Romas Kukalis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Romas Burnell Kukalis is an artist born in Toronto, Canada, raised in Connecticut, and trained at Paier College of Art (from which he was graduated in 1978) in Hamden, Connecticut. He is best know for his work as a cover artist for works of speculative fiction. He currently is expanding his protraiture and fine art portfolio. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire, and is married to Allison Barrows, a cartoonist, author, and advertising illustrator.

Romas graduated with honors from Paier College of Art in New Haven, Connecticut in 1978. Directly after graduation, he went immediately to work for many book and magazine publishers and advertising agencies in New York City. Romas has illustrated a variety of subjects for such diverse clients as TV Guide, Readers Digest, Red Herring, Omni, Marvel Comics, the D.C. Comics Batman Masters Series, Union Carbide, Seagrams, Hasbro, The Bradford Exchange, The Danbury Mint and many more. Romas has been featured in Science Fiction Age and Advertising Age magazine and on the Central Connecticut State University “Pioneers” television series featured on Connecticut PBS.

Some of Romas’s best known sci-fi and fantasy covers include Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series, Anne McCaffrey’s The Rowan series, and the wildly popular Chronicles specialty books related to Scholastic Books’ Animorphs series.

In 2002 he completed sixteen paintings for the Harry Potter card series with Wizards of the Coast in conjunction with Warner Brothers Studios.

Romas has exhibited his paintings in numerous one-man shows throughout New England. His work has also been featured at the Society of Illustrators and the Atrium Gallery in New York City, The University of Maryland, The Museum of American Art in Connecticut, The Brandywine Fantasy Gallery in Chicago, Central Connecticut State University, and The Sharon Arts Center. He has been a participant in sci-fi/fantasy conventions where he has consistently won numerous awards, including the 1991 World Fantasy Award. In 2004 he won a bronze medal at the Illustration West 36 competition in Los Angeles. He is represented by several agents in charge of second rights printing of his paintings throughout Europe and Russia.

After creating monumental and heroic figures in his bookcover art for more than 25 years, he added portraiture to his considerable portfolio. His aim is to bring a larger-than-life feeling to his new commissions. He painted U.S. Representative Charles F. Bass in 2004 and Governor Craig R. Benson in 2005.

He is currently working on a number of portrait commissions including the four daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kasper of Walpole , NH. His latest of 1st Lieutenant Demere Kasper, currently stationed in Iraq, is presented here. In 2006 he will paint retired USN JAG Captain Robert Kasper.

He has also introduced his "Figure in Nature" series. The spiritual or supernatural beings in these paintings are based on characters that are found only in Lithuanian and Celtic folklore. They exist in beautiful, serene, natural settings and the New Hampshire landscape is very reminiscent of those ancient settings. Romas plans to follow these studies on larger canvasses with mythological and allegorical themes. He is also working on a series of paintings for fine art giclee reproductions for his print company, ROMAS Fine Art Prints, LLC.

His fine art work is represented by So-Oh Fine Art Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska.