The Celebration Art Show will bring together an incredible roster of talented artists, most of whom have contributed to the overall look, feel, and atmosphere of the Star Wars galaxy through their work for the movies, books and comics in the Expanded Universe, and for licensed Star Wars products worldwide.

Fans attending Star Wars Celebration IV, May 24-28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, can look forward to a display of works by almost 50 artists, inspired by the rich pallet of 30 years of Star Wars. Browsers can search among works that reflect individual styles, and will be sure to find just the right pieces to add to their collections.

Artists in the Celebration Art Show are each offering a limited edition print that will be for sale only at Celebration IV. Many of the artists will also be attending Celebration Europe in July as well. While some will offer the same print at both shows, but with the different show logos, some are creating new works for each event.

Here is just the very first list, a first peek at the art and the artists who will be featured at Celebration IV. Look for more updates on starwars.com, to include the almost-50 artists who will be exhibiting!

Allison Sohn is a recent addition to the Star Wars family of artists. Working as a sketch card artist for Topps, Allison was asked to add her renderings of the much-loved characters from Star Wars: A New Hope to their 30th anniversary set of collectible cards. You can see more of Allison's work on the Topps sets Lord of the Rings: Evolution and Lord of the Rings: Masterpieces, as well as on the Upper Deck VS gaming system, for the soon to be released DC set "Worlds Finest". See more at her website here.

"The Princess" by Allison Sohn: It takes four stormtroopers to wrangle everyone's favorite, feisty Princess in this striking piece by Allison Sohn, a refreshing contrast to traditional Star Wars art. Sohn utilizes a great use of the color white, a far cry from the oft-seen fields of stars and spaceships.

Although his original career goals included both becoming bionic and joining the Rebellion against the Empire, Russell Walks eventually decided that his destiny did lie along another path, and chose art school over adventure. Since beginning his career as a professional illustrator in 1992, Walks has created art based on licensed properties for clients including Lucasfilm, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Marvel, while his award-winning children's-themed work has appeared in a variety of books and magazines. Walks is also a successful painter; his personal work has won both regional and national acclaim, and hangs in private collections throughout the world. Walks currently lives in Montana, where he spends his days drawing, painting, and counting himself lucky that he actually gets paid for doing what he loves.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Both trilogies are very different yet very much the same. Russell Walks' stunning new piece illustrates the common ground between both sets of films. They both had lovable heroes and powerful villains, Knights and Princesses (ok a Queen but close enough!).

Cat Staggs joined the Star Wars family in 2004 illustrating over 130 cards for the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith set. The highly-collectible artist sketch cards brought Staggs into the Star Wars fan forefront and she quickly took on other projects including a Celebration III exclusive print, drawing tutorials, and Halloween masks for the kid's section of StarWars.com. She's also been featured in the Lord of the Rings card sets Evolution and Masterpieces for Topps cards and for Rittenhouse Archives, the Complete Marvel Avengers, and the up-and-coming DC Legacy card sets, as well as the soon-to-be-released Worlds Finest VS trading card game with Upperdeck. See more at www.airbrushcat.com.

"Spirit of '77" by Cat Staggs: Who wouldn't want to enlist in the Rebel Alliance after seeing this great piece by artist Cat Staggs? In a piece that harkens back to World War II recruitment posters, Luke charges out of his X-wing after completing yet another daring mission.

Grant Gould has worked on several popular card sets, including Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars 30th Anniversary, Lord of the Rings: Evolution, Lord of the Rings: Masterpieces, Marvel Heroes: The Complete Avengers, and DC Universe: Legacy. Gould has also created kids' drawing features on starwars.com. In 2007, readers will be able to find Grant's art in a variety of new publications, including comic books, role-playing games, and new card sets. See more at www.grantgould.com.

This piece by Grant Gould shows just how Star Wars has lasted so long. By reinterpreting our favorite characters he has taken the familiar and made it something new. With almost fifty artists at Celebration IV, collectors are guaranteed to find fresh and exciting new takes on old friends.

