One of my favorite Astronaut paintings, commissioned by a pair of collectors back in 2014 from a rough concept drawing they saw in my sketchbook. My daughter Cecilia modeled for the young listener, mesmerized by the stories of far off places. Whispers 24" x30" Oil on Panel 2015 private collection

One from the Astronaut series examining the elevation of our historical space programs to mythological levels. Angle of Deflection 11" x 14" Oil on Panel 2017 private collection

This painting helped start my series of Empathetic Robots seventeen years ago. Awarded a Silver Medal by the jury of Spectrum. Mind Machine 24" x 18" Oil on Panel 2009 "To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me." -Sir Isaac Newton

Finishing a new dragon painting today (cannot yet share!) but here is a place holder, one of my favorites from the past years. Thank you to my daughter Naomi for modeling as the musician! The Dragon, Violist, and Empathetic Robot 30" x 24" Oil on Panel 2021 private collection

Make it a Science Fiction & Fantasy night at the Society of Illustrators June 18th! The Society of Illustrators is hosting a 'Summer Mixer', an opening and free museum entrance celebrating their 125th Anniversary, June 18, 5-9pm I will be there for the event! societyillustrators.org/event/museum...

Over 20 years ago I provided this painting as cover art to David Drake's 'Master of the Cauldron'. It remained in the studio, surfacing every few years to see if inspiration for a repaint/retouch had taken hold. 20+ years late, I now present to you.. Medusa's Garden 27" x 48" Oil on Panel 2005-2026

Realized I had not shared this awesome commission executed and released last year for the special edition of Adrian Tchaikovsky's acclaimed 'Children of Time' from Orbit Books! I had kept the news under wraps as Orbit did their PR thing.. Children of Time 24" x 36" Oil on Panel 2025

There is no way a teenage Donato in 1983 would have believed you if you told him he would be illustrating the book he just finished reading - Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! Here is the copy I still have handed to me by my friend Randy Jacobson. www.kickstarter.com/projects/wra...

Hands of Middle-earth. New painting to be exhibited at the 'Lore' show opening this Friday June 5th at The Compass Gallery in Provo, Utah alongside dozens of other wonderful paintings celebrating narrative and fantastic arts. Saruman - Many Rings 14" x 11" Oil on Panel 2026 private collection

Third novel in Sharon Shinn's 'Twelve Houses' series, Dark Moon Defender. Art direction called for the character to bear the resemblance of a popular actor. I captured the actor's likeness TOO well. A digital fix was needed! Faramir - Artifacts from Osgiliath 30" x 20" Oil on Panel 2005

Fifth book in Sharon Shinn's 'Twelve Houses' novel series. Kristina Carroll models here, making for a wonderfully dynamic, moody, and strong character in Wren. I love how the sword flares in the light! Fortune and Fate 20" x 24" Oil on Panel 2007 private collection

Continuing with this series of covers for Sharon Shinn's 'Twelve House' series of novels, here is my favorite, a portrait of the cornered shapeshifter Kirra, with representations of her altered states in the tiled wall behind her. Thirteenth House 22" x 30" Oil on Panel private collection

Reader and Raelynx 22" x 30" Oil on panel 2008 private collection Created for the fourth book in Sharon Shinn's series "Twelve Houses". A young Scott Murphy makes a guest appearance as the model for this character!

Unbroken. We are now into the last week of the Kickstarter for this anthology complied by Peter Orullian and Shawn Speakman. My thanks to Peter Paul Rubens and Vincent Desiderio for helping me to understand and unlock chroma in the shadows. www.kickstarter.com/projects/unb...

Scythians 35" x 56" Oil on Panel 2003 Placed a few small touch ups on this piece I had been wanting to tackle after 20 plus years! And with a new varnish to refresh all those colors. An very challenging, but rewarding, project for National Geographic Magazine.

