Open Studio and New Work

[Donato]

Hey ConceptArt, my studio is Open!

This weekend brings the annual ArtWalk to my area in Brooklyn, with scores of open studios and businesses celebrating art. Once again you are invited to stop by and pay a visit, Saturday and Sunday 1-6pm, as I host a fifth annual Open Studio. An extra bonus this year is a live oil portrait demonstration on Saturday afternoon 2-4 pm as I render an image of my daughter Naomi.

Open Studio
June 7-8, Saturday & Sunday
1pm-6pm

Demonstration June 7, Saturday
2pm-4pm

Donato Arts
397 Pacific Street
Brookyn, NY 11217
718.797.2438

Directions to the studio:

http://www.donatoart.com/directions

More details for the events at:

http://www.donatoart.com/news.html#studio


I will be displaying many new and ongoing projects, including the award winning 'Golden Rose' which has received four medals of note to date.

Also a new image is final finished 'The Archer of the Rose' the third image in the set of the 'War of the Rose' novels by Kathleen Bryan. A pure pleasure to render the shields as Persian manuscript covers.

http://www.donatoart.com/gallery/archeroftheroseb.html

Hope to see some of you this weekend!

All the best,

Donato

Donato Giancola
397 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.797.2438

http://www.donatoarts.com
[email protected]






[Serpian]

Amazing detail! Epic composition!

I'm gonna have to stare at this a bit longer...

Man would I love to live in New York right now! I'd definately pay you a visit.

EDIT: Man where did my edit go?? Anyway, what i tried to say was: Now that I've viewed the whole picture in a separate window, I understand the perspective, with the large picture, I couldn't really see it. And it's only getting better every second i keep staring at it. Those shields are delicious! Especially the one in the center to the right! And the one at the bottom. And ooh, the one with the black rose! And the one in the middle.

[DavePalumbo]

Wow, I think this is one of my favorites of yours that I've seen! The concept and composition are just so solid

[ciots]

when i saw the name "donato" i thought, can it be..? it is! yay!

[Vorace]

Woah, I love this one, I want to know the story behind the painting!

[theincredibleandy]

Those are some excellent shields! I'm a fan of your unique compositions and your diligence with infusing your characters and props with personality.

Wonderful work, as always. Darn, I wish I'd known about the open house sooner. Alas!

[luverly_marie]

Whoa! This is beautiful and amazing

[TheDirtSyndicate]

hmmm....
i dont get it.
i dont see the "awesome composition" everyone is talking about...
it feels extremely busy to me. there's absolutely no negative space in this image... dont get me wrong, its a beautiful piece. very well done, but i think the composition of this piece is a weakness, not a strength.
i love all the details in this too, but again, another weakness IMO... too much detail. the amount of detail is the same all over the image, flattening everything out, causing me to not see much depth.
and correction, the designs ON the shields are great, the shields themselves dont have very interesting designs. they're all just plain rectangles.
i dunno, maybe its just me....
i like the piece, its extremely well done, but not for the reasons stated above.
well... to me anyway.

[ArtZealot]

i think the composition of this piece is a weakness, not a strength.

I'd just like to say i disagree. I think the composition is more than good, it's great. I think the fact that there is so much going on in this at once, but with at the same time such a clear composition is alot of the reason why the composition is so good. It's a fight, it's supposed to feel busy and intense. Definately this is an awesome piece.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

i stand by my comment. i took the image into photoshop, tried to put the rule of thirds into play, tried the golden ratio on top, i've TRIED to put it into a good composition, and i just dont see it.
its just too busy for me to have good composition... maybe someone could draw it out for me. draw on top of this image and point out to me what you think makes this image to have good composition so i can see whats in your heads. i truly just dont see it. to me, this is very flat, bland composition. no depth.
show me what you see.

[DSillustration]

i stand by my comment. i took the image into photoshop, tried to put the rule of thirds into play, tried the golden ratio on top, i've TRIED to put it into a good composition, and i just dont see it.

rules, rules, rules.
You're missing it completely.

