Disney Fine Art

"Learning to cultivate our imagination is the fuel we need to be creative. Encouraging others to imagine through my paintings is a large part of my own art." Born and raised in a small Midwestern community, Arienne spent her childhood immersed in creative outlets and dreaming of making art for large audiences Arienne has been passionate about art and storytelling since her childhood. She grew up with a massive whiteboard that took up a whole wall in her house. There she would constantly sketch and create ideas. Encouraging her creativity, while she slept her parents would doodle something on the board and when she awoke, she would add to their doodles, creating her first works of art. Eventually, Arienne began filling sketchbooks as she took part in every creative opportunity she could find. From pottery to photography and everything in between, Arienne tried her hand at it all, discovering herpassion was visual storytelling. With her greatest lesson being "Success comes from hard work and absolute belief in your dreams", she went on to study art in Massachusetts at Montserrat College of Art & Design, graduating in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration.It was in college she learned not just how to create beautiful art, but where she honed in on WHAT she wants  to do with her art - bring story and art together to create compelling experiences for her audience. Arienne believed there would be no better way to do this than to work for Disney, pursuing her dream to be a Disney Fine Artist. Having worked for Disney as both a Decorator and a Character Painter, she is honored to now have that dream realized and be a Disney Fine Artist. Arienne's work is characterized by luminous colors and idealized settings used to create emotion and convea story. Known for her use of color and light to produce a sense of dream-like quality in her paintings, her techniqueis compelling in experiencing her artwork.Her intensity for life & insatiable curiosity feed her creative process and bring a unique perspective to her paintings

Don Williams, fondly known as Don “Ducky” Williams, has been a character artist for the Walt Disney Company for more than 30 years, and is especially known for his wonderful renderings of that irascible Donald Duck. Although he paints all the characters, Donald Duck is his favorite, probably because of his temperament. Drawing Disney characters is more than a job; to Ducky, it’s a way of life. Like many people, he has been infatuated with Disney characters since he was a child. In fact, Ducky wrote his first letter to Walt Disney when he was just 10 years old and has always wanted to be a Disney artist or animator. “The Disney characters are more than characters - they are living, breathing personalities, and I enjoy capturing those personalities in my artwork,” says Williams. “The characters have to come to life on the page, and the only way to do that is to know the characters and their films inside out.” Although Williams artwork is reminiscent of traditional animation, he stylized his characters by adding shape and dimension. An observant viewer will notice that Don’s character have dimension, as opposed to flat color seen in animation. This subtle technique adds a sense of shape, life and personality to each painting, capturing the mood and spirit of the film as well as the characters. He is well known for painting the Fab Five character: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto, as well as the many characters from classic Animated Feature films, such as Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Bambi, and many more. Don’s work doesn’t stop at characters, he is passionate about meticulously hand-painting the backgrounds of those scenes, bringing those classic Disney moments fully to life. Don has contributed art and design work for countless projects for The Walt Disney Company, including billboards, signage, brochures, and art designs featured on buses. His work has been featured at Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Disney and Parks & Resorts. Those who have sailed on the Disney Cruise Line will immediately recognize Ducky, not only from his fascinating presentations on the cruise ships, but also from the special artwork he creates for new cruise itineraries. Ducky is particularly proud of one of his previous projects -- Tony's Town Square, the Lady & the Tramp themed restaurant on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, for which he created all the paintings, china, signage and more. You will also find his artwork at the main entrance to Walt Disney World.

