“My amazing, wonderful father has just been diagnosed with esophageal cancer that seems to have spread. Please include him in your thoughts and prayers. We can use all the positive energy you can send.”
— Susan Unruh“Jack has been the yardstick that almost every illustrator/designer (certainly in the Southwest) has used to measure his or her own level of accomplishment.”
— Woody Pirtle
When the wide world of artists found out that Jack Unruh, the modern master of pen illustration, was facing an aggressive disease, it became the catalyst for a phenomenal outpouring of love and creativity. There must be countless individuals like me, who have never met him or worked with him, and yet we are pulling for him every day, because the singularity of his vision, the authenticity of his approach, and the affection for subject that he communicates — all have left a deep impression for many years. In sync with many creative professionals, I have joined the surge of “hearts beating a path to his door” in Texas.
If you want to send Jack a heart, too, his address easily can be found at his fabulous website.
A Heart for Jack Unruh
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.5 x 5.25 inches
It is a sorrow to learn that Jack passed away yesterday. His influence is vast, and, from everything I have read in the past weeks, his magnanimity will be held in many, many hearts for a long time.