The fantasy art of Jeff Easley kicks ass. He is yet another artist who's book covers burned themselves into my brain as a kid. Sure D&D gets a horrible wrap amongst, well, everybody but you can not ignore Jeff's incredible artwork on the covers of lots of these books.
Fact
Some of his notable works include the cover art of the 1st edition Dungeons and Dragons incarnations of the Monster Manual II, Unearthed Arcana, and Oriental Adventures as well as the 2nd edition core books (the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monstrous Manual). He also provided the artwork for Italian power metal band Rhapsody of Fire's 2006 album Triumph or Agony.
