by Donato
Sometimes I like to shift gears and make the focus of my paintings something other than a human, figure, or singular object. It is always a challenge to weave an image about something as vague as ‘time’ or ‘paranoia’ into a commercial commission AND avoid placing a large face/head/body front and center to fulfill this concept. Luckily I had a very open agenda while I was concepting for the 2015 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar two years back which allowed for me to explore these deviations.
Below are two images which touched on these non-figurative issues for me. My thanks once again to David Stevenson, the art director of Random House, for giving me the freedom to chase these fleeting moments inspired by George R.R. Martin’s words.
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| Little Birds – Varys 30″ x 30″ Oil on Panel 2014 |
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| North of the Wall 30″ x 30″ Oil on Panel 2014 |
I'm not taking down the calendar, new year be damned 🙂
I was so excited to finally get my hands on a copy of your calendar a few months ago–practicality not even a consideration, as we all know the real value of the thing is in the art rather than the function that any computer can replicate. I think we're all thankful they got you for this calendar and gave you so much freedom to explore concepts in the ASOIAF universe.
Thank you Bruce and Nick! It was a real pleasure to dive into a series of 12 paintings unified by a theme. Looking forward to creating another such series with my robots!