Franco is an exclusively self-taught artist, who began drawing at the age of three. He has known ever since, that being an artist is the only creative outlet in life he desires. His grandfather created impeccable paintings of British and French history, this is unquestionably where Franco inherited his passion to paint. Initially, Franco favored drawing, Franco pulled inspiration from beloved painters such as Salvador Dali, Michelangelo, and da Vinci. as he formed a passion for surrealism. He served in the US Army from 2006-2010, with 101st Infantry, out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. During his stint in the army, he deployed to Iraq for 15 months. While overseas, he had to put his artistic passion on hold. However, upon returning in 2010, he picked up his paint brush, springing him forward onto his journey of becoming a fine artist. His artistic efforts focused on the fantasy genre, and of course, his long-time childhood love of Disney characters and storytelling. He dreamed of one day becoming a Disney artist and made that his greatest life goal. Now, a reality, he’s determined to create the most beautiful, classic Disney art, yet with a flare, which makes them only recognizable as a Jared Franco piece. “I’ve spent most of my life watching and studying Disney movies, and still do now. From my earliest memories I remember being truly inspired by the art and found myself watching entire movies over and over again -- admiring and studying the artwork. This passion drove me to create my own paintings,” says Franco. “I never imagined I’d be doing it for Disney Fine Art.”

"Learning to cultivate our imagination is the fuel we need to be creative. Encouraging others to imagine through my paintings is a large part of my own art." Born and raised in a small Midwestern community, Arienne spent her childhood immersed in creative outlets and dreaming of making art for large audiences. Arienne has been passionate about art and storytelling since her childhood. She grew up with a massive whiteboard that took up a whole wall in her house. There she would constantly sketch and create ideas. Encouraging her creativity, while she slept her parents would doodle something on the board and when she awoke, she would add to their doodles, creating her first works of art. Eventually, Arienne began filling sketchbooks as she took part in every creative opportunity she could find. From pottery to photography and everything in between, Arienne tried her hand at it all, discovering her passion was visual storytelling. With her greatest lesson being "Success comes from hard work and absolute belief in your dreams", she went on to study art in Massachusetts at Montserrat College of Art & Design, graduating in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration. It was in college she learned not just how to create beautiful art, but where she honed in on WHAT she wants to do with her art - bring story and art together to create compelling experiences for her audience. Arienne believed there would be no better way to do this than to work for Disney, pursuing her dream to be a Disney Fine Artist. Having worked for Disney as both a Decorator and a Character Painter, she is honored to now have that dream realized and be a Disney Fine Artist. Arienne's work is characterized by luminous colors and idealized settings used to create emotion and convey a story. Known for her use of color and light to produce a sense of dream-like quality in her paintings, her technique is compelling in experiencing her artwork. Her intensity for life & insatiable curiosity feed her creative process and bring a unique perspective to her

Born in Barcelona, Spain, raised in the principality of Andorra and part of a family full of gifted artists (her father is renowned painter Quim Bove) art has always been a way of life for Lorelay. Educated at the prestigious California Institute for the Arts, a school founded by Walt Disney to foster young creative talent, this exciting young artist has made an impact on the art and animation world almost immediately upon her arrival. After making her entry into the business as an art intern at Pixar Animation Studios, she quickly transitioned into her current role as a Visual Development Artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. As a visual development artist for Disney, her conceptual artwork has been extremely influential in the visual direction of films such as The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Winnie the Pooh, and Wreck-it Ralph. Lorelay is also known for providing the illustrations for the Little Golden Book The Princess and the Frog title, as well as Toy Story: Ride 'em Cowboy! Her work is also featured on the cover of The Art of Wreck-it Ralph. Her work is often compared to the work of Disney Legend Mary Blair, although Lorelay confesses that she did not become aware of Ms. Blair's work until her college years. Her own visual signature and style had already been well established for many years at that point, however, she finds the comparison flattering. "It's quite a compliment!" she says.

Michael Provenza has a totally original perception of nature and landscape. Provenza’s oil paintings reveal a successful blend of the old with the new – merging a realistic and remarkable dimensional quality with a surreal and magical environment – in a truly distinctive style characterized as Surrealist Pointillism. “Viewers of my work say they feel as if they can walk right into my paintings – they want to be there.” Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Provenza has lived, worked, studied, taught, and painted for more than 30 years. Inspired by his artist grandfather, Provenza began painting at age nine, pursued art academically holding a Fine Art college degree and continues to professionally create oil paintings as his life-long passion. Provenza has become a highly recognized and collectible artist both nationally and internationally. “My paintings are an exploration or journey that I’d like to take in a world that comes from my imagination with pieces of reality sprinkled in.” All of Provenza’s work invites you in to experience Life’s Journey – with a twist.

