Friday, January 4, 2013

John Howe : There and Back Again

John Howe, best known for his Lord of the Rings illustrations, discusses the methods and thought processes behind his art in this short film, 'There and Back Again'.





Happy New Year !



Wednesday, January 2, 2013

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Humble Beginnings


by Donato



I was visiting my parents home this past week and was reminded of the humble beginnings my love of drawing (and art) was founded upon.  While digging around in the basement with my daughters as we were house-bound in a Northeastern snow storm, I ran across some old drawings my brother David, a friend Vinny, and I used to create together.  I rolled them out and recalled to my daughters the cold winter days I would spend blissfully telling stories through the pencil.  It brought back a flood of memories and discoveries long buried.  The realization came that I must have drawn alot as a young child. My artistic skills benefited greatly from those days of being stuck in a winter bound house in Vermont as a child, inspired to create art!



As an artist who did not pick up a tube of acrylics or oils until I was 19, nor enroll in my first art class until I was 20 (after realizing that I needed serious help with those tubes!), I truely believe that if you want to make your dreams come true, it is all in your power to make it possible.  I never thought I would become a professional artist as a young boy - I merely drew because it made me, and my friends, feel good about ourselves and each other.  I did not try to draw, I had to draw.



I jokingly state that I am a perpetual child, still sequestered at home doing the same thing I did when I was 10 years old...I hope to die with a pencil in my hand doing exactly the same thing.



Here are some images from then and now.  Tap into your own deep well of inspiration, and may you too die with a pencil in your hand...








Dwarf Warrior     1980      Donato Giancola






Gimli: Son of Gloin    2009    Donato Giancola










Gandalf and the Balrog     1982     Donato Giancola






I threw down my enemy...    2012    Donato Giancola










AT-AT from The Empire Strikes Back     1980   Donato Giancola






Star Wars Galaxies      2005      Donato Giancola










Iron Man   1984    Donato Giancola






Iron Man     2008    Donato Giancola

"DELIVERY" Wins Diamond Award



Princeton Holt's DELIVERY recently won the Diamond Award at the California Film Awards! An awards dinner honoring the film as well as other award-winning films will be held later this month at Mission Bay Ballroom in San Diego.

Delivery follows an engaged couple with a drug problem that gets some advice from a friend, who reluctantly gets involved. The short film was produced by John Greer and David Vaughn, and stars them both, and also stars talented actress Kelsey Law. All 3 actors are now based in LA.


One Way or Another Productions is planning a surprise release of the film sometime this winter. For more about the film, visit its official website.

- Lena

Moving Objects

-By Jesper Ejsing




In a painting, I always try to capture the figure in movement. preferably in the middle of a movement, perhaps out of balance or hanging in the air from a jump. I want to capture the scene as it would look like from a snapshot angle of an innocent bystander. In fantasy painting I think this way of capturing a scene in an impressionistic snapshot of the moment lends credibility to an unbeliavable scenery or figure.



One way to add a sence of “ camera snapshot” is to add something that we consciously know is moving - Like a leave in the wind or drops of water, spray of blood or perhaps my best element: Birds.



Birds are instantly known as moving objects. When seen in the background they give the image that this is a snapshot. A moment lasting only for a second.

Here are a couple of examples









Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Jerome Witkin Life Drawing






Be sure to check out more of Jerome's wonderfully expressive work at his WEBSITE.