In The Wild

-By Dan dos Santos

If you want a FREE poster of my SERENITY cover, stop by the Dark Horse Booth today at noon, at NY ComicCon.

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind

-By Dan dos Santos

Dark Horse Comics has officially announced that I will be the cover artist for their upcoming miniseries 'Serenity: Leaves on the Wind'. I've been pretty excited about this project for sometime now (I'm already on cover #4), but was unable to share the news until they did.



In addition to unveiling the new series at NYCC this weekend, Dark Horse has also decided to produce a limited run of prints of this cover. This is a particularly cool treat for me, since my 'work-for-hire' agreement prohibits me from making them myself. So if you are interested in getting a signed print of this image, this weekend's NYCC is pretty much your only chance.



Stop in to Dark Horse's booth on Saturday at Noon, where I, and a ton of other really talented artists, will be signing. There is a full list of DH events HERE. I hope to see you there!



On a different note...



I thought some of you may enjoy a sneak peak into the incredibly mundane life of an Illustrator. What do you do when you're traveling thousands of miles from home to teach a workshop, and your cover job is due the same day you return home? Well, you bring your work with you and paint in the hotel room! Sadly, I've done this more times than I care to count.

A little caffeine, some cartoons, and many sleepless nights.

Convergence - Science Fiction Book Club

By Donato

The genres of science fiction and fantasy have existed in close proximity to one another for decades, stretching to before the founding of the Science Fiction Book Club sixty years ago. This coexistence was in mind when I began exploratory sketches for an image commissioned by the Science Fiction Book Club to celebrate what the Club has offered to its readers through the years - challenging books and works full of wonder, empathy, and discovery.



I was seeking an image which could read on multiple levels and stand alone as a work of art. After a few rough abstract sketches, a theme on the meeting of minds immediately resolved itself as the basis for the concept - Convergence - the old with the new; male and female; fantasy and science fiction. Considering my recent infatuation with merfolk, it was not a huge leap to balance one of those figures with another passion of mine, that of painting astronauts. Inspiration and motivation was never in short supply on this project!



I began to produce various rough concepts and bounced these to the art director Matthew Kalamidas and his team at the Book Club – from full figure, realistic interactions, to symbolic gestures of hands meeting in space around a book-like device (have I mentioned that I love to paint hands?) Within a few rounds of revisions, we had settled upon a powerful composition and theme. An astronaut and mermaid would be engaged in a ying and yang encounter, circling about in wonder and excitement at each others 'discovery'. An ambiguous space would fill the background, could it be water, could it be a nebula? Matthew had a wonderful challenge for me, to resolve this scene in such a way that you could hang the poster in any orientation and it would be 'correct'. Which way is up, which way down? That is for you to decide.



The resulting image was a joy to paint and I am extremely happy with the results. Not only did I find a way to paint my mermaid and astronaut, but I was able to work in a wonderfully expressive gesture in the hands of the mermaid. Enjoy.



Convergence is a limited edition Print being offered by the Science Fiction Book Club and making its premiere this weekend at their booth, #2020, in the 2013 New York ComicCon. The original Art will be available for viewing Friday through Sunday while on Saturday from 1-3 I will be signing and can remarque prints for those stopping by the booth! Hope to see you there!

Convergence    24" x 20" Oil on Panel  2013   Donato Giancola

IlluXcon 7 : Jury Submission Now Open

Art By Patrick Jones

Over the past few weeks you've likely read about many of us attending IlluXcon. It's a great convention, and attracts a lot of great talent. One of the ways they keep that level of talent so high, is to jury the exhibitors.



The Jury Submissions to be an exhibitor at IlluXcon 7 in 2014 just opened, and will only be open until the end of the month. All you have to do to submit is upload 3 pieces of original art for consideration.



Click HERE for more info.