His style can be described as “Romantic Luminism” in which the subject he portrays go beyond just imitating a photograph but instead add a sense of timeless perfection to nature. Each painting starts out as a loose impressionistic idea. As the layers of paint are added the details come out. By the time the highlights are done the painting glows with light reminiscent of the Old Masters. From up close you can see the rhythm of his brush strokes but when you take a step back the eye blends them all into a harmonious tapestry of light, color and texture. Using photographs, videos and painting on site gives Walfrido endless subjects to paint but it is his imagination that unlocks the key to his style. Each painting plays upon the quality of light whether it is a romantic moonlight, a brilliant sunset, the sea caves of Kauai or the awe-inspiring glow of his signature “Lavascapes“. It’s as if each canvas is alive with the brilliant light of nature coming from within. Disney has always been a part of Walfrido's life ever since his family visits to Disneyland in the early 70's, watching movies in his youth and now as a parent himself taking his own family to Disney World on a regular basis. Working with the Disney art program has fulfilled an artistic dream in an ever going storybook career.

As a young child growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Edson enjoyed sketching and painting from a very early age, and eventually, through self-instruction, Edson grew to master various mediums: oil, charcoal, pencil, and airbrush, allowing him to demonstrate his talent in multiple forms. Shortly after moving to the United States in 1978, Edson established himself as an artist of the highest caliber, and quickly began to exhibit his photorealistic paintings and drawings in major cities throughout the country, and led The Orlando Modern Art Collection to honor Edson with the title of “Artist of the Year” in 2003. Believing that “beauty is essential to the well-being of the soul," Edson is known for his sensual representations of the female form, which has led to his works being published in popular magazines, such as The Artist's Magazine, where many of his pieces werefeatured in a special section on painting techniques. Recently, having spent a significant part of his life studying the masters (da Vinci, Michelangelo, Vermeer, Botticelli, etc.), Edson was inspired to create his own “Master Series”, merging the look of the old master paintings with New World women, and the resulting body of work has been praised as a breathtaking culmination of many years of expertly honed technique. And now it is time for Edson to focus his imagination and skillful hand on Disney Fine Art, a not so foreign subject to him: “My earliest encounters with Disney fairytales while growing up in Rio de Janeiro, came in the form of animated feature films like Snow White, Cinderella, or Bambi. The artistic impressions these films had on me were priceless and long lasting.”

Harrison got a phenomenal break. Fate smiled on me, as it had for my father, he says humbly. I got a chance to do some work on Star Wars. At this point, a tale of two Ellenshaws becomes the tale of two separate Ellenshaws, as this is where Harrison begins to really strike out on his own, away from his father's legacy. His work on Star Wars was so well received that he was asked to return to work on The Empire Strikes Back. By this time, having clearly carved a niche for himself, Harrison had no problem working with his father on Disney's The Black Hole in 1979. Harrison then went solo again to add his unforgettable touch to Tron, one of the most unique and visually stunning films ever, now a cult classic. After work on "Captain Eo," "Superman IV," "Ghost" and other films, a memorable year for Harrison was 1989, when he worked on Dick Tracy. The matte paintings were visually the star of that film, he recalls. And by then I was doing some fine art painting on my own. Up until this point I had been painting trees with black, gray and brown trunks and green leaves, he points out. And then I came across the Fauves, who were only in existence a few years, and their intense use of color. They had done something I really enjoyed and appreciated. So I began to paint far more colorfully than I had in the past. Today, I enjoy painting as much as ever and I enjoy doing things that are really colorful. The great thing is that now with the giclée process of making prints, you can match the colors perfectly. Harrison's work has been exhibited at the prestigious Hammer Galleries in New York, as well as galleries in London and San Francisco. Collectors Editions is proud to publish the works of Harrison Ellenshaw, in all their true, vivid color.

