From "The Lord of the Rings" to Gericault¹s "Raft of the Medusa", Donato¹s influences encompass visits to the local game shops and pilgrimages to the greatest of museums. Donato recognizes the significant cultural role played by visual art and makes personal efforts to contribute to the expansion and appreciation of the science fiction and fantasy genre that extend beyond the commercial commissions of his clients. To those ends, the artist teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and appears at various institutions, tournaments, and conventions, from San Diego to Rome to Moscow, where he performs demonstrations in oil paint and lectures on his aesthetics.

Born in 1967 and raised in Colchester, Vermont, Donato moved to New York City to immerse himself in the inspired and varied art scene immediately after graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Painting from Syracuse University. Formative years in the early nineties were spent as the studio assistant to the preeminent figure painter Vincent Desiderio, and long days of study in the museums of New York.

Since beginning his professional career in 1993, Donato has illustrated over 300 novels and his list of clients has grown to include major book publishers in New York to concept design firms on the West Coast: notables include The United Nations, LucasArts, National Geographic, CNN, DC Comics, Microsoft, The Village Voice, Playboy Magazine, Wizards of the Coast, Scholastic, Simon&Schuster, Tor Books, Random House, Time/Warner, The Scifi Channel, Milton-Bradley, and Hasbro. Merits range from the Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators in 2008 to sixteen Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, two Artist Hugo Awards for outstanding professional work from the World Science Fiction Society, notable awards from the Art Renewal Center, and multiple silver and gold medals from the juried annual Spectrum: The Best of Contemporary Fantastic Art.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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