DIWM MENTORS GALLERY
DRAW IT WITH ME MENTOR GALLERY
Welcome to the DRAW IT WITH ME Mentor Gallery! We initially started DIWM as a simple collection of drawing and painting tutorial videos designed to teach, inspire, and entertain. But we soon came to realize that we also wanted to build an international community of many of the world’s best young artists, and provide a platform for them to not only learn, improve and showcase their work, but also receive international attention and recognition for it.
Below are a few of our current mentors and presenters, and their portfolios. But there are many more that will be jumping on board very soon to add their knowledge, skills, and expertise to our growing library of fun, educational and entertaining content library. Thank you for stopping by to show our professional mentors and talented members some love! Feel free to peruse, look around, make a purchase in our store, or just hang out (we don’t penalize people for loitering).
Brian C. Hailes, the creator of Draw It With Me, is also the award-winning writer/artist of the illustrated novel, Blink, two graphic novels, Dragon’s Gait and Devil’s Triangle, and the children's picture book, Skeleton Play. Other titles he has illustrated include Heroic: Tales of the Extraordinary, Passion & Spirit: The Dance Quote Book, Continuum (Arcana Studios), as well as McKenna, McKenna, Ready to Fly, and Grace & Sylvie: A Recipe for Family (American Girl). Hailes has received numerous awards for his art including Winner of the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future contest out of Hollywood. His artwork has also been featured in Infected By Art.
Heather’s paintings are the product of decades of observation of people, environments, animals and textiles. Themes in her work include religious symbolism, fantasy realism, equine and wildlife, and bold reworking of Disney characters. Her art has gotten the attention of USA Today and the LA Times, garnered contracts with Disney Fine Art and Fantasy Con, and received international recognition and awards from respected organizations such as Lucca Comics & Games, Art Renewal Center, Artist’s Magazine and Spectrum, among others.
Over the past 20 years Howard has worked in the video game industry as an Art Director, concept artist and freelance illustrator. For much of his career he has painted dragons and trolls or scenes from science fiction. His work can be found in products from Dungeons and Dragon’s books, World of Warcraft cards, Magic the Gathering and Star Wars. He has studied art in Italy, France and most recently at the Grand Central Academy in New York. He has recently combined these experiences to switch gears and expand his subject matter to create inspirational pieces in the style of some of his favorite old masters: William Bouguereau, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, and John William Waterhouse.
For more than 40 years, Paul has been an active illustrator and professional artist, producing captivating imagery for some of Hollywood’s biggest names. He has perfected his craft through numerous publications, gallery pieces and commission projects. Through his timeless composition and proven technique he has set himself apart as a premier artist within the filmmaking industry. Take a look at a few of his selected works, and see if you can recognize any of the exciting film projects that make up his subject matter.
Kraig is a successful sculptor who has mastered a range of genres from figurative, to contemporary, to portraits. This flexibility has made his work recognized and sought after in different spheres of influence. His contemporary work is rich with symbolism and meaning. His figurative work pushes the viewer to see and feel. Kraig’s sculptures have been shown in national and international exhibitions, and his work is located in collections throughout the world. He has been commissioned to sculpt portraits and monumental works alike for many clients including universities, municipalities, foundations and corporations.
Gina is an American fine art and portrait photographer based in New York City. Her conceptual images feature magical settings like fish in balloons, levitating objects, light bulbs on the beach, and hundreds of flying birds. Her work has been embraced by numerous authors, exhibitions, and publications (and she is also one of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet). She effortlessly connects with other artists and makes them feel at home in her presence. Like many accomplished photographers, she chooses humility over pride. Because of this, it’s impossible not to admire her. And her work speaks for itself.
Kaitlund Zupanic is an upcoming artist whose work has recently been showcased in Spectrum, Infected by Art and many other noteable publications. Through her artwork, she shares her flare for the fantastic, a vibrance for life, the story of adversity, survival and starting over. Hardships and tribulations have defined her own life experience as she has had to face and overcome many challenges, including a severe car accident that left her body broken. Yet she has persevered and continued on to become a well-respected and inspirational artist in her own right. Kaitlund is featured in Draw It With Me’s “The Raven”
Eleora Glasheen is a cartoonist extraordinaire, comic illustrator, caricature specialist, game developer, and all around artistic professional. Her full-time artistic services include: personalized caricatures, freelance commissions, weddings, corporate events and more! She is a regular at downtown figure drawing sessions, and is always honing her stylized craft. Her friendly and optimistic personality rubs off on all who meet her, and it shows in her work. Eleora is featured in Draw It With Me’s “Caricatures of an Archeress”