If you absolutely must break it down analytically as to why it's good:
The whole composition is diagonals, running top left to bottom right.
All except for the arrow, which runs opposite, bringing you right to the focal point amid all this chaos.
The piece is supposed to be cluttered, like a tapestry, and what's so great about it is that your eye still rests comfortably at the main figure.

It's not bad because it doesn't have a lot of spacial depth.
Donato didn't want spacial depth.
It's good because of the difficulty of working within such a limited spacial range.

As for the shields all being the same shape, most army's shields would be.
Keeping the shape simple also allows the viewer to focus on more important things.

Personally, I fail to understand how you don't see it.
I can only assume your appreciation is hindered by your own vision.
Btw, looking for the rule of thirds, and the golden ratio...
Did you ever think to turn it diagonal?

I know Donato is a fan of Mondrian.
Look at this, and tell me you don't see compositional similarities.
(and please don't tell me Mondrian was bad at composition!)


I am reattaching Donato's image so most can see it easier.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

first off, i'm usually the first to break the rules
also, i'm usually the first to say "if it looks good, fuck the rules"
but in this case, the composition isn't clear enough for me to see it. i see what you're saying about the shields and the arrow, but again, there's the same amount of detail on each element that it kills that.
Mondrian's composition on the piece that you posted is extremely clear, almost a slap in the face actually. its violently clear.
in Donato's piece i find myself having to SEARCH for it. to me thats not good composition.
maybe if the spaces between the shields were darker really emphasizing those leading lines... maybe then i could see it better... but like i said, its all the same amount of detail all over. same amount of contrast all over.
i guess what im trying to say is, anything that is giving this piece good composition has other things working AGAINST it.
but again, like i said, its a good piece. i like it. i think its beautiful, but NOT because of the composition.

[luverly_marie]

Usually things "look good" because, clandestinely, they follow the rules. Some artists have a knack for it, others need to draw and figure it out in their head.

Things like the surrounding soldiers having their faces somewhat obscured and the two figures on horse back are clear for the viewer to see. To me it's as if Donato captured that rare moment in a battle, just as that main character seized the right moment to fire that arrow.

I don't really get what else you expect from the piece. Do you need all the shields lined up in nice little rows? Does it have to follow a restricted pattern?

I have to completely agree with DS on this one, pointing out everything much better than I did. Just maybe you're the one who is limiting the work by your own predilections.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

Usually things "look good" because, clandestinely, they follow the rules. Some artists have a knack for it, others need to draw and figure it out in their head.

Things like the surrounding soldiers having their faces somewhat obscured and the two figures on horse back are clear for the viewer to see. To me it's as if Donato captured that rare moment in a battle, just as that main character seized the right moment to fire that arrow.

I don't really get what else you expect from the piece. Do you need all the shields lined up in nice little rows? Does it have to follow a restricted pattern?

I have to completely agree with DS on this one, pointing out everything much better than I did. Just maybe you're the one who is limiting the work by your own predilections.

what i expect from the piece?
nothing.
its about what i expect from other artists.
i hate it when people put words into my mouth like you just did: no. i dont need the shields in perfect little rows, that would be un-natural and stupid, no i dont need anything to follow any pattern, and im not limiting the work with my own predilections.
if you re-read my posts, you'll see that i LIKE this piece. i was just commenting that i didn't see how it had "great composition". thats all.
please dont put words into my mouth.
pay attention to what im actually saying. i'll say it again, let me make this as clear as possible: I LOVE THIS PIECE. but i dont see how it has great composition like everyone is saying.
IT GOES NO DEEPER THAN THAT.
if you think it has such amazing composition, SHOW ME.
take it into photoshop and fucking SHOW ME what makes this piece have such great composition.
i seriously dont see it. im not trying to be a dick here. i want to LEARN.

i love this piece for everything else it has to offer.
i was just baffled by the comments of others saying it has great composition.
thats all. im not even saying it has "bad" composition. im just saying it doesn't have "great" composition.

[DavePalumbo]

composition needs to be appropriate to the mood and subject of the painting. I totally get what you're saying if this were a tender or serene or placid moment, but it's a battle scene! It needs chaos, conflict, movement, and tension. I think that this composition, when combined with Donato's style of painting, achieves that beautifully.

