This is the biggest full circle connection in my career. Over two years ago a designer with Random House (thank you Nicole Block!!) working on a Dungeons&Dragons and Stranger Things tie-in contacted me about the old D&D art she had see me share online from my youth...

Here is another oil painting from the set of 14 interior illustrations for Tad William's 'To Green Angel Tower', from Grim Oak Press. A nod to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for the perpetual source of amazing armor references! Camaris and Benigaris 18" x 14" Oil on Board 2025

Halloween 2025 - Brooklyn Star Wars theme for us with Naomi's lobster costume providing a crude stand in for Admiral Ackbar (It's a Trap). Greatest moment was when a baby lobster showed up with their family. 600+ trick-or treaters last night! Hope you all had a memorable night with friends&family!

Red Sonya 29" x 21" Oil on Panel 2007 Collection of Cathy and Arnie Fenner Began the drawing for this on a flight to San Diego Comic-Con back in 2006. The image was so powerful, the Fenners commissioned to turn it into a painting. Thank you for giving me the chance to shine you two!

A very productive and informative life drawing session last night at the Society of Illustrators with model @giofitartmodel. Some great hands and feet captured in this grouping!

IX Arts (IlluxCon) is now just 3 weeks away and I am thrilled to be attending once again, filling exhibition walls with all new drawings & paintings from the past year. Link for tickets & general show info: imaginativerealism.com/buy-tickets/ Sithi Standing Stone 18" x 14" Oil on Bristol Board

Here are a few of the interior illustrations for Tad Williams' new limited edition release 'To Green Angel Tower' from Grim Oak Press. This is the 'third' book in the trilogy of Memory, Thorn and Sorrow, which is so large it is broken into two volumes which means I was able to paint 12 images..

Working on a new cover painting for a science fiction novel and playing with the themes of geometric abstraction which helped build this piece for an anthology, Down These Dark Spaceways. Psychohistorical Crisis II 30" x 18" Oil on Panel 2005 collection of Edie Stern and Joe Siclari

Off to a new home. The oil painting 'Honor for the Dragon' has just landed in a private collection along side two of my other dragon works. The work was featured as cover art on this years 2025 DragonCon program book as I returned to the convention after 15 years as the Artist Guest. . ..

Donato Arts Open Studio Online Lottery All of the winners have been contacted for the prize give-a-ways - Evelina, Miguel, Ricardo, Mike, Mike, Pete, Andi, Ricky, Paul Kaitlund, Katie, Irene, Daksha, Stephen, and others. Thank you all who participated, there were 384 entries, thus your..

Great costumed session last night at the Society of Illustrators NY. Thank you @Kayleigh.Laymon and @Jackburlesque for the excellent modeling. Forced me WAY outside my comfort zone. Serious foreshortened moment-Kayleigh's Madame X, but remembered 'just draw what you see, not what you think you see'

Donato's Open Studio Lottery Winners The winner of the Grand Prize of an original oil painting was picked up today by Svante, a visitor and Magic player from Sweden.Congratulations Svante, a safe flight for you back home tonight! The other winners include David who won the Empathetic Robot drawing..

Less than 12 hours to go before the Open Studio! Photos below of the lottery items going home with some lucky winners tomorrow - an oil painting, drawing, Magic Proofs, remarqued books, and prints! Donato Arts Open Studio Sat. Sept 20 11am -6pm 397 Pacific Street Brooklyn, NY 11217

All finished setting up for the Open Studio this coming Saturday, September 20th, and the new Empathetic Robots preliminary drawing for a new work 'Breaking' will be resting on the drafting table! 11am - 6pm Donato Arts Open Studio 397 Pacific Street Brooklyn , NY 11217

Wait...there is more! Every year DragonCon produces a limited run 18" x 24" poster of the art for the program, which this year features my oil painting Honor for the Dragon. We will be giving them away at the Open Studio this Saturday! ~ 40 free copies, all signed, limited supplies while they last.

Something new for the Open Studio & Online Lottery - Middle-earth Playmats! These feature some of my greatest works for Tolkien. I have a very small sample of the first press checks, with just two copies for sale of each mat here for this Saturdays event. First come first served. donatoarts.com/news

Bursting onto the scene just in time for the Open Studio this Saturday, September 20th, a new Empathetic Robots piece! Breaking 24" x 18" Graphite and Chalk on Toned Paper - in progress still!

