Paul Bielaczyc
Paul Bielaczyc currently lives in Nashville, TN, where he co-owns Aradani Studios, www.aradani.com, with his brother Mike. Aradani Studios focuses on two unique aspects, fantastical artwork and fantastical costuming. They are both deeply involved with the creation of art and the production of prosthetics. While Paul has been drawing and sketching for as long as he can remember, he wouldn't be an artist today if it weren't for his brother's dream.
Back in 2002, as he was finishing up his undergraduate degree, Paul's brother decided that they should open a booth at the annual Renaissance Festival and sell their artwork. They figured it would be a nice break from the norm, and could actually spend time together working and making art. They never would have imagined it would grow into the business it is today.
For the next two years Paul was preoccupied with graduate school and was unable to focus on the business or his artwork. In those two years Paul only completed one new piece of art. However once he received his Master's in Computer Science, Paul dedicated himself to Aradani Studios, forsaking his degree as many of his professors described it. Starting in December 2004 he became a [full time] artist.
While Paul had worked with charcoals for quite some time, he had always planned to make the jump from charcoal to oil paints. However after Nightmare won its first award in January 2005, he decided that charcoal was his preferred medium and has continued to develop and refine his skills with it. Due to the need for color work, Paul has also begun working more with pastels, as they work essentially like charcoal.
As for the fantastical costuming aspect of Aradani Studios, Paul and his brother are the sculptors and manufacturers for a variety of latex prosthetics. They focus primarily on different styles of elf ears and orc/goblin masks. What began as a small portion of their business has now become a great way to support themselves while they get their names out as artists.
Awards Received:
Ominous Night
Chattacon '05, 1st Place Amateur
MidSouthCon '04, 1st Place Amateur
Birth
Conglomeration '05, Best Monochrome
Nightmare
Chattacon '05, 2nd Place Professional
Chattacon '05, People's Choice
MidSouthCon '05, 1st Place Professional
Dragon*Con '05, 1st Place Amateur
Dragon*Con '05, Best 2-D Amateur
The New Masters of Fantasy Volume III, Best Action