Fourth and fifth in the NYC Lands series, The Bronx and Brooklyn. Including the preliminaries and abstracts for those interested in the process development in these oil paintings. Forest - New York Botanical Gardens Swamp - Pier 1 each 16" x 20" Oil on Panel 2026

LobsterCon commissioned new set of landscapes related to New York City. I poured my love of NYC into this project,a city where we have lived for 34 years and raised our 2 daughters. Thank you Brad, Andy, Simon and all at LobsterCon for making this possible. Island-Liberty 16" x 20" Oil on Panel 2026

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!!!!! I can't express how cool, humbled, and honored I am to be a part of this new special edition of Douglas Adams' series from Wraithmarked Creative. Restaurant at the End of the Universe 24" x 36" Oil on Panel 2026 Don't Panic! www.kickstarter.com/projects/wra...

Catching up on art posts, very honored and proud to share this oil painting created for Elliot Lang's 'Character In Context' show at the A.R. Mitchell Museum. Precipice 20" x 16" Oil on Panel, framed 2026 A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art 150 E. Main St. Trinidad, CO 81082 June 5 - July 31, 2026

And Now For Something Completely Different... A higher resolution scan of the the charity raffle drawing from this past weekend's event in Boston, LobsterCon, in benefit of the non-profit 'Room to Grow'. Rabbit of Caerbannog (killer rabbit) 14" x 11" Watercolor Pencil and Chalk on Toned Paper

This Friday and Saturday May 1-2, you can find me at the North American Premodern Champs Tournament for Magic: The Gathering - LobsterCon! I'll be there signing with two tables packed of original drawings, oil paintings, playmats, proofs, prints, and books. sentineloldschoolmtg.com/2025/11/09/p...

Just shipped this preliminary drawing (and final oil version) off to the A.R. Mitchell Museum for the Character in Context Exhibition opening May 1. The show is an extensive survey of final paintings and the preliminaries. Precipice Watercolor Pencil & Chalk on Toned Paper 8.5" x 11", 2026

The new anthology 'Unbroken' is going live on Kickstarter next week with an incredible cast of authors providing stories for this collection! A YouTube video provides great close ups of the final art which features the hands of my daughter Naomi. www.kickstarter.com/projects/unb...

I will be at MoCCA Fest this weekend in New York City! Artist Proofs, Original Drawings, Paintings, Prints, Books and Signing cards! Or just stop by and talk art! This is my eighth year exhibiting at the convention. www.moccafest.org MoCCA Fest Metropolitan Pavilion 125 W 18th St New York, NY 10011

Spacesuits! Images of futuristic astronauts, created for commercial projects & personal works. It's nice to be able to bring my design aesthetic into author's worlds as a collaboration. Thanks to Chris on the updated scan of the GCC portrait, executed as a demonstration while at GenCon decades ago!

Spacesuits! The red from my demonstration video on oil painting (thanks for modeling Kristina!), the other my first 'spacescape' just a year into my career as an illustrator, a cover for a Ben Bova novel. The Mechanic 22" x 34" Oil on Panel 2009 . Orion Among the Stars 27" x 18" Oil on panel 1994

The SF magazine Locus is running it's annual fund raiser, I've donated a signed, embossed, and remarqued first edition of Middle-earth:Visions of a Modern Myth. Scores of great pledges to consider in support of this periodical,building community for nearly 60 years! www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/...

Landing closer to Earth for this space scene. One of my best metal suits, for a Ray Bradbury short story 'Cities on the Moon'. HIGHRISES: CITIES ON THE MOON 17" x 26" Oil on Panel 2000 Collection of Edie Stern and Joe Siclari

Created around the same time as the spacescapes I have been sharing, but with a bit of science fiction added in, an illustration for a children's book I was working upon. Saturn Mining 18" x 32" Oil on Panel 2001 private collection

Abstract shape design... Permanent Sunset on Europa, Moon of Jupiter 27" x 48" Oil on Panel 2001 private collection

A favorite of my space landscapes, part of the series on Europa. So excited for the Europa Clipper probe launched two years ago...hoping it blows our minds with new discoveries when it gets to Jupiter! Ice Sheet Fracturing on Europa, Moon of Jupiter 26" x 65" Oil on Panel 2000 private collection

On the theme of space artworks: Comet Impacting Europa, Moon of Jupiter 30" x 40" Oil on Panel 2000 Created as part of a series of works celebrating the gas giants and their moons.

