The Piano Lesson, an illustration by Raymond Bonilla, received gold medals from The Society of Illustrators New York and The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles.
Raymond Bonilla says he strives to create art that records his observations of the world around him. The larger world is taking notice of his work: Bonilla, a 2009 MFA graduate of the Academy of Art University?s School of Illustration, has received four awards from the pinnacle organization in his profession, The Society of Illustrators.
His illustration titled ?The Piano Lesson? won a gold medal in Advertising from?The Society of Illustrators New York for its 55th Annual Exhibition. The same piece won a gold medal in Entertainment/Visual Development for the The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles 51st Annual Exhibition. His work ?Dance Ensemble? (immediately below) was also accepted into The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles 51st Annual Exhibition in the Entertainment/Visual Development category. Bonilla?s ?High Plains Fandango? earlier was awarded an Honorable Mention in Entertainment/Visual Development for the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles 50th Annual Exhibition.
Dance Ensemble, an illustration by Raymond Bonilla, was produced for State University of New York Fredonia's Department of Theatre and Dance Performance. It became a poster for the play "Stop the World ? I Want to Get Off."
High Plains Fandango was accepted into The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles 50th Annual Exhibition.
The Annual Exhibitions are worldwide juried competitions. ?While thousands of artists submit to these competitions every year, only a small percentage of juried in, and from that only a handful receive awards,? Bonilla notes.
All three of the awarded pieces were for theater posters done for State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance Performance. For each of the productions, Bonilla worked with a director to design posters that capture the main themes of the plays staged by the department.
This illustration by Raymond Bonilla was used as a poster for the Shakespeare play "Macbeth." From SUNY Fredonia's 2012 theater season.
?For Piano Lesson, I worked with Director Tom Loughlin, with whom I also had worked on High Plains Fandango,? he says. ?Before submitting any sketches to the director, I read through the plays? scripts in their entirety. I find that the script really helps me understand the play?s ?feeling? and allows me to discuss the poster?s direction in a much more specific fashion.
This illustration by Raymond Bonilla was used as a poster for the August Wilson play "The Piano Lesson."
?I feel that my job as an illustrator is to not only to make an aesthetically pleasing image but to effectively capture a play?s multiple themes and condense them into a powerful single image. In the case of The Piano Lesson, written by the acclaimed playwright August Wilson, the play presents the story of a young man who visits his sister and uncle in Pittsburgh in 1936 determined to sell the family?s heirloom piano so he can buy the land on which his family had been slaves. After discussing the script and presenting a round of sketches with Tom, we both decided the poster should try to convey the story?s tense sibling relationship and the weight of the family?s scarred past, as manifested in the almost mystic family heirloom, a piano.
?In terms of the painting, I started with a line drawing using photographs I took of models and my approved sketch as a reference to plot out my compositional and shadow shapes. After this, I worked from large to small, background to foreground, until I achieved a finish that was appropriate for the piece.?
This illustration was used as a poster for the play "The Diary of Anne Frank." SUNY Fredonia 2013 theater season.
Bonilla also produces illustrations for fantasy and adventure games. This piece, titled Shady Tracker, was produced for the game "Call of Cthulhu," ? 2012 Fantasy Flight Games.
Bonilla was born in Queens, New York, and originally enrolled in the Academy?s School of Animation & Visual Effects in 2005 because he wanted to work in feature films and commercials. His interests changed after his first semester. ?I realized that what I really wanted to do was to paint narratively,? he says. ?With the encouragement of one of my early mentors, Tom Bertino, I transferred into Illustration. There I took classes with William Maughan, Craig Nelson, Zhao Ming Wu and John Rush, who endowed me with great knowledge and pushed my abilities beyond what I thought I was capable of. Without them and other great teachers such as Lisa Berrett, Jeannie Brunnick and Tomutsu Takashima, I wouldn?t have been able to accomplish all that I have since graduating.?
Raymond Bonilla is a 2009 MFA graduate of the Academy's School of Illustration.
Learn more about Raymond Bonilla?s work at his website and his blog.
Except as otherwise indicated, all images ? Raymond Bonilla
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