Don Maitz

Don Maitz

@donmaitz.bsky.social

Artist of sea rovers, myths, science fiction, Captain Morgan and the fantastic. https://paravia.com/DonMaitz/

233 Followers 47 Following 33 Posts Joined Dec 2024
7 hours ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz. Seagulls fly over waves near a rocky beach.

My most recent work: Casperon Surf is an 18"x24" oil on canvas work of a local shoreline. This was a great 'palette' cleanser after a more intense assignment.

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2 days ago

Hey, @donmaitz.bsky.social !

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2 weeks ago
YouTube
Designing Captain Morgan: Interview with Don Maitz YouTube video by Gold and Gunpowder

I recently sat down with Gold and Gunpowder for a wide-ranging interview about art, pirates, copyrights, and my classic Captain Morgan artwork.

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2 months ago
A Christmas card by Don Maitz. Front cover says "Santatize the Laundry" and shows a female elf next to air-dryed elfware.

Here is my annual twisted Holiday Card that I send out to friends and family. Wishing you all the best this season!

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3 months ago
Original art by Don Maitz.

My latest plein air was painted in Rothenbach Park, recently reopened after being a holding ground for hurricane debris.

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4 months ago

Both of my paintings have progressed from Semifinalist to the Finals! Winners will be announced in January 2026.

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5 months ago
Evening Shore, original artwork by Don Maitz depicting ocean waves on a beach at sunset. Friend or Foe. Original artwork by Don Maitz depicting a mermaid encountering a shark.

Pleased to learn that two of my paintings are semi-finalists in the 18th International ARC Salon Competition, with the winners to be announced on Jan 5, 2026.

"Evening Shore" is a semi-finalist in the Landscape category, while "Friend or Foe" is a semi-finalist in the Imaginative Realism category.

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5 months ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz. A man stands before a metallic console in surroundings like a space station. Beams of light emanate from his hands, outstretched to either side.

And the finale in this project that lasted an eternity... Here is the wrap-around cover art for a new edition of End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov, coming soon from Phantasia Press.

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5 months ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz. Shows a woman with arms raised, walking down a narrow path that emerges from concentric triangles.

Here's the 3rd interior oil painting I created for a new edition of End of Eternity, titled "Embracing Eternity".

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5 months ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz. A balding man smoking a cigarette looks at a futuristic console. On the screen is a man, visible from the shoulders up and surrounded by colorful textures.

The second of four paintings I created for an edition of End of Eternity (Phantasia Press): "Changing Eternity".

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5 months ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz, showing a man standing in space and stepping through a series of triangles towards a bright light.

Here's the first oil painting from my journey through eternity for Phantasia Press: "Stepping into Eternity".

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5 months ago

Yes. I do have legs... This was photographed from the balcony in the studio. The art is arranged resting on a table.

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6 months ago
Don Maitz gesturing at 8 new oil paintings on a black backdrop.

Switching gears from wizards and scallywags... I recently completed 4 oil paintings for an edition of The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov (Phantasia Press). I started with smaller acrylic color studies that served as a guide for the final art. Close-ups of each painting to follow next week!

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6 months ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz. A party of 4 adventurers confer near a trap door. In the background, a lit tower illuminates a castle.

A new painting to share... "Secret Tunnels of Marok" is a 24” x 18” oil on panel work. The art is based on a game and intended for a book cover: www.paravia.com/DonMaitz/art...

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6 months ago
Original oil painting, Picaroon, by Don Maitz. Depicts a pirate wearing a fancy hat at the bow of a boat looking back.

My oil painting, Picaroon, has just been juried into the 42nd Schaefer International Marine Art Exhibition at The Mariner Gallery in Newport, RI. It will open on September 18 and run through October 10.

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6 months ago
Original artwork by Don Maitz. Oil on canvas painting depicting a pirate on a beach. In the background are three other pirates. A ship sails on the horizon.

Here's a new painting for my Pirates Ashore collection... I started painting "Shore Leave" at Venice Beach as a plein air effort with the idea of using the scene as a background / foreground setting for some pirates to be added later: www.paravia.com/DonMaitz/art...

