Friday, June 9, 2017
Portal Eyes of the World
Portal Eyes of the World
Portal IlluxCon 9 Commission Donato Giancola 60" x 40" Oil on Panel 2016 |
by Donato
A little over a year and a half ago I was approached by Pat and Jeannie Wilshire to create a new work of art to help promote IlluxCon 9, the gathering of artists and professionals begun by the two of them which has become a go-to place to jump start and maintain a career in the fine arts of science fiction and fantasy.
Needless to say this is not a project I could undertake lightly. Not only do you wish to impress a client of such stature in the collecting field as the Wilshires, but the eyes of every artist in the genre may fall upon such an image as well as that of countless other professionals, art directors, collectors, and fans. I could not deliver a mediocre work for such a commission and all the burden fell upon my shoulders, for Pat and Jeannie gave me free rein to produce anything which I deemed appropriate in subject matter, mood, or content.
Give us your best, they said, making it sound like this was a freeing of the artistic process. But what damning pressure such words can be! I could blame no other person or aspect of the commission if it resulted in failure.
Some Fun Easter-Eggs in Portal IlluxCon 9 Commission Donato Giancola |
Let me make clear, the Wilshires did not request any of these conditions for the art, they just wanted a nice painting to showcase at the event, and have been wonderful clients to work for. It is I who has generated all the stress in this project!
IlluxCon 9 Commission Roughs 11" x 8.5" Watercolor Pencil and Chalk on Toned Paper |
Luckily, some how, I was able to pitch a few concepts to Pat and Jeannie which seemed to hit many of these notes. I was never sure if these images could indeed speak to so many audiences, but being a professional artist I knew I had to place my best foot forward and try.
The final results were a surprise and great relief and hopefully exciting for my clients. Every major commission sends shockwaves through my artistic being, and somehow I find a way to pull through each time, alive and hopefully better off. I have to credit my years of service as a book cover illustrator meeting deadline after deadline, and diving into content I was unfamiliar with, for providing me with the testing grounds so that when major projects like these come up, I have a method and approach which helps me stay the course through the greatest of challenges.
Thank you Pat and Jeannie for another chance to share my a passion about art with a larger audience!
If you are interested in attending IlluxCon this coming October in Reading, Pennsylvania, you can register here: http://www.illuxcon.com/registration/
Portal Framed by Gala Frames of Long Island City, New York |
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