Updating my drawing portfolios for the Open Studio. For those who cannot make the trip to Brooklyn, see the Online Lottery and your chance to take home your own original drawing! Details : donatoarts.com/news Donato Arts Open Studio Saturday Sept 20 11am - 6pm 397 Pacific Street Brooklyn, NY 11217

Donato Arts Open Studio - Online Lottery! We have original artwork, print and books as free give-aways! Please be aware that last year I had scammers spamming/phishing my social media with solicitations. Details: donatoarts.com/news To enter, email: [email protected] Notices go out (Sept 22).

Had a wonderful evening at the Society of Illustrators last night! Live figure drawing with the dynamicly posed ninja Aaron, then dinner with friends-Pete, Tamsin & Lauren. Thank you for the reminder to go Lauren! Already looking at the next session to see about booking more trips into Manhattan.

Open Studio Update - Lottery I've added the three oil painting selections which a lucky lottery winner from the Open Studio Lottery will be able to select from to take an original home with them. Which painting would you shoot for?

Open Studio - New Lottery Items Added! A couple of items are added to the in person lottery for my Open Studio two weeks from now on September 20th, 11am- 6pm. A signed and remarqued copy of the first edition of Middle-earth: Vision of a Modern Myth with a remarque of Luthien, 5 copies of the large

Open Studio Update! In a little over two weeks we will welcome you to the 2025 Open Studio for Donato Arts on Saturday Sept 20th. The event will features dozens of new paintings & drawings, sketchbooks for perusal, heavy discounts on prints, books & art, and the popular Lottery for give-a-ways!..

Now hanging at World Science Fiction Convention in Seattle , my latest Empathetic Robot painting, ‘Data Mining’ 20” x 24” oil on panel

A few friends have been working on an epic documentary these past six years-IGNITING THE SPARK-The Story of Magic: The Gathering is now released! Brian, Seth, Kelley and their associates logged hundreds of hours of interviews. Available: www.justwatch.com/us/movie/ign... It is so worth the watch!

Save the Date! Saturday Sept 20, 2025 11am -6 DONATO ARTS OPEN STUDIO 2025 397 Pacific Street Brooklyn, NY 11217 Keep an eye out here or on my website for further details on special discounts, offered works, and the much loved Lottery for books, prints & artworks! Here are a few pics from last year.

Took in a thoughtful and contemplative exhibition yesterday of Diane Arbus’ photographs. This is the largest presentation of her work, 450+ images, hung in a ‘non-chronological’ fashion on grids in the Park Ave Armory. The effectiveness of this presentation allows you to ‘discover’ new images..

Great life drawing session Wednesday night at the Society of Illustrators in New York City.The model, Logan, struck wonderfully dynamic poses.Thanks to Lauren Panepinto for providing the heads up last week, these sessions sell out days in advance. Finished with a dinner w/ Lauren, StJohn and Peter!

Island Giant - ranged weapon 14" x 11" Watercolor Pencil and Chalk on Toned Paper 2019 private collection Inspired from a trip to the Dominican Republic, with the sandy beaches and palm trees, and thinking about the monuments on Easter Island...

Had a wonderful day at Hex and Co. signing during the Sacred Torch Showdown Premodern Tournament. My first Magic:The Gathering event in three years and the players did not disappoint. They kept me in my chair for four hours straight before the first real break opened up! Thank you to Simon and..

Magic Card Signing at Hex & Co, NYC I will be appearing in person this Saturday July 19th from 11 am - 5pm for the Sacred Torch Showdown Premodern Tournament at Hex & Company in Manhattan. Prints, playmats, and Artist Proofs available. Hex & Co 2911 Broadway New York, NY 10025 July 19th, 11 - 5 pm

A deviation from my series depicting the Fellowship of the Ring as my great friend Mike Mrak was here a month ago and posed for the Lord of the Nazgûl. Thank you Mike, I still think you're a nice guy deep inside :) Morgul Knife The Witch-king of Angmar 12" x 21" Oil on Panel Private Collection

Join us live July 14th, Monday evening/late afternoon at 4pm PT/ 7pm ET for in depth discussions on business choices and marketing as freelance artists. I will be speaking candidly with artist Patrick Jones on details of our careers as artists and painters. Link: www.youtube.com/channel/UC2m...

