Happy New Year 2015!

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year from J. Anthony Kosar and Kosart Effects Studios! 2014 was a good year but there are lots of BIG things coming from Kosart in 2015, with a HUGE announcement coming Next Week! Thank you for all your continued love and support, and keep following for more adventures in Art and FX from #TeamKosart !!

Here is a look back at 2014,... Time Flies... DON'T BLINK:

Father Time make-up by J. Anthony Kosar and Kosart Effects Studios.  Modeled by Bear McGivney.  Photo by Bear McGivney.

KOSAR Returns to FACE OFF

J. Anthony Kosar won Face Off Season 4.  His student Dina Cimarusti won Face Off Season 7.  Now watch Kosar's return to Face Off on Season 8 as a Coach / Mentor to a team of new contestants!  On Tuesday's beginning January 13th, 2015 at 9/8c, tune into the Syfy Channel to watch Chicagoland's celebrated FX artist back on television, lending his teaching techniques to helping a new crop of contestants better their work for the judges.  Though Kosar will not be competing on this season, it will be a fun season with outstanding make-ups and 15 extremely talented contestants.  He is joined by Face Off Season 2 Chamption Rayce Bird and Face Off Season 3 Finalist / Season 5 Champion Laura Tyler.  So be sure to continue rooting for #TeamKosart #TeamAnthony and don't miss this new season of Face Off!  Set your DVRs now!

HERE IS THE NEWEST SEASON 8 TRAILER:

Face Off images © courtesy Syfy.
J. Anthony Kosar portrait photo by Bear McGivney.
All rights reserved.

FREE MONSTER MASK GIVE-AWAY

Enter the FREE Kosart Effects 2014 Halloween MONSTER MASK GIVE-AWAY!  4 Masks, 3 Social Networks, 4 Chances to WIN!  One Mask raffled off each week from now until Halloween!  Masks Signed by Mask Designer / Sculptor / Face Off Champion J. Anthony Kosar!  Win LION on Twitter ending 10/10.  Win SATANIC PANIC on Facebook ending 10/17.  Win BITE YOUR TONGUE on Instagram ending 10/24.  Win GARGOYLE on Facebook ending 10/31.  Here is how to enter in 3 simple steps:

RULES:

STEP 1:  Follow / LIKE page @KOSARTeffects on Specified Social Network: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

STEP 2:  Like / Favorite this Contest Image Post on Specified Social Network.

STEP 3: Share, ReTweet, or RePost Contest Image to your Friends / Followers and be sure to Mention @KOSARTeffects and Tag post with #KosartMaskGiveAway

Winners selected at random by searching the tag #KosartMaskGiveAway on the specified Social Network.  One winner selected from Twitter on 10/11 for Lion Mask.  One winner selected from Facebook on 10/18 for Satanic Panic Mask. One winner selected from Instagram on 10/25 for Bite Your Tongue Mask.  One final winner selected from Facebook on 11/1 for Gargoyle Mask.  You can enter ALL four contests on all three social networks, or you can just enter one. It’s up to you!

Masks designed and sculpted by J. Anthony Kosar for Zagone Studios.
Masks © J. Anthony Kosar & Zagone Studios, LLC. 

Kosar's work in IMAGINATIVE REALISM Show

I have my mini "Smokey Joe and the Inferno" in the IMAGINATIVE REALISM art show at the Yellow Springs Brewery in Yellow Springs, OH that is opening tomorrow Saturday October 4th from 6-9pm! This awesome show is curated by Travis Lewis and contains the work of a collective of amazing artists including Travis Lewis, Allen Williams, J Anthony Kosar, Fred Fields, Mark Poole, Chris Seaman, Dan Chudzinski, Alessandra Pisano, Tom Taggart, Matt Tisdale, Jacob Walker, Aaron B Miller and others.  If you are in Ohio this weekend, be sure to visit! Show runs through November 2nd, check it out!

Art in Imaginative Realism image © their respective artists.  

Mini Smokey Joe and the Inferno © J. Anthony Kosar.  

Photos of Mini Smokey Joe and the Inferno by Bear McGivney.

Kosar at Son of Monsterpalooza

Visit Face Off Season 4 Champion and award-winning artist J. Anthony Kosar at Son of Monsterpalooza this weekend, September 12 - 14, 2014 at the Marriott Hotel & Convention Center in Burbank, CA!  Come by and see some of Kosar's recent work, and check out his new airbrush, the Kosart PHANTOM Pro, available at the show.  For more info, visit www.monsterpalooza.com

Photos by Bear McGivney, J. Anthony Kosar, & Kosart Effects Studios LLC.

