gino D’Achille, 2008

Artwork by Gino D’Achille, 2008

I liked both pencil sketches, but asked him to pursue the first option – without a cape. He erased the cape, and sent back the following sketch:

Artwork by Gino D’Achille, 2008

This sketch was approved, and we proceeded to the final artwork, painted with oil paints at his studio in London.

Here is the final product, which has been gracing the cover of my show programs for the past ten years:

Artwork by Gino D’Achille, 2008

At least 250,000 Chamber Magic guests have received these programs over the years, and many have complimented the cover design. I cannot take much credit — my only brilliance was finding the artist! I sincerely enjoyed working with Gino to create this image, and feel grateful to have collaborated with someone of his prowess. 

May Gino D’Achille rest in peace, having left behind exceptional examples of his talents for future generations to admire and learn from.