Anne Stokes: Fantasy Made Real

Anne Stokes is a very talented British illustrator, whose precise drawings and careful painting give an almost photographic quality to her art.

Pixel Art: Retro Art For The Future

by Jaeden

Though not a much popular form of art, and one some think is a relic from the past, Pixel Art, is actually a very complex form of digital art, and can be surprisingly beautiful.

Michele-lee Phelan: Faery Worlds

The Australian Michele-lee Phelan is a very talented artist, who specializes in Pagan and Mythology pictures. Though she is 40 years old, she has been a professional for only 5 years. She is an example that we can always improve our lives and make our dreams come true, and also of how giving in to our fears can keep us from achieving our goals.

Camille Rose Garcia: Weird Beauty with Social Criticism

The Lowbrow American artist Camille Rose Garcia is responsible for some of the most creative and intriguing alternative dark art out there. She has recently released an Alice In Wonderland book with her illustrations, which give a fresh acidic twist to the classic tale.

Though she graduated from Art school, for the first few years Camille Rose Garcia didn’t want anything to do with art, preferring to join a punk rock band. But then after seeing works by the Clayton Brothers and Mark Rydens, she decided to start all over, as theirs styles were similar.

She and other alternative artists from Los Angeles define the Lowbrow style, which is an art movement that started in the late 1970’s, which have a lot of influence of comics visuals, street culture, punk rock, and other subcultures.

Describing her way of doing art, Camille Rose Garcia said: “I think I have always approached art making in the same way as a lot of my favorite bands.

“Bands like The Clash and the Dead Kennedy's make this really rad music that in some cases sounds really fun, but still has a social commentary…

“I always wanted to do art that people could relate to but also carry some social relevance. Like in art school it wasn't really about commentary, or if it was, it was really boring, so I really just wanted to create art that was not only super fun to look at, and if you’re 5 or 15 and hated art your still could like, and relate to it and understand and would still carry that whole social political commentary, which is kinda the same approach that a lot of my favorite bands were taking.” [1]

Camille Rose Garcia really has some strong points of view about present society. Commenting on global warming, the break of economy and other current problems, she had some provocative thoughts to share:

“To me it just seems that things are getting worse and worse faster and faster. As far as the whole machine of keeping people scared, they don’t rebel if they are scared, it’s just part of the control mechanism.

“Then there is all the stuff that is real. I don’t really think all the terror warnings are real, but the global warming is real, the huge deficit is real, the end of oil is real, all those things are real. But the terror alerts, I don't know how much of that is real and it’s an easy way for our leaders to blame them.

“I just think, on a very basic personal, spiritual level if every person would take some responsibility, ya know, as far as being cool with others and not being an asshole. That’s the only real revolution that I think is possible at this point.”

Besides having worked as a free lancer illustrator for magazines, she has published three books: The Saddest Place on Earth, (Last Gasp, 2006), The Magic Bottle: A BLAB! Storybook, (Fantagraphics, 2006) and Tragic Kingdom (Last Gasp, 2007). She also has works in permanent collections of LACMA and the San Jose Museum of Art.

Below are three of her artworks. Visit her site for more.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Rose_Garcia

http://www.hifructose.com/the-blog/494-behind-the-scenes-with-camille-rose-garcia.html

Camille Rose Garcia Official Site

A World of Fairies: Selina Fenech

Selina Fenech is a very talented Australian illustrator, who specialized in pictures of fairies. She has always had an interest in mythical creatures, and as a child loved illustrated fantasy books.

A professional artist since age 23, Selina Fenech had her artworks sold all over the world, and published in books and magazines. In her site, her beautiful illustrations can be acquired as posters, stationery, t-shirts and other products.

Her working medium is mainly watercolor and acrylics on paper, but she has also used other media such as inks, pencils and even digital painting.

Selina Fenech describes her passion for her work on her website: “I want to live my life like it's a fairy tale, and I want my artwork to make other people feel the same. I love that for a person of any age my fairies can bring back the magical memories and feelings of adventure from their childhood. I hope that they also create new memories and dreams of magic!