Kosar on Face Off JUDGE MATCH

Don't miss Chicago's own Face Off Season 4 Champion J. Anthony Kosar back on your television screens to help the judges compete against each other on Face Off JUDGE MATCH!  Watch Glenn, Ve, and Neville go head to head with the help of Face Off's finest! Who's team will Kosar be on, and which judge will reign victorious?  Find out in the most EPIC Face Off Challenge this Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014 at 9/8c on the Syfy Channel!  Tune in and set your DVRs, and get ready for the challenge the fans have been wanting to see for 7 seasons of Face Off!  Watch the Face Off Judge Match trailer below, and see how the tables have turned!

Also, Tweet LIVE on Twitter with J. Anthony Kosar during the 9/8c airing of Face Off Judge Match this Tuesday, September 2nd!  He will be taking of the Face Off Twitter handle, so be sure to follow both Anthony @KOSARTeffects and Face Off @FaceOffSyfy and Tweet LIVE with the Season 4 Champion and get some of your questions answered!! 

 

From Syfy.com/FaceOff:

Get ready for the Face Off event to end all Face Off events. On Tuesday, September 2 at 9/8c, Syfy debuts Face Off: Judge Match, an all-new original special where Face Off judges Ve Neill, Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page go head-to-head in a special make-up competition for their charity. Yep, the three judges are about to be judged themselves - and only one will win.

There's a twist, though. For the competition, the judges will pair up with two team members -- a former Face Off all-star contestant, as well as a former champion -- to create a pair of living chess pieces designed to appear in a colorful, stylized fantasy film.  In keeping with Face Off’s current season theme of “Life and Death,” one of the characters must be pure and pristine while the other is evil and twisted.

Joining the judges to assist in the competition are all-stars and fan favorites Roy Wooley (seasons 3 and 5), Miranda Jory (seasons 2 and 5), Wayne Anderson (season 4) and previous Face Off champions Conor McCullagh (season 1), Anthony Kosar (season 4) and Laura Tyler (all-star from season 2 and season 5 champion).  At stake is a cash prize for the winning judge’s favorite charity and $5,000 for each of their team members.

It all culminates with astounding creations, making for a tough decision.  Multiple Academy-Award winner and world-renowned Hollywood makeup artist Michael Westmore (Mask, Star Trek), along with Academy-Award winning makeup artist and Season 7 judge Lois Burwell (Lincoln, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse, War of the Worlds) have the difficult task of choosing a champion. McKenzie Westmore will host.

Ve Neill is competing for A Window Between Worlds, a non-profit organization dedicated to using art as a healing tool for survivors of domestic violence. Glenn Hetrick is competing for The North Shore Animal League, the world’s largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization. Neville Page is competing for The Orangutan Foundation International, dedicated to the conservation of wild orangutans and their rainforest habitat.

Images © Syfy and their respective owners.  Judge Match text from Syfy.com/FaceOff

KOSART ATELIER at FLASHBACK WEEKEND

Be sure to stop by the Kosart Atelier booth at Flashback Weekend THIS WEEKEND Aug 8-10, 2014 for enrollment information for Chicagoland's premier School for Entertainment Arts, founded by Face Off Season 4 Champion J. Anthony Kosar!  We are the only Make-Up FX School to have 2 students competing on Face Off, Dina and Scott!

Click HERE for more information on Flashback Weekend!

 

RIP Dick Smith

RIP Dick Smith. You are a legend and you have inspired countless generations of makeup and FX artists. Thank you for sharing your passion, creativity, and ingenuity in this field. Your legacy will live on through each of us you have inspired! I am so thankful I was able to meet you at Monsterpalooza 2014. Thank you for the inspiration!

Face Off Episode 507 Critique

As we are gearing up to watch tonight's episode of Face Off, here it my critique from last week's episode 7 of season 5 on Syfy.com.

In this episode, the one and only Mistress of the Dark, Elvira drops in for the Foundation Challenge in which artists had to create a younger, hip, edgy version of herself.  I feel that Roy was the only one who met all aspects of this challenge, and I fully agree with his victory.  I also really liked Laura's foundation challenge, and felt is was beautiful and should have been on the cover of a fashion magazine, or walking down a runway.  Even though I really liked Laura's, there was nothing "Elvira" about it.

