Secrets
Product Description
by Luis Royo
NBM 1996
In the land of fantasy, we often find giants - those of muscle and might, cunning and sorcery. The powerful are victorious while the weak are vanquished. So, too, in the world of fantasy art. The giants come, stake out their turf, and dominate in a world replete with challenges. Those who endure are those with special weapons and strength. Luis Royo is an enduring giant.
The sheer artistic talent that Royo possesses is obvious from the instant one sees his work. At first glance, we see the customary Royo trademarks: a stunning human, male or female, in a fantastic setting. The bodies, usually toned to perfection, holding a weapon or not, clearly are poised for action. The faces of Royo subjects are so masterfully rendered as to label his characters "world class beauties". No one can challenge Royo's ability to paint.
Spend a moment with a Royo piece, though, and feel the magic begin. The characters' eyes act as magnets, luring us into its world. Often mesmerized by the power of a stare, we are perhaps brough into a world to which, reluctantly, we must go.
Here is where the Royo genius kicks in. On the surface, we see the subjects before us, but there is always the sense that many untold secrets are yet to be learned. We see this in the eyes - intense, foreboding, lethal. Sucked in by the beauty of the characters, we come closer, but, once we have entered their web, instinct warns us to be careful.
Royo gives us clues to the world into which we are drawn. The costumes and backgrounds link us with times and places. What he does not answer for us is our question as to the journey the character has made, or is about to make. This is the task Royo has artistically set for each of us. And, certainly, each of us will have a different perception. Thus, we each create our own fantasy, build our own plot, develop our own story. In effect, Royo has subtly drawn us, the viewers, into a partnership of creativity with him.
As we look throug Secrets and are amazed by the quality and beauty of his work, we notice how Royo, an artistic giant, leaves the secrets out there for us to discover.
- Hank Rose, Comic Images from the Foreword.
NBM 1996
In the land of fantasy, we often find giants - those of muscle and might, cunning and sorcery. The powerful are victorious while the weak are vanquished. So, too, in the world of fantasy art. The giants come, stake out their turf, and dominate in a world replete with challenges. Those who endure are those with special weapons and strength. Luis Royo is an enduring giant.
The sheer artistic talent that Royo possesses is obvious from the instant one sees his work. At first glance, we see the customary Royo trademarks: a stunning human, male or female, in a fantastic setting. The bodies, usually toned to perfection, holding a weapon or not, clearly are poised for action. The faces of Royo subjects are so masterfully rendered as to label his characters "world class beauties". No one can challenge Royo's ability to paint.
Spend a moment with a Royo piece, though, and feel the magic begin. The characters' eyes act as magnets, luring us into its world. Often mesmerized by the power of a stare, we are perhaps brough into a world to which, reluctantly, we must go.
Here is where the Royo genius kicks in. On the surface, we see the subjects before us, but there is always the sense that many untold secrets are yet to be learned. We see this in the eyes - intense, foreboding, lethal. Sucked in by the beauty of the characters, we come closer, but, once we have entered their web, instinct warns us to be careful.
Royo gives us clues to the world into which we are drawn. The costumes and backgrounds link us with times and places. What he does not answer for us is our question as to the journey the character has made, or is about to make. This is the task Royo has artistically set for each of us. And, certainly, each of us will have a different perception. Thus, we each create our own fantasy, build our own plot, develop our own story. In effect, Royo has subtly drawn us, the viewers, into a partnership of creativity with him.
As we look throug Secrets and are amazed by the quality and beauty of his work, we notice how Royo, an artistic giant, leaves the secrets out there for us to discover.
- Hank Rose, Comic Images from the Foreword.