James Coleman - a name synonymous with sweeping skies, tropical rain forests, rich deep woods and silent deserts. The images created by this talented man continue to delight all that view them. James Coleman was born in Hollywood, California in 1949. As a youth, his creative abilities seemed to dominate his world. Though he lacked the athletic skills of his young friends, he more than made up for it with imagination and ingenuity. As a young man, his interest in filmmaking and fine art would mark the beginning of a long, successful career in animated films. Coleman began his career with Walt Disney Studios in the summer of 1969, when his mother, who had been working as a secretary with Disney since the Hyperion days, got him a job in the studio's mailroom. His big break came when he entered one of his paintings in the studio art show. Several of the Disney artists viewing his work, saw his potential and realized he had an untapped ability and encouraged him to go into animation background painting. Walt Disney Productions welcomed his creative energies. His first film, "Winnie, the Pooh and Tigger, too", sparked his interest not only in painting backgrounds but also in background design and color styling. After completing, "The Rescuers", his first feature film, he was promoted to Background Department Supervisor, a position he held for nearly seventeen years. During that time, he personally hired and trained a select group of artists, whom he would work with for most of his career at Disney. While at Disney, James styled and worked on twelve films and over thirty short subjects which included "Mickey's Christmas Carol", "The Fox and the Hound", "The Great Mouse Detective", "The Black Cauldron", "The Little Mermaid", and Academy Award-winning, "Beauty and the Beast". All of which came to life with James Coleman's background images gracing the silver screen. In 1991, after twenty-two years with Disney, James left to pursue a new career. He was ready to devote all of his time and talent to the love of his life, fine art. Today he continues to illuminate the art world with vibrant colors, gentle moods, powerful design and exquisite detail. Coleman works in oil, watercolor, gouache and pastel. His work is impressionistic and luminous. His pieces intrigue the eye and touch the heart. His paintings are warm, inviting and unique. A master of color, light and design, Coleman has become one of the most collected and sought after artists around the world. James Coleman pieces can be found in many fine, personal and corporate collections including that of the Disney family. Coleman is a naturalist and environmentalist who involve himself with the National Parks and other environmental organizations. He has been a finalist for five years in the Arts for the Parks competition. The contribution made by Coleman to the world of art over some thirty years, both in film and fine art, makes him one of the most collected artists in contemporary art. His work is represented by some of the most prominent and respected galleries in North America, the Orient and the Hawaiian Islands.

Artist Jim Salvati has a message for his students at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena: Even "normal people" can make it in the art world. "I'm a very regular guy; there's nothing fancy about me," says Jim, who grew up surfing the beaches of Southern California and went on to graduate from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in 1982. "I tell my students that you don't have to be extremely talented to make it. You can make it in life on passion and determination." Jim has plenty of those two attributes, and he most certainly has "made it" in the art world. He's been a prolific artist for movie studios and theaters, with a client list that includes Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Radio City Music Hall. He was the master illustrator and conceptual artist behind many of the memorable images and finished paintings associated with the "Harry Potter" films. He describes his style as "painterly realism", and his favorite subjects are people. Ask him about a painting, and he will tell you the subject's personal story.� Salvati sees his paintings as his portal into various cultures and different areas of society. "I like the connection between people and their culture," he says. "The different emotions, gestures, moods, environments, and style of people in my life and those that I cross paths with, all become part of my storytelling". For the past 22 years, he's been teaching at Art Center himself, a gig he's found just as rewarding and inspiring as painting. "I love teaching, and students respond to my style because I'm so down to earth," he says. Abyproduct of his years as an instructor is his strong connection to artistic diversity as well as a careful observation of the changing world of art and how art interrelates with technology. His experience and knowledge cross many boundaries into Print, Film, Animation, and the fine arts.