For the Spotlight Challenge, the contestants had to create a character that can live within an iconic art movement: Cubism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Expressionism, or Constructivism.  This is a challenge based on what I love: Art History.  Personally, I feel about half of the artists did not understand the particular art movement they selected.  For instance, Alana's character could fit better in the world of Cubism rather than Constructivism.  Eddie selected Expressionism, yet chose Van Gogh, a Post Impressionist to influence his character design.  The victor, Laura, understood her art movement, and created a stunning character with bold shapes and colors that looked like it walked right out of a Cubism painting.  As an artist, though I do not like Cubism or Picasso, I loved Laura's character and would say that it is my favorite character make-up Laura created in both her Season 3 and thus far Season 5.  I also want to note that I really enjoyed Frank's character as well, and felt his not only should have been in top looks, but would have been a close second to Laura's make-up.  Frank's character not only fit the theme and his art movement, but he was the only artist to create a background attached to the model, so that his make-up was not just a figure on a blank white canvas, it was a full composition filling the frame.

Overall, I feel most of the make-ups were amazing, and it was a fun challenge to watch.  I definitely wish we had a challenge like this on my season!

Be sure to send in your viewer questions for me to answer during these web critiques on the Face Off Facebook page HERE, and watch me critique all the odd numbered episodes of Season 5, returning to critique episode 9.  Also, during the episodes all season long on Tuesdays at 9/8c, tweet LIVE with me on Twitter @KOSARTeffects to show our support of the contestants and cheer them on as we all watch together!

Face Off Episode 505 Critique

As we prepare to watch tonight's episode of Face Off, here is my critique of last week's episode 5 of Face Off Season 5 on Syfy.com.  In this challenge, artists had to create a "Mother Earth Goddess character inspired by their own mother."  They brought me back as a special guest star to not only introduce the challenge with some advice, but also mentor the contestants with Mr. Westmore and McKenzie during the walk through.  I was honored to be asked back on the show for this reason, and it was so cool to see everything from the other side and spend some time with Mr. Westmore and McKenzie.  I think that overall everybody did an excellent job with this challenge, incorporating nature in a beautiful way, I only wish the contestants tried bringing the prosthetics onto the face a bit to transform the models face rather than just relying with the model's already pretty features.  Congrats to Laura and Lyma, both in top looks with Laura taking the win, and both of them listened to our advice.  Watch the vlog critique here:

Be sure to send in your viewer questions for me to answer during these web critiques on the Face Off Facebook page HERE, and watch me critique all the odd numbered episodes of Season 5, returning to critique episode 7.  Also, during the episodes all season long on Tuesdays at 9/8c, tweet LIVE with me on Twitter @KOSARTeffects to show our support of the contestants and cheer them on as we all watch together!

 

Top pic of McKenzie Westmore and J. Anthony Kosar by Nicole Wilder-Shattuck, courtesy Syfy.

KOSAR at IlluXCon Sept 11-15

Come visit me at IlluXCon in Allentown, PA this week at the Allentown Art Museum, and see one of the largest displays of original Fantasy / Imaginative Realist art in the world!  I can't tell you enough how honored I am to be included in this elite group for international artists, the best of the best!  I have my sculptures, including Boaris Frankenswine, and Smokey Joe & the Inferno, and others, as well as a few new pieces.  I have been juried into the Main Show that takes place all week, one of 4 sculptors selected (one of 54 artists total).  There is also the Weekend Salon, which includes 36 additional artists on Saturday and Sunday, and Friday night Showcase featuring 80 additional artists for one night.  I have only ever seen pictures of this show, but to see it in person and the scale of these original paintings and sculptures is overwhelming and inspiring.  My tables are between the amazing Thomas Kuebler and Vincent Villafranca.  I just got here yet I can't wait to get back in the studio to create, I am so inspired!  As fantasy art and special effects go inspire the creation of each other, today, Thursday September 12, from 1pm to 4pm, I will be doing a Make-Up FX demonstration, transforming Orbit Art Driector Lauren Panepinto into an Evil Sorceress before she does some portfolio reviews!  More info on IlluXCon HERE

Pictures courtesy IlluXCon, and copyright their respective artists.

Get Ready for HALLOWEEN the KOSART Way!