“As an artist, I paint because of a true, driving need to create beauty and magic. It is an inner need which I fulfill by putting brush to paper. But there is no magic there until it is shared, no joy to be found in the forms and colours until it is seen by another.” [1]

She has also published several articles on drawing and painting techniques, which are available on her site.

Here is a selection of Selina Fenech’s artworks. Visit her site for more.

Selina Fenech’s Official Site

Phillip Straub: Pushing The Limits Of Concept Art

Phillip Straub is a very talented illustrator, with over 16 years of experience in the games, film and publishing industries. Presently he has been working as concept artist for Warner Brothers, and he has already worked for other big companies such as DC Comics, Mattel and EA.

As one of the founding members of the CG Society, Phillip Straub is responsible for judging in illustration competitions. He said that when he does that “the most important aspect in an image to me personally is originality in concept. I’m drawn to images that have a strong idea/story and images that play with metaphors or symbols. Now, with the advent of digital technology technical proficiency has new meaning- and while there are myriad of technically rendered images out there because of the great range of tools, many have little soul.” [1]

And that’s one of the things he tries to accomplish in his works, Straub focuses on invoking an emotional response from his images through composition, color, light and subject matter.

He takes inspiration from several different artists like “the Hudson River School painters - Church and Bierdstadt, orientalists like Gerome, Alma Tadema, and Bouguereau, and Michael Whelan.

As a Concept Art teacher, Phillip Straub says he gets “a great joy sharing the knowledge I’ve tried to gather over the years with others. Really, there are very few things that I find more rewarding than helping someone grow as an artist or even as an overall individual.“

He is the author of an amazing graphic novel called Utherworlds, whose pages can be viewed here. In a recent interview Phillip Straub has described it:

“The basic idea is – All thought is alive – each hope, fear, and memory is a part of the whole we call the universe. Every living creature contributes in their own unique way to the balance of positive and negative energy in the world. This energy is channeled to the Realms of Nightmares and Dreams, a visual manifestation of all thought energy that is located far in the depths of the universe.

“For eons a balance has been maintained between the positive and the negative but, the balance has shifted and the natural order has been disrupted. Sentient beings have lost their way and have given into the temptation of negative thought. Hope, empathy, and truth are being challenged by the growing forces of greed, hatred, and lust. War, global climate change, and industrialization grow with each passing day unchecked. It is true – the universe has reached a tipping point. A time of no return is nearly upon us all. Those who are open – those with true presence and a belief in hope are called upon to reclaim and restore the balance.”

Below there is a selection of his works, the first two are from the Utherworlds novel. Check his site for more.

http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/utherworlds/showcase.php

www.philipstraub.com/

Arnold Böcklin: Gothic Paintings For Inspiration

Arnold Böcklin was a Swiss painter; known for his symbolistic paintings with gothic themes.

He was born in Switzerland in 1827; and had to stand up to his father in order to chase his dream of becoming a painter. After attending art school in 1845; he went on a grand tour of Europe; as was the custom then; visiting Brussels, Antwerp, Switzerland and Paris.

Arnold Bocklin lived in some of the most important cultural cities of the period such as Weimar; Florence and Rome. He was keen on Greco-Roman art; and took most of his inspiration from it.

He had strong opinions about his craft; such as:

"Just as it is poetry's task to express feelings, painting must provoke them too. A picture must give the spectator as much food for thought as a poem and must make the same kind of impression as a piece of music..."

"Painting should pervade the soul in the same way, and as long as it does not do this it is nothing more than a brainless handicraft."

I've selected three of his pictures, which you can see below. For more, visit the sites devoted Arnold Bocklin's work mentioned at the bottom of the post.

http://www.artmagick.com/pictures/artist.aspx?artist=arnold-bocklin&page=1

http://www.arnoldbocklin.com/index.htm

Catlin Harrison: Unexpectedly Surreal

Catlin Harrison is a British illustrator and photographer, who lives in London, and does some amazing illustrations with composites of dozens of flowers to form a figure, or distorted images. Her pictures are very creative, reminiscent of the works of the renaissant painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo and of the surrealists.