This year's Jury is:



• GUILLERMO DEL TORO

(Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Novelist)



• HOWARD FRANK

(Director of the Frank Foundation; Collector and Historian of the Art of the Fantastic)



• JANE FRANK

(Founder of Worlds of Wonder; Director of the Frank Foundation; Collector and Historian of the Art of the Fantastic)



• DR. GREGORY HEDBERG

(Director of European Art at the Hirschl & Adler Galleries in Manhattan; former Chief Curator of the Wadsworth Atheneum, and first professional Director of the New York Academy of Art)



• DR. VERNON SWANSON

(Director of the Springville Museum of Art; leading authority and author of the Catalogue Raisonnes on both Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema and John William Godward)



• JEFFREY WATTS

(Founder of the Watts Atelier of the Arts; award-winning realist painter)

Harry Dresden, Part 1

-By Dan dos Santos

A while back I was contacted by a collector who was interested in commissioning a large scale painting of one of his favorite characters, Harry Dresden of the 'Dresden Files'. Not only have I been trying to steer my work more towards private commissions, but I am also a huge fan of the series myself, so it was a great opportunity to paint something fun.



I had done a few paintings of Harry already for various editions of the novels, so the collector was already familiar with my work, and I was already familiar with the character. The commission however, still posed a few unique challenges.

Unlike a book cover, there isn't just a single story I was trying to depict. Instead, I had 14 novels worth of inspiration to pull from! Thats a lot of material, and there is no way to really encapsulate it all in one image. So instead, I tried to focus on scenes that included some of the characters that I, and my client, liked the most...



First and foremost is Harry Dresden, a modern day wizard who helps maintain some semblence of supernatural order in his native city of Chicago.



My client is also a particular fan of the Denarians, demons whose souls embody the 30 pieces of silver Judas received to betray Christ. Whomever comes in contact with these coins becomes the unwilling host to those demons.



Then there is Lasciel, a Denarian herself (albeit a bit more friendly than most), who mentally posseses Harry after he touched one of the coins. Lash constantly tempts Harry with knowledge and power beyond his means, which he refuses, knowing it would only grant her greater power over him.



And lastly, Susan, a reporter turned vampire who shares a romantic past with Harry.



Below are some of the sketches I submitted for approval. Yet, for each completed sketch you see, there were dozens more left incomplete.



In the next few installments, I will show you which sketch the client picked, the revisions, the photo shoot, and of course the process leading up to the final painting. So stay tuned for more!

Pet Peeves

by Arnie Fenner

I was actually going to title this post "Stuff That Pisses Me Off," but opted for something a little more sedate. Anyway...pet peeves. We all have them: you, me, everybody. The little irritants that make you shake your head or roll your eyes. And when it comes to Art, you bet there are some things that get my motor running. So...here are a few.



1]  People who have never drawn, painted, or sculpted anything pretending to be art experts. Everybody is welcome to love or loathe whatever they choose. But although academics or collectors or art dealers or fans might know bunches of artists and file away all sorts of minutia about this painter or that sculptor, that's not the same thing as being an "expert." They can certainly posit their opinions; some well-reasoned, some half-assed, but at the end of the day they're only expressing opinions either way. And everyone is welcome to them. But unless you've ever used a paintbrush, tossed clay, pushed a pencil, or designed type professionally you don't really know what it takes to create anything. And if you don't know what it takes for someone to turn a blank canvas into something people want to look at...admit you're not an artist and spare me your pontificating.



2] Masterpiece. Which, like "awesome" has gotten to be incredibly overused lately. Various writers have denounced the misapplication of words through the years and I can't say I disagree with them. So, yes, describing the Grand Canyon as "awesome" is apropos. Describing your shoes the same way, not so much. Anyway, let's just put it this way: we don't get to decide what is a "masterpiece." Time—lots and lots of time—and perspective decides. And if you have purchased an artwork—or, more, commissioned it—you definitely shouldn't refer to that work as a "masterpiece": you just look like a self-aggrandizing douchebag if you do. It's really the type of designation that comes, again, with time, perspective, and context and always from disassociated people with significantly more objectivity than the current owner possesses.



