Don Maitz
 

Chances are you don't know him by name, but there's a possibility that you may have had a sip or 2 out of his most famous artwork. Don Maitz is considered one of the top 100 best living sci-fi/ fantasy artists, and is best known for creating the Capt. Morgan Rum pirate illustration for that delicious alcoholic beverage(no, I'm not getting paid to endorse that product:D). I met Don in the early 90s at a group celebrity artshow fundraiser(George Bush Sr. had an entry) that I had a piece in. He came up and told me I had one of the best pieces in the show. I thought he was just another drunk guest until I found out who he was. I have run into him, off and on, over the years, and usually bore him with the details of that evening. He is now considered a strong fixture in the Sarasota illustrator/cartoonist community.

His work will remind you of N. C. Wyeth's bold colorful illustration style, with a hint of Florida touristy print work thrown in. Check his site out at

http://www.paravia.com/DonMaitz/Version3/index.html

I remember Don Maitz when I first saw his work back in the late seventies. Did a lot of DAW covers. You can't judge a book by its cover but you can certainly buy it, and I bought a lot of books just for the Maitz artwork. Same with Michael Whelan and Paul Alexander. But Maitz was special. Thanks for bring him up.

You must be a mind reader, because I was thinking of doing a thread on him. I always liked the architectural qualities of his work. Feel free to beat me to the punch, if you want.

What are some of your favorites? At first glace at his website I'm not sure that his stuff is necessary my aesthetic but then again, the website's UI is so poor I can't be bothered to sift through it. :(

From a subject standpoint, I'm not that gaga about depictions of dolphins and pirates, but from a technical point of view, he is awesome, and his roots go deeply into the history of illustration. Still, there are a few pieces on the site that work, all around.