Catlin uses Photoshop to put up the images together, and they take a long time to finish, because sometimes she works with over 60 scans.

About her style, she said that she's "very interested in the way of representing and expressing ideas about the human being, but as time passes, the images become stranger."

She gives some advice to fledgling artists: "Be prepared to work like crazy and try a little of everything, because every artist, illustrator and design must be seen by the largest number of people possible. And don't think there's only one way - there are many possible ways. You never know who will see it either. Don't limit yourself thinking that your work doesn't fit anywhere, experiment with absolutely everything - which of course takes a long time!"

I've chosen three of Catlin Harrison's works. Visit her site for more:

Catlin Harrison official site

Dehong He: Breath-Taking Fantasy Art

Dehong He is a very talented Chinese illustrator, who works with concept art for games.

His style is very clean and realistic, full of intricate details and often based on Chinese folklore.

About his choice for fantasy imagery, Dehong He said that it "gives me the biggest possible stage to work with. It’s as if you’re God, you can create a new world."

Dehong He's ability impressed his parents when he was very young, and when he was a fine art student at university, he started working with comics and a year after finishing college, he moved on to work as a concept artist for games.

About his work process, Dehong He says that he puts "my work’s quality and the themes which I express first. Style comes second. With the passage of time, I think, my own style will emerge naturally." [1]

Below is a selection of his artwork. Visit his site for more.

Official site: http://www.hdhcg.com/

Stephan Martinière: Sophisticated Futuristic Art

Stephan Martinière is a French concept artist, cartoonist, and animation director, winner of a Hugo Award in 2008. He worked on major movies such as I Robot and Star Wars 2 & 3, made concept art for many book covers and games. His style is very sophisticated and precise, the colors always balanced and harmonious.

In interviews, Martinière has commented on his work process, saying that he tends "to use my imagination more at the beginning stages when I’m doing concepts, and finding compositions, original and unusual shapes. I do more research when the concept goes into the painting stage to find a mood, some texture or particular elements such as street signs, windows, etc." [1]

And when asked to compare the different media he has worked with, Martiniére said that "being an illustrator for film or animation is being part of an enormous machine. An artist also does not own his work and therefore has a lot of difficulties exhibiting his art much less exploiting it. The publishing industry especially in book cover is the exact opposite.

"In terms of the actual work there isn’t much of a difference between doing concept for a movie, an animated film or a game. There are obviously some technical limitations associated with each medium but doing concept is about ideas. Obviously that same idea will follow different path to completion and will be rendered in different ways based on each field. Animation for example will dictate certain simplicity of execution as opposed to a feature film. All in all as an illustrator I like doing book cover best." [2]
I've selected three of Stephan Martinière's amazing artworks. Visit his site for many more, which are also for sale in print.


 

 

Official Site: http://www.martiniere.com/

Misty Benson: Eerily Pretty

Misty Benson is an American illustrator born in 1976, who does some pretty and eerie drawings. The figures all have huge eyes and features resembling that of babies, which only add to their weirdness and appeal. She has been featured in several books, one of them which is called Big Eye Art .


Here you have three images, and her site has many others, which are also available for print.

Official site: http://www.mistybenson.com/

John Howe: Middle Earth And Beyond

John Howe is a great Canadian illustrator, best known for his works on JKK Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings series. He was one of the illustrators who worked on the concept art for the movies of the Trilogy (and he's working on the art for the upcoming The Hobbit movie as well), and has also illustrated several other books by Tolkien, Robin Hobb and other writers.

Below is a few of his artworks. Visit his site for more.

More info: www.john-howe.com/

Gerald Brom: Beauty & Dark Creatures

Gerald Brom is an illustrator who has done various media, from novel covers (Michael Moorcock, Terry Brooks), to role-playing books, comics (DC, Chaos, Dark Horse), games and film (Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow). He also has released some books with his artworks and writing, which are very well done and creative.


