Thursday, April 7, 2016

Painting Heroes


Joan of Arc   Donato Giancola      42" x 24"   Oil on Panel    2012
by Donato

Too often in my illustration career I have been called upon to interpret characters and illustrate narratives that do not synchronize with my internal ethics and morals.  Not to say I have created immoral and beyond the bounds art (ok, maybe once or twice in my lifetime) but the commissions undertaken, and therefore the art produced, did not truly reflect the aesthetics and voice of who I was as an artist. I was unknowingly happy to suppress these issues early in my career because the chance to work on any commission trumped the need to share these internal thoughts.

As the years passed, and my career matured, I began to leverage more of the content of my commercial commissions back to my aesthetics.  This did not occur over night, but rather has been a slow process over the past decade and a half as I began to realize that the voice I could speak with was one which was attractive to a certain type of audience.  Gone was my need to please every single one of my commercial clients, and replaced with the desire to create passionately driven personal masterpieces.  I wanted to be engaged creating the best work I possibly could, both technically and artistically.

In order to achieve these goals I needed to be so drawn into the process, that no hurdle of labor or time would impede this motivation.  These works would stand as testaments to my internal artistic voice, paintings I would be proud to share regardless of the passage of time, style, and trends.

When I look back at these images, I realize I have been painting the types of people whom I see myself admiring - my Heroes. Regardless of the veneer of social and cultural content you see layered into these works- from robots to wizards to astronauts to comic characters - their underlying actions and interactions are the way I would like to live in the world. Their compassion for others and their steadfast defense of their beliefs are traits I hold in high esteem.  I know I am not living up the deeds of my heroes, but it does give me comfort to know that I have given voice to very passionate emotions and morality.

Paint your Heroes, and make this world a better place.

Captain America - Duty    Donato Giancola      44" x 33"   Oil on Panel  
Mercury: The Messanger   Donato Giancola      36" x 48"   Oil on Panel    2007
Sorrow    Donato Giancola      27" x 33"   Oil on Panel    2014

Taming of Smeagol    Donato Giancola      36" x 48"   Oil on Panel    2011

Uther and Arther: A Father's Love   Donato Giancola      16" x 20"   Oil on Panel    2004

J.R.R. Tolkien    Donato Giancola     42" x 37"   Oil on Panel    2012

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6 comments:

  1. Recently, I was too busy to take on an assignment from a client I hadn't talked to in years. I offered it to a friend who refused to do it because of her political beliefs. The only reason I would refuse jobs in the past was either not enough money or time. It never occurred to me I could refuse a job on the basis it didn't align with my beliefs (I actually felt neither for or against this particular concept.) As a result, a lot of my work lacks my personality and it shows. Wrist paying bills. Your post touches upon something that has been bugging me about my work for a while. Thank you for that.

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  2. You are welcome Sheff. I am still bugged by these issues in my career. It is a good thing. Good luck with your new work!

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  3. So inspiring and makes me want to do the same, this is the first time i read something in the same frequency, "Paint you heroes and make this a better world" I never saw it like that and I admire this heres too, awesome Thanks for this words Donato :)

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  4. Beautifully said. Heroic in a way I can admire.

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  5. Beautifully said. Heroic in a way I can admire.

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