Brent Woodside, also known as Nihm, is a freelance illustrator and writer. The standard theme for his work is Sci-Fi or Fantasy, but he has been known to draw just about anything.

This richly-colored piece depicts clone troopers deploying under an appropriate blood-red sky. Someone is in for excitement. Will it be battle droids are could it be Jedi?

Terese Nielsen entered the comic book field in 1992, illustrating superheroes for numerous collectable card sets. Soon to follow were fully-painted comics for Marvel, and covers for Topps' Xena the Warrior Princess and Dark Horse's Star Wars line. In 1996, Wizards of the Coast caught wind of her work and she emerged within Magic the Gathering, to date illustrating over 140 images for the world-famous game. Terese has painted covers for computer and video games, working for every major gaming company in the industry. Her work can also be found on numerous book covers. Having amassed 15 years of knowledge and experience, Terese is currently developing educational materials that teach artists important aspects of technical skill, creativity and business development. Terese now resides in Temple City, California with her partner and their four teenagers.

Fanboys get in line! Terese Nielsen captures both the elegance and rugged attitude of our favorite Senator. The rich color and use of light pushes this illustration to another level. Even the beautiful Padmé never looked so good.

Tom Hodges has been drawing Star Wars since he was five years old, but it's only been since 2004 that Lucasfilm has actually paid him for it. While he has no shot at getting paid retroactively for those other years, he is happy to be in the position he's in right now. More of his work, Star Wars and NON-Star Wars can be found at his website. Tom resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife Terri, son Logan and their seven cats (no... we're not joking).

One of the reasons so many people identified with Star Wars was the core of its story, which told of a young Luke yearning to get off the farm and find adventure. While we all know how that story ended, this piece by Tom Hodges captures a brief chapter as Luke gazes off into the sky. Little did he know he would soon not only travel the galaxy but save it as well.

Steve Anderson has been in the art business for over 20 years, and has been an official Star Wars artist for the past 13. His first Star Wars projects involved puzzle and calendar art for Hallmark Cards. Since then, as a freelance illustrator, Steve has created artwork for the Lucasfilm Licensing style guides for prequel Episodes I, II, and III, and for the original trilogy. Steve has also created numerous book covers for Random House, including the covers for Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, Labyrinth of Evil, The Approaching Storm, Survivor's Quest, and Tatooine Ghost, to name just a few. Steve's art has also appeared on game box tops, action figure packaging, and on more than twenty puzzles for Hasbro Games. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, three kids, and a golden retriever.

This is one of the most kinetic pieces of the show. You can almost hear the saber's hum in Steve Anderson richly-colored rendering of Anakin and Vader. You might want to use an extra nail to keep this secured on your wall.

William O'Neill might have become an official Star Wars artist on Topps Star Wars: Heritage, and Revenge of the Sith card sets, but he has been an unofficial Star Wars artist since 1977, when, on the morning after seeing A New Hope, he was drawing X-wings and Wookiees. William has gone on to become a professional illustrator and writer. His freelance resume includes: Fox Television, MGM, New Line, Jim Henson Productions, Inkworks, Hanna-Barbera, Cross-Gen, Image Comics, and Island Pictures. William, with his lovely wife Jan, co-own Hurricane Entertainment, where he co-created the popular comic books Violent Messiahs and Chassis. As a solo writer, William has written screenplays and the acclaimed comic book series, John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles. He is currently writing Odyssey for BlueWater Productions. See more at www.HurricaneC.com.

On the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, Jedi Aayla Secura will "Kill Sith"!: Thirty years ago there were not many strong women as heroes in the movies. Princess Leia changed that, and cleared a way for many more strong feminine heroes. Jedi Master Aayla Secura is one of those and in this piece by William O'Neil she is ready to do battle.

	Celebration IV Art Show Exhibit Hall HJ Los Angeles Convention Center Thursday, May 24 -- noon -- 8:00 PM. Fan Club Members Only Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 25 - 27 -- 10:00 AM -- 7:00 PM Monday, May 28 -- 10:00 AM -- 4:00 PM Please check starwars.com/celebration closer to the show for a list of more artists who will be displaying and selling their work in the Celebration IV Art Show!