[TheDirtSyndicate]

ok, THAT to me is a reasonable answer.
thankyou Dave.

[trout]

i'm just disappointed i won't be in brooklyn on saturday

[Urbatect]

This image is full of awesome and win.

[El Jeremie]

Wow,absolute-massive-master-piece-that-blow-my-mind-far-far-far-away.

[alyssa milano]

really nice piece, i trully dig it!
the left horse doesn`t seem to get what`s happenning around him though

[Serpian]

In Donatos post, the picture is so big that you can't see the whole piece at once. That's why I didn't really see what was going on before I zoomed out. Everytime I switch windows to the picture, where I can see the whole of it, my eyes go BAM straight to the woman. Even though she is about the kill someone, compositionally she is the calmest part of this painting. A fairly normal composition would have the focal point detailed and the surroundings calm, but here it is the opposite. And it works. The large picture is great for looking at the details, but to get the composition I need to look at the whole piece.

On the other hand, I do have a small crit on the composition. Right above the woman, in the space between the shields, where you can see larger parts of some soldiers, is also a calmer space, which, I think, steals a bit of attention of the woman. But I don't know, maybe it's a good thing that there's other things to look at than her? But my eyes look at her first, then they go up there.

[Chris Bennett]

A truely inspiring and imaginative piece that is original in its visualisation as it is inspired in its execution. But the same thing occured to me that has occured to alyssa milano.
Why is that horse there?
I've drawn a little diagram to try to explain what I mean.
Beautiful piece of work though!

[Robert.B]

Lovely! keep on arting my friend!

[bluefooted]

The horse's head is fine with me because my eye always comes in naturally from the left center. I see the horse first, then the face below it, and am drawn in to the woman with the arrow and the pay-off.

Also, I am in love with this painting

[David F.]

I can't really keep my eye on the archer because it seems she will be engulfed by the pushing shields at any moment.
The arrangement of the shields and soldiers just doesn't seem to allow anything moving in the diagonal direction the atcher does.

But I think that's the strength. Because of the crowding shields and soldiers and the archer breaking the arrangement in a unnatural fashion the feeling of hasty oppurtunity and despair is emphasized.
It's like a visual, silent, desperate warcry.

But I don't know anything about compositions. This is just how I feel the picture works for me.

[akildee]

The composition works pretty well I would say. The focal point is clear and your eye moves nicely counter clockwise. I'm not sure if the horse breaks that counter clockwise motion or gives if just enough tension to make it feel really great. Just my two cents.

[Nokill]

truely a work of art you rarely see anymore.
I really like the little details on the shields and that all the shields have a different pattern on them.
Some of the lights are a little off as i can see but for the rest i can't really argue on that, keep them coming.

[fukifino]

This reminds me a lot of your Faramir at Osgiliath piece (I *think* that's the title)...like that one it's a hectic, chaotic battle scene that at first seems like it's going to overwhelm you but without even realizing why you're drawn right to the main character in the scene. I think the way you accomplished that here is much more subtle than in the Faramir piece. Love it.

[Beelow]

complete2- Just simplify the shapes. What is happening that is different. The painting flows from bottom right to top left, in a diagonal, with an interruption of the flow being the woman with the bow and arrow which she is pointing to top right corner. That is where my eye rests. Nicely executed compositon in my opinion, take a look at it again. If you have to, take a piece of tracing paper and just trace basic noticable shapes to get a better understanding of what everyone else is seeing. Detail and technical execution is the icing on the cake. I hope I've offered a better explanation. Later homie.

[carnalizer]

Hesitant to speak up here since I'm full of respect for your work mr Giancola and you are clearly a house god here. But since this is the internet, I can and so I will; This painting is too demanding to look at. Many of your paintings are so full of detail that it feels like I'm working when looking at them.

Take this for what it is; honest feedback being most well meaning. That said, each of those shields is spectacular and if I could, I'd cut it up with one shield a piece and hang them all over my apparment. Boy, if I could hang your "Red Sonja" on my wall, I wouldn't need any other painting for the rest of my life.