Below is a few of his works, for more, visit his site.

Source:
http://www.bromart.com/
http://conceptartworld.com/?p=2714

Tim Burton's Art: Gothic With A Bite

The MoMa in New York has an exhibition on Tim Burton's artworks that will be around until Apr. 26. If you're lucky enough to be in town then, be sure to visit it.

Tim Burton is one of the most iconic artists associated with the gothic genre. His movies often show a gothic imagery mixed with witty sense of humor. Some of his best-known movies are Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissor-Hands and Corpse Bride. His latest production, Alice in Wonderland will be released next March 5 in the US, and it looks both astonishing and fun.

Below is a selection of pictures from the exhibit and the new trailer for Alice in Wonderland. Visit the sites for more information and images.

More information:
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/313
http://flavorwire.com/gallery/12-17-09/index.html

Howard David Johnson: Mythologic Images with Realism

Howard David Johnson is an amazing illustrator, whose works have been exhibited in several galleries around the world. His works are very eclectic, done in various mediums, and are mainly about mythology and history.

Below is a selection of his artworks, visit his site for many others.

More info: Official Site

A. Andrew Gonzalez: Surreal Spiritual Art

A. Andrew Gonzalez is an American illustrator, who has won several awards. His artworks are very original, of an exquisite otherworldly beauty. Below is a selection of them.

More information: A. Andrew Gonzalez

Various 19th c. Eerie & Supernatural Paintings

The current Gothic Art we so love started out in the early 19th century, when writers, poets, painters and later on, photographers, first explored symbolist, supernatural and eerie themes. Painters like Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rosseti are well-known among Gothlings, but there were many others who also made some interesting artworks. Below is a selection of works of less known artists of the period.

Pierre Auguste Cot

Alexandre Cabanel

Ernest Board

George Henry Boughton

Giovanni Boldini

Source: Artmagick.com

Jessica Galbreth: Fey Beauty

Jessica Galbreth's illustrations are some of the most used by gothlings on the web, in avatars, forum signatures, sites, blogs, you name it. She's very talented, and keeps a site in which all her artworks are available for purchasing in several formats, as Magnetic Print, Altar Tile, Canvases, and others.

Jessica Galbreth started her career in 1999, and specialized in illustrations of fairies, witches, vampires, Pagan goddesses and dark ladies of all kinds.

In an interview, Jessica Galbreth commented on her favorite subjects, she said “I love to paint goddesses and mythological subjects the most. However, these paintings aren't always what my licensors want from me...most of them prefer my lighter, more elegant winged women. I try to keep a balance between these and what I truly love to paint, which is my more mysterious, haunting images.”

In the same interview, Jessica gives some helpful advice for beginners: “I would tell them to be prepared to have tough skin and never give up on their dream. It is not easy for any of us to get there, and even more of a challenge to stay there. Be prepared to knock on a lot of doors, some of which will be promptly slammed in your face. If you don't have a good sense of business and marketing, align yourself with someone who does...you'll need it as much as you need your artistic talent.

“When the business gets you down, hold onto your successes. Be kind to others, and treat them how you'd like to be treated. Help other artists along the way...make friends with them. Never try to tear other artists down who are more successful than you - don't let the ugly side of envy get to you in this way or you will doom your own career with a serious case of bad karma. Spend your energy on positive things like creating your art.

“Develop your own style and stay true to your visions...however, be prepared to paint what are sometimes just "pretty pictures" if you want to do this seriously for a living. Always try to improve on your art, never get stagnant if you can help it.

“If you begin licensing your art to companies, be very very careful. Though most of them are wonderful and will have your best interest at heart, some won't and it's your job to protect yourself and your art.

“Most of all, enjoy it. Don't let anything get you down as you follow your dreams.” [1]

Below is a selection of Jessica Galbreth’s art; visit her site for more information.

Jessica Galbreth Site: http://www.enchanted-art.com/