Michelle St.Laurent was born and raised in New Jersey, the oldest of four children in a large Italian family. At a young age, Michelle was inspired by Italian Renaissance painters Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. She began painting at the age of 6 and asked for a new paint set on every birthday. In the first grade she entered a poster contest creating a painting of all the Disney characters marching in a parade. The judges disqualified her because they could not believe she had done the painting by herself without tracing. Her disappointment fueled her determination to become an artist. Filling many sketchbooks by the age of ten, Michelle began working with pastels drawing portraits of singers and movie stars. She won first place in a local art show and her piece was displayed in the town's City Hall. Michelle made it her goal to become a Disney Artist when her family moved to Florida at the age of 16. She worked in the Magic Kingdom throughout high school then attended the Art Institute in Ft. Lauderdale, majoring in Advertising and Design. After gathering years of experience, Michelle was hired by Disney Design Group where she has spent the last ten years creating artwork for Disney's Theme Park Merchandise and special events. She trained, worked and was inspired by Disney legend Ralph Kent for the first 6 years. Michelle began painting for the Disney Galleries in 1998, and became a true Disney artist. Her talent evolved with each piece. "Through my paintings I aspire to recreate the classic Disney magic, which allows each of us to be a kid again. Michelle's work has been featured at Disney's Festival of the Masters, Epcot's Food and Wine Festival, Magic Kingdom's 999 Happy Haunts Event, Disneyana Conventions and Disney Cruise Line. Michelle now lives in Florida with her husband and daughter, where she spends time painting on their front porch. Her art feeds her life's passion and her family fuels her passion for life.

  In 2006, Mike Kungl was selected as an official artist of the Disney Fine Art program (published by Collectors Editions) and has built a loyal following of fans who love his fresh take on Disney. Beyond InfinityCombining his unique artistic style, which he has termed “21st Century Art Deco”, with classic Disney characters and stories, Mike Kungl has built upon Disney’s artistic legacy by applying his unique Deco twist his collection of Disney works which are renowned and collected around the world. Today, Kungl is among the world’s finest artists in the Art Deco tradition. His art can frequently be seen on television shows including Ashton Kutcher’s Beauty and the Geek series, CSI, Gilmore Girl’s and CBS’ Big Bang Theory.

Introducing the Collaborative Art of Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw. As a visual effects designer and filmmaker, Harrison Ellenshaw's work can be seen in such films as STAR WARS, TRON, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, CAPTAIN EO, DICK TRACY, and many others. He has also had a successful career as an artist with one-man shows of his paintings in London, New York, and San Francisco. Peter Ellenshaw has received five Academy Award nominations, winning the Oscar� for his stunning recreation of Edwardian London in the Walt Disney's classic, Mary Poppins. Throughout the years, Ellenshaw has sought to capture the drama and emotions of many different scenes. His work is represented in both public and private collections worldwide. He has received numerous honors and retrospectives including those by the American Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Film Institute of Chicago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the R.W. Norton Art Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana and has been bestowed the illustrious title of "Disney Legend." In their first creative collaboration since Disney's, "The Black Hole" (1979), Peter & Harrison Ellenshaw came together to create "We can Fly". Their first in a series of collaborative works celebrated the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney's, "Peter Pan". Their second piece was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," which according to Harrison, "was my introduction to Hollywood, at least to the Disney style of epic movie making. This was an exciting time, seeing my father involved in one of Walt Disney's most successful live action films."

