Announcing new scheduled Friday feauture and 1st - Luis Royo

I’m starting a new scheduled feature on this blog. Every Friday I will alternate between posts on my favorite artists (old and new) and posts on a historical site or event.

Art and history have always been my two other passions, besides writing, for as long as I could remember having conscious thought. And in all honesty, I think that my love of art and writing go hand in hand with each other. A writer paints with words. An artist tells a story with pencil and paint. It’s as simple to me as that. A great writer, like a great painter, will evoke certain emotions and will make you experience a whole different world with their work.

Who knows, perhaps these will inspire some of you as well.

For the first post in the series, I am excited to present one of my absolutely favorite fantasy artists – Luis Royo.

Luis Royo

Luis Royo, born in Spain in 1954, has achieved the mastery of technical drawing, as well as spectacular realistic fantasy painting that few in his genre have. The worlds of his work are dark and sensual. His etherial lights and mysterious dark contrasts are absolutly materful.

The theme of beauty and the beast is prominent in much of his work – the study of beautiful strong women and terrible monsters. The scenes range from violent to sensual to the interweaving of both.

His women never seem like damsels in distress. They take control, their power apparent in their posture and their eyes.

My own attraction to Royo’s work mirrors my interest in dark urban fantasy and paranormal romance as a writer. Interestingly enough, Luis Royo has in fact painted illustrations for some books in the genre, most notably the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton.



Anita Blake



His collections include

Tatoos

Women

Malefic

Dreams

Prohibited Book I, II and III

Evolution

Conceptions I, II and III

Wild Sketches

Dead Moon   

                                    

Dead Moon, in fact, is a collaborative work with Romulo Royo and is a story in words, as well as in art.  It is a tragic tale of love with an apocalyptic ending.

I cannot put many of my favorite paintings and sketches by Luis Royo here because of the adult nature of them (lots of nudity) but if this piqued your interest, I would definitely advise checking his work out. For more information go here.

But I have to put a disclaimer here - *much of Luis Royo's work is very explicit and graphic. You have been warned! :)

Now...any advice on what I should call my new Friday feauture? Any thoughts would be appreciated.