Time to get off this planet, the Vogons are coming! Don't Panic. And don't forget your copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy before you go! A great honor and pleasure to create two wonderfully complex bookend images for this collection from Wraithmarked.. www.kickstarter.com/projects/wra...

Comics in Chelsea! Philippe Labaune Gallery 534 West 24th Street, Ground Floor New York, NY 10001 The exceptionally talented comic artist Klaus Janson is now showing an expansive survey of his work at the Philippe Labaune Gallery in Chelsea, NYC.

Grab your towel and hold on for an out-of-this-world ride, coming from Wraithmarked books! Looking forward to sharing the rest of this artwork created for the project.

Closing out my game art post series, saving one of the best for last. Star War Galaxies 33" x 45" Oil on Panel 2003 Channeled quite a bit of passion into this piece, visualizing a young Han Solo and Chewbacca as an advertising piece for the video game..

Here is today's addition to: That was Donato Giancola?? My first video game cover barely a year into my professional career. Created for the (un)forgettable game 'Revengers of Vengeance!' What a title. What quotes. What type design. A few more fonts could have been used...

A commission related to Kieth Parkinson's work, this one for a bookcover for the game Everquest. Kieth was the originating artist executing the first 5 advertising and cover paintings for the game. What a shadow to work under! EverQuest 10th Anniversary 25" x 40" Oil on Panel 2008 Collection of Sony

One the most complex, and humbling, images I have tackled as an illustrator - Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. I was commissioned for this after Kieth Parkinson requested that I be contacted to execute this work for a company he helped create, Sigil Games. Keith could not do the work himself...

Great life drawing session at the Society of Illustrators, NY this past Wednesday. Sophia was a real pro, striking very dynamic poses for the whole evening. I enjoy being not burdened with conceptual and compositional decision making, just concentrate on capturing information/gesture from the model.

A follow up games' artwork posts from the Age of Empires III. Created as an advertising image, I based the work on a historical site, Fort Ticonderoga in New York, around the time of the French and Indian War of the 1740's. Allegory for the American Empire 36" x 48" Oil on Panel. 2004

Art for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. The final image which appeared as the cover to the game was heavily modified by the marketing department, reiterating why I do not make paintings for 'reproduction'. 24" x 36" Oil on Panel 2004

Congratulations to Helen for being the winning name drawn for my 'Drawing Drawing' lottery give away at OAX convention last weekend. 'Mars Violet - What Did You Say?' My thanks to Bill Cox, Kasra Ghanbari & Tatiana Dykes for putting on a warm welcome!

Good news on the front for Fantasy and Science Fiction Narrative Art. A new museum in the works for Altoona and the genre community. Looking forward to seeing this open next year (hopefully)! www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-n...

Predating my Earth and Sea series, but tapping into the tragic, fragile narratives learned from Vincent Desiderio while working as his assist. in the mid 90's. Executed as a center panel of a triptych private commission for Jane and Howard Frank in 2001. Eric Bright-eyes 34" x 34" Oil on Panel 2001

Earth and Sea series. A bit of self reflection as we are portrayed as the strangers here. My love and respect for science runs through all my work, from the fantastic to the historical. Darwin: The Strangers With Craft 48" x 48" Oil on Pnel 2010 private collection

Earth and Sea series painting featuring my daughters Naomi and Cecilia. Inspired by Sir Isaac Newton’s quote: “To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.” Knowledge 36" x 48" Oil on Panel 2010

Posted the entire Earth and Sea series of oil paintings on the MuddyColors blog, link: www.muddycolors.com/2026/02/eart... It is always a pleasure to tap into these deep creative motivators as an artist. Mermaid-Search for Mother study 21”x21” oil on panel 2011

One of the first oil paintings from the Earth & Sea series, and likely one of the most popular. Thank you to models Grant Newton and my daughter Naomi for making this a successful painting! Progeny 36" x 60" Oil on Panel 2009 private collection

An early oil painting from the Earth & Sea series, before I realized I was making a series! Created for a gallery exhibit in 2009 and a take on tragic empathetic narrative moments. Shaman's Loss 36" x 48" Oil on Panel 2009