3] Artists who dis other artists or types of art different from their own. One of the things I talk about in my essay in (shameless plug) Spectrum 20 is the wholly specious "pecking order" for artists that people tend to follow—stupidly. Recently I read a post by an artist I respect—whom I know is better than the comment he made—who referred to an article about Modern Art and derisively said, in essence, that you wouldn't be seeing any of that sort of "crap" at the show he would soon be setting up at. And that disappointed me. Oh, sure, we can all trot out our Modern Art Silliness examples—whether it's a cross in a urinal or shit in a can or a bisected cow in formaldehyde—but pretentiousness does not cancel out pretentiousness: it just makes everybody look...childish. Art is art. The tool doesn't matter; the intent doesn't matter; the venue doesn't matter. Not everyone thinks the same way, not everyone likes the same things—and that includes art. Creativity—art—is not a single road: there are many divergent paths and it is not for artists to criticize other artists for the paths they choose to take. We don't have to like everything, but remember the old saw: When you point a finger—particularly a derisive one—there are three pointing back at you.



4] Trying to explain an artist's work by comparing it to that of another artist. I sort of referenced this in the essay about Jim Gurney in Spectrum 19 last year, but it's something that happens all the time, usually by the folks mentioned in #1. Look, trying to explain one artist's work by referencing another's is [a] lazy, [b] often (not always, but often) a disingenuous attempt to feign deeper knowledge than the speaker/writer actually possesses and [c] basically an approach which discredits (albeit unintentionally) the accomplishments of the artist being discussed. I don't care if you describe something as "in the tradition of" Alma-Tadema, Pyle, or Frazetta all you're really doing is dismissing the art you're trying to praise by implying it couldn't have existed without that of the predecessor. And I say that's BS. Anything—any artworks—that makes an impression, particularly a lasting one, is because of the intellect of the artist, not because of their real or perceived influences. Talk about the artist and their work, not "explain them" by comparing them to who they may or may not have been influenced by (most of whom the general public wouldn't know anyway).



5] Freebies. Would you go up to an actor and ask them to play out a scene in a movie, TV show, or play? Would you ask a singer to perform for you? Would you ask a novelist to write something for you? No? And yet people routinely approach artists at conventions and shows and ask for free sketches along with their autograph. Why? Because it's "easy?" Screw that. I know that some fans won't like to hear this (particularly since it will cut into their ebay sales), but artists aren't performing chimps and they shouldn't be expected to give away art for free. If the artist doesn't place a value on their work, even quick sketches...why should others? People shouldn't be expecting art for nothing, and I don't care whether you're in the U.S. or in Europe (where it seems it's an expectation of artists, at least at comics conventions). Period. Harlan Ellison has a rant (which I wholeheartedly agree with) about paying the writer: it applies to artists as well. If you want a sketch, offer to pay for it, rather than expect it as a given.



6] Absolutes. There's no such thing in the arts. "Best." "Greatest." "Finest." Yesh. According to whom? I was once asked in an interview, "What makes Frazetta the greatest fantasy artist of all time?" After a minute I said, "In art there are a lot of 'greats,' a lot of 'bests.' Frank was the 'greatest' Frank Frazetta there's ever going to be but, as much as I love his art and as important as I think he is, there has never been and will never be any singular 'greatest' artist, just lots of great artists who are great for different reasons." People love to make comparisons, people love to be able to point to a #1, love to make pronouncements and jump around like Miley Cyrus with a foam finger, but in art (as in any other life experience, whether the experience is a dance or a concert or a movie or a convention)...there's no such thing.



Of course, these are just a few of the minor things that bug me from time to time; mentioning them here won't make them go away. People will continue to do what they do regardless of my feelings...but it feels kind of good to at least have a say. I'm sure you have your art pet peeves. Feel free to share—calmly, please. You may feel better afterward.

Opening Scene to "Waiting for Butterflies"

Our good friend Jason Burkey stars in Waiting for Butterflies, which is beginning its festival release. Check out this opening scene and if you feel inclined, support their IndieGoGo campaign!


W4B - Farm Scene IndieGoGo from Marshall Nord on Vimeo.

W4B IndieGoGo Campaign

- Lena