Art of Make-Up FX
Saturdays: Sept 21, 28, Oct 19, 26
Enroll by Monday Sept 9

Art of Mask Making
Sundays: Sept 22, 29, Oct 20, 27
Enroll by Sunday Sept 22

 MORE INFO AT

www.KosartAtelier.com

Face Off Episode 503 Critique

Here is my critique for the 3rd episode of Face Off Season 5 on Syfy.com.  Overall, it was an excellent episode, and though I wasn't impressed with the Foundation Challenge compared to week one, there were some stellar make-ups in the Spotlight Challenge, creating "Whimsical Characters inspired by Mother Goose brought to Modern Times."  While I felt a few of the make-ups were a bit too scary to call "whimsical," everyone did a great job with this challenge.  Watch my vlog critique here:

 

Be sure to send in your viewer questions for me to answer during these web critiques on the Face Off Facebook page HERE, and watch me critique all the odd numbered episodes of Season 5, returning to critique episode 5.  Also, during the episodes all season long on Tuesdays at 9/8c, tweet LIVE with me on Twitter @KOSARTeffects to show our support of the contestants and cheer them on as we all watch together!

WHERE AM I NOW? - Feature from Syfy.com/faceoff

Syfy.com/faceoff did a "Where Are They Now?" feature on me.  You can see it by clicking HERE or check it out below... And be sure to visit Syfy.com/faceoff after every odd numbered episode on Season 5 to watch me critique the make-ups, as well as answer your viewer questions, for their "Winner Tells All" webisodes! 

Check out the feature online at:
http://www.syfy.com/faceoff/article/where_are_they_now_anthony

Content from Syfy.com/faceoff

Top Face Off Image by Nicole Wilder-Shattuck for Syfy.

Small images from "LAST STAND" by Anna Perry courtesy JoshuaHoffine.com

 

KOSAR at MASK-FEST Sept 6-8

Visit me at MASK-FEST held at HORRORHOUND Weekend from September 6-8 in Indianapolis, IN at the Marriott Indianapolis East Hotel.  I will have several of my masks and sculptures for sale, as well some prints of my artwork available.  PLUS, traveling with me is my one and only BOARIS FRANKENSWINE!  So come and meet me and Boaris in person! I am really excited to attend my first ever Mask Fest.  There will be many amazing artists in the industry there as well, including the amazing Jordu Schell, Ed Edmunds, Robert Kurtzman, and my Face Off friends House, Becky Ingram, and Autumn Cook.  Hope to see you there!

 

Mask Fest poster image courtesy Mask Fest.

Boaris Frankenswine Design & Sculpt © 2011 J. Anthony Kosar & Kosart Effects Studios, LLC.

Boaris Frankenswine Photo by Bear McGivney.

Face Off Episode 501 Critique

Syfy has asked me to critique the episodes of Face Off, along with Season 2 winner Rayce Bird.  I will be doing all the odd numbered episodes.  As we gear up to watch the 2nd episode of Face Off Season 5 tonight at 9/8c to support Eric Zapata and the rest of the contestant's here is my critique of last week's Season 5 premiere episode.

Be sure to tune in tonight to Syfy.com/faceoff after the show to hear what Rayce has to say about the second episode, and be sure to tune in next week to hear my critique of episode 3!

Also, during the episodes all season long on Tuesdays at 9/8c, tweet LIVE with me on Twitter @KOSARTeffects to show our support of the contestants and cheer them on as we all watch together!

KOSAR in SPLASH 13: The Best of Watercolor!

I am so honored to have had my painting Never Known, Never Forgotten accepted into SPLASH 13: Alternative Approaches.  This annual features the best in watercolor, and includes so many beautiful works of art from so many talented watercolorists!  They say that painting with watercolor is the hardest form of painting as it is an unforgiving media.  Mistakes can not be covered or painted over like other forms of painting due to the transparent quality of watercolor, and once the white of the paper is lost, you can never get it back.  Most watercolorists allow the water to do its thing.  As a hyper-realist, I like to be in complete control of the watercolor.  I feel that controlling watercolor is like controlling the uncontrollable, and that challenge is why I love it!  Thank you to F+W Media, and North Light Books for this honor! 

Be sure to get your copy today HERE.

Never Known, Never Forgotten

by J. Anthony Kosar   14"x11" Watercolor & Gouache on Illustration Board

Looking for a gift for the holidays?  If you are interested in purchasing a pack of greeting cards or a limited edition, signed and numbered giclée print of Never Known, Never Forgotten, please email studio@kosarteffects.com

Never Known, Never Forgotten © J. Anthony Kosar.

Splash 13 © F+W Media.