Ron Spears, whom had been making artwork for Magic: The Gathering since 1997, passed away on Monday, June 22.
Spears, whom was born in 1960 and whose art began appearing on Magic: The Gathering cards in 1997 on three Asian-Pacific Land Program cards, illustrated more than 150 cards. His most recent creations appeared in the 2026 set, Lorwyn Eclipsed. He also served as art director for ten sets including all three sets in the Urza's block, Masques block, and Invasion block, as well as the set Odyssey.
His passing was announced by his agent, Mark Aronowitz who confirmed that Spears had been diagnosed with a large brain tumor.
"For the last 2 years he had been suffering from not being able to focus and concentrate," he said. "He never told me there was a problem but I had known something was not right. I had messaged him a few months ago asking if he was ok and that I was very worried. He said he was ok."
According to Aronowitz, Spears began suffering from blurred vision and headaches a few months ago, which is when doctors found the tumor. He was scheduled to have surgery June 24.
Spears received his Bachelors of Arts from The University of Puget Sound and his Master of Fine Arts in Illustration from The University of Hartford. In 2012, he was the Artist in Residence at Zion National park where his paintings were on display at the Zion Human History Museum Spears served as Professor and the Chair of the Illustration Department at Savannah College of Art and Design from 2014 -2023.