Acquiring scans of very old Magic:The Gathering art in preparation for an in depth presentation. My first 4 commissions from Wizards of the Coast, in 1996. No art larger than 400% of printed size, oil paintings of ~ 7" x 9"! All oil on panel. Amber Prison Moss Diamond Village Elder Grinning Totem

The Argonath 36" x 36" Oil on Panel collection of Lucas Schroeder Detailed progress development of the oil painting and sketches is now shared on the MuddyColors.com blog post: www.muddycolors.com/2025/07/the-...

The Argonath is finished. It has been a pleasure tackling this project for a collector to bring these monuments to life and grow my body of Middle-earth landscapes. Thank you Luca for trustingting in my vision! Enjoy the video and boating on the Anduin. The Argonath 36” x 36” Oil on Panel

Congratulations to our daughter Cecilia for her graduation from Bard College last month with a degree in History, a grade point average of 3.99, and landing a top of the class recognition with her final Senior Project (SProj)! On top of all this, Cecilia has also been awarded a Fulbright Research..

Thank you for the recognition Locus! 'Congratulations! You’ve been listed as a top ten finalist in the 2025 Locus Awards for Stone of Farewell in the illustrated or art book category with Tad Williams.' Created with Shawn Speakman & Grim Oak Press Complete list of 2025 Locus Awards Finalists..

Just placed a new varnish on this painting as I maintain my diminishing selection of works from early in my career. This was created for the novels related to the scifi miniatures game Vor: The Maelstrom from FASA games. Vor: The Maelstrom - Island of Power 17" x 26" oil on panel 1999

Middle-earth news: I will once again be a Guest Speaker at the New York Tolkien Conference this July 31 run by Christopher Tuthill at Baruch College in New York City! Excited to be providing yet another lens on the art of Middle-earth. Conference is free! nyctolkienconference.wordpress.com/events/

A new addition to the project to illustrated the entire Fellowship of the Ring (and more) from J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' through my love of painting hands. I love the way hands are so expressive, capturing the portrait of the person. It has been 5 years since the last Middle-earth..

A favorite from my series, meeting of Earth & Sea. These derive from interest in an emotional moment bounded by an implied, but unresolved narrative-a counter reaction to the highly guided narratives taken as a commercial book illustrator. Shaman's Loss 36"x48" Oil on Panel 2010 private collection

Artwork from Space. Had a chance to create a new astronaut painting this past month. Excited to keep working on this growing series, exploring our place in the universe. 5th Dimension - Shattered 30" x 24" Oil on Panel 2025

Just handed this drawing off to Mike Mrak today. He was one of my housemates at our first apartment here in New York City back in 1992-3, during the times were were breaking into the illustration and commercial arts industries. This was for the cover to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' by...

Connecting the dots reaching back into the past. My good friend Mike Mrak, Creative Director at Scientific American, is staying with us a few days and we were talking about the links and bonds created through the years in our art industries. We were housemates and...

St. George and the Dragon 30" x 20" Oil on Panel collection of Cat Conrad Program cover art from DragonCon 2010 and a demo on oil painting for the IMC. Had the honor of Lucas Museum of Narrative Art trying to purchase this when it appeared in the 'Enchanted' exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Detail of a new painting coming to DragonCon this Fall. Honor for the Dragon 30" x 24" Oil on Panel 15 years ago it was an honor to create a painting for the program cover to the convention of St. George and the Dragon. I will be the Artist Guest once again and am revisiting the same theme!

Traveling down the Anduin River this past month and spotted this view from my drafting table today. The Argonath 36" x 36" Oil on Panel, detail in progress private commission

Full image of the latest addition to my Empathetic Robots series of oil paintings. 'Data Mining' 24" x 20" Oil on Panel 2025 original art available This will appear as the front cover of Grim Oak Press' latest Grimoire Anthology to be published at WorldCon in Seattle this August.

Support a magazine who's sincere, critical, and dedicated coverage has sponsored thousands of creators throughout the decades. Locus Magazine is running their annual fundraiser right now. www.indiegogo.com/projects/loc...