Romas Brandt Kukalis (also known simply as Romas; born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

) is a Canadian-American painter best known for his work as a cover artist for books of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

, including the

Animorphs ''Animorphs'' is a science fantasy series of children's books written by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, writing together under the name K. A. Applegate, and published by Scholastic. It is told in first person, with all ...

Chronicles Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * ''The Idhu ...

. Kukalis also illustrated seven cards for the ''

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a tabletop and digital collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast (now a subsidiary of Hasbro), ''Magic'' was the first ...

'' collectible card game. Three were created under the name Romas Brandt Kukalis and five were created using only Romas for the Portal set.

Personal life

Kukalis was raised in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, and trained at

Paier College of Art Paier College (formerly Paier College of Art) is a private for-profit art college in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Previously located in Hamden, Connecticut, Paier is the only independent art college in Connecticut. History In 1946, Paier was e ...

(from which he was graduated in 1978) in

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant". The population was 61,169 at the 2020 census. History The peaceful tribe of Quinnipiacs were the first residents of the ...

. He now lives in

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

. He is married to Allison Barrows, a cartoonist, author, and advertising illustrator. They have a daughter and a son.Feldman, Claudia (April 23, 2001). "'PreTeena' nears teens in new Chronicle strip", ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''.

References

External links

* * 20th-century American painters 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century Canadian painters American illustrators American male painters Artists from Connecticut Artists from Toronto Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian illustrators Canadian speculative fiction artists Fantasy artists Game artists Living people People from Keene, New Hampshire Science fiction artists Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American male artists 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists {{US-painter-stub