Placed the final touches on this oil painting this past week. The cloud formations were taken from a storm here in my neighborhood just above our own Middle-earth skyscraper, The black Brooklyn Tower. Love the square format to the art, and it's shadow hint of design as work for an annual calendar! Orthanc 36" x 36" Oil on Panel 2025 private collection
A wizard seeks information from an elder dragon plagued with annoyances.
Knightly Distractions
11" x 14" Watercolor Pencil and Chalk on Toned Paper
matted to 16" x 20"
2025
Happy to share that I have illustrated Kristen Britain's new Green Rider novel, 'Falling in a Sea of Stars' coming later this year from DAW books. The commission request was made for me, with a field of stars and Karigan in armor!
Hard to believe, this is the eighth painting I have created for Kristen since first tackling High King's Tomb back in 2006!
Link for the preorder of the novel from our local bookstore, here in Brooklyn: https://booksaremagic.net/item/deHNKsv3TS9YU1PYnWXK2g
Falling in a Sea of Stars
24" x 36" Oil on Panel 2025
Preparing art for up coming shows and wanted to share this portrait of artist Michael Deas from a few years ago - ok more than a few :) Loved how this came out, especially his suit. Begun as a demonstration in portraiture and metal for a continuing education Science Fiction class I was teaching at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) back in 1999 (thanks for the correction Eric and Matt!) Astronomer 21" x 14" Oil on Panel 1999 Matted and Framed in a modern Chrome Silver original art available in website store . #portrait #scifi #sciencefiction #astronomer #donatoarts #metallic #oilpainting #traditionalart #michaeldeas #portraitpainting #demonstration
A new drawing, filling in narratives from The Lord of the Rings which I have yet to explore visually. Fans who only know the movies likely have not encountered this scene yet! 'Attack of the Wargs' 11" x 14" Watercolor pencil and Chalk on Toned Paper private collection . #middleearth #lordoftherings #fellowshipofthering #wargs #wargwolves #donatoarts #traditionalart #fantasyart #jrrtolkien #legolas #fellowship #fire #redpencilsketch #sketch #drawing
New Preliminary drawing for a privately commissioned oil painting. Looking forward to working on this one!
Morgai Thorns
24" x 18" Watercolor Pencil and Chalk on Toned Paper
MoCCA Arts Fest coming up in March!
Once again I will be tabling at the festival, sharing a booth full of new oil paintings, drawings, and prints, as well as signing and engaging in conversation all through the weekend. Details for tickets linked to below, photos are from last years event.
Looking forward to another fun and packed year at this convention!
MoCCA Art Fest
Saturday and Sunday March 15-16th, 2025
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 W 18th St
New York, NY 10011 https://www.moccafest.org/tickets
Life drawings from the Society of Illustrators these past two months. Been trying to get there on a regular basis and keep the hand-eye coordination refreshed!
This past Fall I was honored to be asked by the Tolkien Society to illustrate their 2024 Holiday Card. No easy task given the wealth of content from Middle-earth.
I decided to focus upon a quiet, domestic moment to reflect Tolkien's own aesthetic in how a great journey can have end points in small, homey places.
I also tapped into my youthful remembrances of walking in crunchy, wooded snow fields in Vermont beneath luminous moonlight.
There is real magic in those moments.
Happy New Year to you all!
Gifts from the Blue Mountains
12" x 16" Oil on Panel
New interior artwork for the forth coming reissue of Tad William's 'To Green Angel Tower' from Grim Oak Press. It has been a pleasure an honor to tackle this trilogy for Shawn Speakman and Jeff Lawson as they have given me the freedom to spread my artistic wings and explore with my skills unabridged.
This image features one of my forever passions, painting hands, and experimenting with an atypical color palette for me!
Geloe and the Messenger
17" x 13" Oil on Paper
2024
Preorders for the book are now live on the Grim Oak Press website for previous collectors of this series. Open to the public in a couple of weeks. Link: https://grimoakpress.com/collections/tad-williams
Bringing this MONSTER of an oil painting to IX Arts tomorrow and through the weekend. Fight the good fight (Triumph!)
Bridge of Khazad-dûm
66" x 80" Oil on Linen
October 23-27, 2024
GoggleWorks
Reading, Pennsylvania
details and link to the convention: https://imaginativerealism.com
The house is just about 100% ready for this weekend's Open Studio! Pulling out one of my favorite paintings for showcasing love of painting metal and 'robots' - Riddle of Steel. This was a work created as a demonstration in concepting and technique for the very first Illustration Master Class (IMC). Great memories!
Also another metal related work hangs right next to it, Forging the Iron Throne - what a duo!
Hope to see some of you here on Saturday.
Details on the day on my website, linked to below: https://donatoarts.com/news
Smaug the Great Dragon print!
I was so thrilled with the gold foil embossing and stamping on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm print for the Kickstarter campaign that I had a special 11" x 14" print made to celebrate the upcoming Open Studio and 87th Anniversary of The Hobbit's publication. This print is from my cover art from the 2000 edition of the novel from the Science Fiction Book Club.
The best part?
These will be handed out FREE, one per visitor, to those who make it to the studio next Saturday September 21st! (400 piece limit)
I know many of you who follow me here cannot make it to Brooklyn, thus I am planning a special lottery for online participation. Keep your eyes out for tomorrow's post, the list of items offered, and how to enter!
Details about the Open Studio, on my website: https://donatoarts.com/news
Clowning around at the Society of Illustrators tonight at their life drawing session. Feels great to be back into the grove and comforting to know the eye/hand coordination is still all there.
We had two nice burlesque models, and I plan on being back more this coming Fall!
The Fellowship in Hollin
34" x 65" Oil on Panel
collection of the artist
