Arte Zolla

Boston-based artist and illustrator.

04/25/2026

Some things take a long time to make, but I think this one will be worth it.

04/04/2026

Here’s the second illustration I created for ’s Wise’s Historical Fencing series—this one inspired by Francesco Fernando Alfieri’s 1640 manuscript, La Scherma (The Art of Fencing), gaudy costuming and all.

I had a lot of fun leaning into the theatricality of this one and pulling from the historical source material. I included some of that reference in the image so you can see a bit of what inspired the final piece.

What’s your favorite detail?

04/04/2026

I had the pleasure of working with Derek Wise to illustrate a few diagrams of plays from his new book, Wise's Historical Fencing. This one shows a longsword play (thrust through extended sword with the find) done in the style of Fiore de Liberi's "Fior di Battaglia (The Flower of Battle)." The second image is an example of the source material. It was a fun little piece to do, and on the original I used actual gold foil for the crown, as was done with the actual manuscripts (although it doesn't show well in a scan).

03/30/2026

A Sphinx I was inspired to paint by a random photo of a Shearwater from . Sometimes inspiration comes where you least expect it!

03/22/2026

What started as a watercolor portrait study slowly turned into a little worldbuilding exercise—and then into an experiment with Daniel Smith iridescent and duochrome watercolors. I had a lot of fun exploring how those shifting colors catch the light differently at different angles. It’s always exciting when a study turns into something more playful and unexpected. Sometimes experimenting like this is exactly what helps spark ideas for future paintings.

03/22/2026

This anniversary gift commission was such a fun piece to work on. One of the biggest challenges was that I only had head-on reference photos, so I had to imagine and build out the side view as I painted. This one was created as a custom Magic: The Gathering card, inspired by Rin and Seri, Inseparable, which felt especially fitting for a piece celebrating two beloved companions.

Watercolor, with some minor digital touchups.

03/22/2026

Another recent commission piece in watercolor, created for a custom Magic: The Gathering card. This dog portrait was such a joy to paint.

03/18/2026

I don't always do fantasy art. I've had a few commissions over the past month for sentimental pet- and family-themed pieces (though they were all intended for use as art on custom Magic: the Gathering cards). Here's one of a recently departed pet and its favorite stuffed pickle toy. Done on Arches Cold Press paper with watercolor/watercolor pencil, and ink.