Don Maitz

                                         Don Maitz Biography

My desire to be an artist has been a lifelong ambition. At thirteen I took up the challenge offered by Norman Rockwell who appeared in advertisements from the Famous Artists Correspondence Course printed on the back of comic books, “If you can draw Bambi and this pirate, we can make you an artist.”. Subsequent to enrollment, not only had I drawings published in comics where the ad appeared, I became a foremost painter of pirates, creating the Captain Morgan Spiced Rum character.

From 1971-1975 I attended the Paier School of Art and studied with Ken Davies, Rudolf Zallinger, Leonard Fisher, Dean Keller, and others. I graduated at the top of class. The faculty arranged a trip to the Brandywine River Museum to see works of N.C., and Andrew Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and Maxfield Parrish whichy helped to inspire a career of imagination and adventure.

 Several hundred of my paintings were reproduced by mass market publishing firms, I created art in five national campaigns for the Captain Morgan Spiced Rum product and commissions for National Geographic. I’ve done concept art for two animated motion pictures and illustrated stories by Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Ray Bradbury, and many others.  Awards have been presented by the Society of Illustrators, and ones my field has to offer. I’ve had paintings juried into the Annual International Marine Art Exhibition at the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT with one receiving an Award of Excellence.

 After years living in Connecticut,  I was invited to the Ringling School of Art  in Sarasota, FL as a visiting guest instructor.  I served one year, returned to Connecticut, connected with my future wife, and married - again returning to Sarasota, FL, where we settled. Deviating from the footsteps of those illustrators traveling to paint the experience of the West, I decided when not on assignment, to produce art inspired by sea rovers that represent European western expansion to Florida and the Caribbean. This led to maritime museum exhibits and Signature Artist status amid the American Society of Marine Artists.

I share in a long history of creating works of Imaginative Realism, whose dramatic art is embraced by artists who have visualized mythical creatures, angels, biblical heroes, and characters from legends and literature since mankind picked up a brush. In 1980, I helped organize aninitial exhibit of fantastic art at the New Britain Museum of American Art.  The popular exhibit broke attendance records.  Since, this art form appeared at many other other venues and galleries with exhibitions featured in American Artist and Art Connoisseur magazines. In 2012, eighty seven of my imaginative works hung in four museums simultaneously.

 

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.