By Tammy Scileppi
After competing in an international contest, much like the “American Idol” of science fiction and fantasy illustration and writing, emerging Jackson Heights artist Luis Menacho found overnight fame when his striking, surreal illustrations were chosen as winners from thousands of entries.
Representing New York, Menacho was one of 12 illustrators and 12 writers who were honored in a ceremony held at a popular Hollywood venue last month, where the 29th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers & Illustrators of the Future Achievement Awards were presented to each winner.
More than 1,200 guests attended. Among them were best-selling authors, famous illustrators, celebrity performers and presenters such as, Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson), Marisol Nichols (“Scream 2,” “24”), and Aramis Knight (“The Dark Knight Rises,” “Crossing Over”). And thousands more were logged on to watch the event as it streamed live over the Internet.
Winners’ trophies represented combined cash prizes and royalties of more than $30,000.
One of Menacho’s evocative illustrations was paired with a winning story, “Twelve Seconds,” written by Tina Gower, and published in this year’s edition of “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future Volume XX1X,” which features an eclectic collection of stories written and illustrated by the winners.
John Goodwin, president of Gallery Press, which publishes the winning collection, said, “The main determining factor to win the illustrating contest is the degree of mastery of technique. By definition, an illustration is able to tell a story (or a part of a story), and so complements that story being illustrated.”
A School of Visual Arts graduate, Menacho, 24, was born in La Paz, Bolivia and has lived in his neighborhood for 17 years. He says he found out about the contest from a friend who won last year.
“I actually have no clue what made my work stand out,” Menacho said. “I have just been very fortunate that I was one of the winners, and got to experience this amazing adventure.”
After his mom gave him a Spiderman drawing to copy at age 10, the young artist started his budding career. Later on he added drawing family members and cartoon characters to his repertoire. Eventually, as his imagination soared and his love of science fiction grew, the illustrator’s paintings took on a fantasy-oriented dimension, so it’s no surprise that nowadays, he likes “the idea of being able to create other worlds. That way, I can show people a glimpse of what goes on in my head.”
Menacho credits Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard with helping him become a better artist.
“Mr. Hubbard has a very unique opinion on art, and he helped me look at artwork from a completely different angle,” Menacho said.
He now hopes to become a full-time illustrator and travel the world taking pictures for his future paintings.
When the new volume containing the winning entries is released, it will be available on Kindle, Amazon.com, BN.com and in major book stores.
To see the awards ceremony online, go to www.youtube.com/writersofthefuture.