ART THAT MOVES THE HEART Walt Disney was a man who had an amazing ability to inspire other people to remarkable creative achievements. Toby Bluth happens to be one of those shining gems of talent that to this day draws inspiration from the life and work of Walt Disney. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs then continuing with Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi, the first five feature length films to come out of Walt Disney Studios, according to Bluth, are the five gems in the crown of animation's royal history. Just as those five films marked Walt's grand entrance into feature length storytelling they, quite appropriately, set the stage for the first five limited edition giclée's in Bluth's Disney Fine Art portfolio. Infused with all the depth, texture and richness of Toby's original watercolors these fine prints will be enjoyed for generations, very much in the spirit of the timeless classics that inspired them. Technique and approach Creating the moment that you think you saw... is how Toby Bluth describes his approach in conceiving each one of his watercolor masterpieces. Believing that how one remembers a film is often different from the actual film itself, Toby paints what he perceives as the collective memory of a film experience and taps into the emotional essence of the story. Chiaroscuro, defined as the use of deep variations in, and subtle gradations of, light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for dramatic effect, is a key component in Bluth's work. The blue shaded undercoat or chiaroscuro effect, seen in this example of his work-in-progress, adds depth, life and warm and cool shadows to each scene Bluth invites us into. Toby also refers to this process as painting the light and the air. Fumado, a word which basically means smoky, is a term Toby uses to describe the notion that as things move away from you in distance or time, they get hazy and out of focus...much like our memory of events in our lives. He uses this principal as inspiration in how he composes his paintings, to draw focus (or lack of) to certain elements in his work. Background Inspired by the work of legendary illustrator Gustaf Tengrenn, whom Walt Disney recruited to work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bluth is passionate about his craft.

“It is my desire to create abstract work that is understandable to all who view it, while at the same time provoking thought, curiosity, imagination, inspiration, and conversation.” Tom Matousek is a San Francisco based, award winning artist, who began his artistic journey by studying cartoons as a child and in a short time, could draw almost anything from memory. “I have lots of memories of staying up late with my brother and friends, watching Creature Features and drawing anything we could get our hands on—the sports page, baseball and football cards, beverage cans and cartoon characters. I would stay in my room for hours creating my own cartoons. From the time I was a kid it was my dream to be a Disney artist.” His meteoric rise as a prominent mural painter soon landed his artwork in the homes of professional athletes, high-end restaurants, and at AT&T Park, home of three time World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants. These commissions soon drew the eye of San Francisco’s world renowned theater district, where Tom began a career in Set Design that ultimately led him, in 2010, to win a Shellie Award, the East Bay’s version of the Tony’s. This breakthrough in form and style led Tom to be named the artist in residence for the DDR Corporation, which sent him to a various cities around the country to create community art projects based on his unique style. In 2013 and 2014, he was the featured artist at the world’s largest chalk festival in Pasadena, CA. And shortly after that, At Art Basel in Miami Beach, FL, BMW unveiled their i8 concept car at Tom’s show, and he had the opportunity to present the highly esteemed artist, Romero Britto, with a portrait. Upon seeing Tom’s work, Britto, who is no stranger to people painting his image, remarked, “At least 500 people have painted my portrait. Yours is the most spectacular!” Most recently, Tom has painted for Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, former SVP of Google and current Softbank CEO, Nikesh Arora, and TOMS founder, Blake MyCoskie, in addition to countless portraits of celebrities, world leaders and global icons. With all of the famous faces to have graced Tom Matousek’s canvases over the years, it is only fitting that he now turn his deftly trained brush towards one of the most iconic faces in the entire world, Mickey Mouse, thus making his childhood dream of being a Disney Artist come true.

Through his unique marine life paintings, life-size Whaling Wall murals, sculptures, and photography, Wyland has inspired a new generation about the importance of marine life conservation. His company's mission of engaging people through nature-themed art and a more environmentally friendly lifestyle has led to strategic alliances with the United States Olympic Team, United Nations Environment Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Forest Service. His art instruction series for national public television "Wyland's Art Studio," is entering its sixth season and is currently seen in over 72 percent of public television markets across the United States. And, since 1993, his non-profit Wyland Foundation has set the standard for environmental outreach by teaching millions of families around the world to become caring, informed stewards of our ocean, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands. The foundation's National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation annually reaches residents in over 3,600 cities across the United States, its traveling clean water mobile learning experience has engaged and delighted more than half a million students in the last five years, and the Wyland "Water Is Life" National Art and Mural Challenge draws annual participation from schools in 46 states