EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 11 © 2015 The Book Palace (96 pages PAGES in Full edition)

to nibble at his time. As he reflects ruefully, it was not like that when he first entered into the world of illustration in 1993 when he could devote ten hours at a stretch to his painting. Giancola’s artistic odyssey is both fascinating and instructive. He was born Daniel Giancola in 1967 and raised in Colchester, Vermont. From an early age he displayed a passion for drawing {his parents still have art dating back to his First Grade class) and as his interests grew and multiplied he would use his love of drawing as a way of processing the themes that were occupying his attention. His passion for history has been a constant, but growing up in the 1970s he was swept up by Star Wars and, science fiction movies, constructing model kits and dioramas, and creating artwork so that every fibre of his being was invested in the world of imaginative adventure. Similarly his love of comics saw him creating new legions of super-powered heroes and when he fell under the spell of role-playing, Dungeons and Dragons and Traveller provided fuel for the creation of aliens, mages and mystics to inhabit worlds complete with maps for them to navigate within. At the end of his High School studies, Donato enrolled FACING PAGE: 'St. George and the Dragon'. Oil on panel, 24" x 30", painted in 2010. ABOVE: 'The Tower of Cirith Ungol'. Painted in 2012. BELOW: Gandalf in 'You Cannot Pass', 2007.