Artis Lane (cover art)

What a ugly cover !  The Ray Charles painting is signed Artis Lane.  I didn't know who was the painter.   And at my surprise, I soon discovered that she is apparently much celebrated.

Artis Lane's works are among the collections of Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Linda Evans, Cicely Tyson, former President and Mrs. George Bush, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Poitier, Mayor Maynard Jackson (Atlanta, GA), Howard University, National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institute), National Council of Negro Women, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Getty, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jordan, Mr. Steve Ross (Time-Warner), Mr. and Mrs. Ervin "Magic" Johnson, Mr. Quincy Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Anneberg, Cary Grant, Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Henry Kissinger and others.

In a nutshell, she is well established artist. One Yussuf Simmonds write an article titled "Artis Lane, the Artist Without Boundaries" in the Los Angeles Sentinel.  Without boundaries, including the boundary of good taste...

Artis Lane official website

Her Oprah Winfrey Portrait