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8 months ago
3 preliminary sketches by Don Maitz: Beach Attack, Monsters & Magic, and Gods of Dawn.

Three of my preliminary sketches are available for auction through Heritage Auctions until July 9 -- two acrylic sketches and a watercolour in excellent condition: comics.ha.com/c/search/res...

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8 months ago
Preview
Legendary and Fantastical tales at Mazza Museum presents 11th Enchanted Brush exhibit

@jannywurts.bsky.social and I both have works on display in the Enchanted Brush exhibit at the Findlay's Mazza Museum in Findlay, OH. You can see "Arthur in Battle" and "Arthur Knights Lancelot" in the exhibit through August 29th.

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9 months ago
YouTube
Creating Fantasy Art | With Don Maitz and Jeff Brown YouTube video by Nerd Level Rising

Jeff Brown and I recently chatted about fantastic and imaginative art with Jake at Nerd Level Rising.

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10 months ago
Blackbeard's Flotilla, an original oil painting by Don Maitz. It was inspired by the 300th anniversary of Black beard's 1718 blockade of Charleston Harbor and a visit to Bald Head Island where Black Beard's blockading ships passed by on their journey north.

My oil painting, Blackbeard's Flotilla, has been juried into the online 2025 Art of the Sea Exhibition sponsored by the National Maritime Historical Society and the American Society of Marine Artists. It will be exhibited and on sale between 6/1 - 7/1: seahistory.org/art-of-the-s...

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10 months ago
YouTube
Crafting Book Covers that Tell the Story: A Conversation with Artist Don Maitz YouTube video by Philip Chase

Attention indy book community, cover designers, anyone art oriented interested in creating maximum impact on a book cover, while making the image 'tell the story' you want to present. A MUST VIEW VIDEO on Philip Chase's channel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqhS...

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10 months ago

I recently joined @philipchase90.bsky.social to talk about creating book cover artwork that effectively conveys the essence of a story -- no AI, no interchangeable stock images, just human creativity and years of study.

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11 months ago

Recently got back from the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts. Here's a photo of a panel I was part of.

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1 year ago
Evening Shores by Don Maitz

My work, "Evening Shores", is juried into a local exhibition at the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA) show, taking place March 7-21 at Palm Avenue Fine Art ,in Sarasota, FL: palmavenuefineart.com

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1 year ago
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Happy Valentines Day

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1 year ago
Friend or Foe, original artwork by Don Maitz

My oil painting, Friend or Foe, was a part of the American Society of Marine Artists' first online exhibition in 2024. Less than 100 works were picked from 450 submissions. This artwork can be purchased as a giclée print from my Studio Shop: shop.paravia.com/don-maitz/im...

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1 year ago
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On my easel today: oil painting.
🐸
#art #wip #artsky #oilpainting #hoptoit

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1 year ago

I've had the privilege to work with artist @donmaitz.bsky.social on many projects at @grimoakpress.bsky.social. My favorite is his work on my own fantasy novel, The Dark Thorn. He painted the below spread as well as illustrated 15 black and white interiors.

The book will release this year.

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1 year ago
In a grassy field stands a leafless tree with limbs bowing gracefully left. Bathed in golden light, bare branches twist and spread like blood vessels against pale sky. Shadow falls across a trunk mostly stripped of bark, and several splintered limbs lie lifeless on the nearby ground. Extending in a line from this gnarly detritus, mist rises off well-manicured lawn as if the ground itself is exhaling. A transparent sphere containing a single flame floats low across the land while a small stream meanders, falling directly behind the sphere as if guiding it along an intended path. Barely visible in a lemony wash that defines soft rolling hills, a white starburst—possibly another sphere blinking out—sits far afield, tinting the bushy topped trees that line the background distance.

THE CROSSING (1997)
Oil on Canvas - 30" X 60"

The uncertainty of and inescapable attraction to the concept of life after death. 1/2

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1 year ago
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"A bad king revels in his importance. A good one hates his office. He spends himself into infirmity quashing deadly little plots to make power the tool of the greedy."
-Arithon s'Ffalenn.

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