Thomas Moran

From yesterday's John Martin I've taken stock of what I know of landscape artists and realised Thomas Moran must receive some deserved attention.

His blazing colours and expressive form breathes movement into the earth and freezes the sea, perfectly capturing the elements. Like Martin, he also does seem to enjoy a good craggy cliff-top, and I think we all love a good craggy cliff-top every now and then, and this hits the spot.

I found out about Thomas Moran a while ago through asking some friends of who their favourite artists are, and it's sometime easy to forget in this internet age that your friends can provide some answers the Internet can not.

Then again, the Internet is pretty great too. I now capitalise the Internet because it's my friend too.

Check out this rather inventive website for more stuff HERE

And this site is another good'un too HERE

John Martin

Over the Christmas period I went to see the fantastic John Martin exhibition over at the Tate Britain titled Apocalypse, and some of his paintings truly incurred the feeling of the end. Huge canvases of lush seething colour depicting caverns and cliff-tops and hell and biblical damnations.

Even though the critics derided his work, I think Martin is pretty damn cool. It's high drama. Imagine living in that period and viewing a work like the ever popular Apocalypse (top image); it's horrifying and thrilling at the same time!

Sometimes art doesn't have to subtle or intellectualised or pretentious, it can melodramatic, bombastic, even explosive and that's what John Martin delivers in spades.

You can check out the highly antiquated John Martin website HERE

Roger Dean

I couldn't believe it going through our, admittedly rather brief, archive and finding that I have yet to mention the, frankly, brilliant Roger Dean. He's mostly known for his intergalactic and astoundingly beautiful and surreal landscapes, floating islands, dense jungles, monolithic rock formations, hive-like constructions and the odd pyramid or two.

However, above I've put two images of my favourite works by Mr Dean and they mainly focus on his creatures, that dragon up top is incredible in it's majesty and colour, and breathes a whole new way of thinking of what a dragon could be. And the octopus is there because I think the octopus is the boss. Obsessed with octopi(?) at the moment. Way cool.

His works are well-known for being used as record covers for bands like Yes and Rush and other prog rock royalty, and on his influencing many in the younger generations, the one that comes to mind the most is Arik Roper who is also a genius.

Check out his well made website HERE

Francis Picabia

I feel I don't appreciate Francis Picabia in the right way. I suppose not in the critical frame of mind where Picabia is seen as a major figure of the DaDaism movement in France and the US in the early 20th century.

For me Picabia has always been the name next to Otaiti , that image at the top, in the Tate Modern Gallery. I've seen the painting many times with each of my visits ad with every time I am struck by its despair and tragic darkness of the image. It's probably most affecting as it's a begging and pleading naked woman on her knees with a huge disembodied hand preying nearby. The autumnal leaves and the dank muddy colours evokes the sense of transition from peak to decline.

The multi-layered imagery is superb and at times can feel like the image is moving and shifting between one scene to the next.

This the Francis Picabia I enjoy, the one with startling imagery and with stories to tell. His DaDaist works may have been influential but for me I think I prefer his images with an element of coherency.

I've found there to be a lacking of decent websites to link to unfortunately so here's a bundle to make up for it: HERE, HERE and HERE.

The Body in Photograms by Red

The Body is something which is constantly and thoroughly used within archaic and contemporary art. Whether it is the all-time acclaimed works of the legends Pablo Picasso or Lucien Freud to the more modern works of Jenny Saville, Andres Serrano and Dylan Ricci.

It is a free and marvelous thing to use as subject matter. Not one body is the same and each of us have contours, freckles, scars, lumps and bumps that artists find irresistible.

For a recent project that I have done I looked at my face and other body parts in the medium of photogams. (The best way to explain what a photogram is, is to click on the Wiki link i am afraid!) Throughout my photographic up-bringing I have always loved the darkroom and the photogram techniques.

Fox Talbot and Anna Atkins are the main proprietors of the object onto photo-sensitive paper then exposure method.....

William Henry Fox Talbot

Anna Atkins

So within this project I combined both body and photograms.

The project title being 'Primitive' enabled me to use the most greatest primitive method of producing images there is, plus it is my favourite so this was a good project for me.

I stumbled across the technique for producing photograms of my face through experimentation in the darkroom with fix on my finger tips...

Vaseline on my lips...

E45 cream on my hands...

I liked the E45 cream.

Through much experimenting I had the idea to put the cream on one side of my face and print my face directly onto the photo-sensitive paper....

It was quite a break- through as the imprint has created a foetus looking pattern or shape on the paper. I had never seen anything like this before. So I had to expand on it.

I started putting the cream on both sides of my face (above), to show contact between the two faces, as if they are kissing.

The lack of intimidating and complicated techniques within this project just demonstrate the effectiveness of experimentation and simplicity within photography. If you want your face covered in cream and fixative to create pictures which completely sum up you as an artist, then do it. Less is sometimes (well in this case) more.

These however are not all the finished pictures... there is a lot more to show. But unfortunately they are with my tutor being marked.... so... watch this space!

FIN

RED

Andreas Gursky

It was Cherub The Great who alerted me to my ignorance of big, well known photographers. I realised that as an Internet fiend I appeared to have undercut those that are at the top, those that are well-known and well liked and hugely popular and headed straight into the unknown, missing out on that top sector.

And it seems Andreas Gursky appears to be the grand-daddy of that layer, take a look, he has the highest selling photograph ever, and that sold only a few months back in November 2011. Who knows where it'll escalate?

The image itself, that top'un, is a bit minimal, i.e it's a path with a river and some mist. BUT it's not just that, Cherub The Great tells me that that part of a path that runs alongside the Rhine in Germany is in an industrialised area and very busy with pedestrians. The image itself has been digitally edited to remove buildings and people and sidewalk furniture and the mist hides further buildings and whatnot.

So as a piece of work it's highly textural and work intensive, but for me in all honestly the image does feel rather bland. In other words, there's no colourful or shiny things to hold my attention. And I have a pretty poor attention span.

What is surprising is that there doesn't seem to be an official website for Mr. Gursky so here is the best I can do, GOOGLE IMAGES YAY: HERE

Anka Zhuravleva

Man, that top picture is explosive! I love photography that is subtle and nuanced and carefully framed and balanced, but when it's as high-octane and eye-grabbing as Anka Zhuravleva then it's a real sight to behold. This difficult-to-type name has been sitting idle on a list scrawled on a post-it note inside a small black notebook for waaay too long.

And just as the first is a bluster of movement the second is contemplative and as the subject locks eyes with the viewer it's also a little creepy. Especially with the ghostly limbs beneath the water's surface.

Anka Zhuravleva has many interesting ideas that results in outstanding photography, and all viewable on her beguilingly minimal website: HERE

HUSH

I find Blogger so restricting at times, it's frustrating that the images are so small because you lose so much lush detail in HUSH's work.

Anyway, HUSH's work is a real show of fine art technicality blended with a whirlpool of graffiti that makes for fascinating street art. The bold, ravelling colours that flourish beneath the cold greys of the detailed portraitures set a perfect balance that juxtaposes but is still great to look at.

Honestly, HUSH is doing something really exciting with this work, and I'm sure to keep a close eye on what he gets up to project-wise.

For more information, check out his website: HERE

Joan Miro

As you probably guessed it, I went to the Miro exhibition at the Tate Modern today and I went not really expecting much as my father had been before and he didn't get along with it, but I should have guessed he wouldn't go along with a surrealist because that's probably the area of art he is most confused by, but I went in sceptical, but I left a lover. Catalonia's Joan Miro is the man.

I loved how complexly simple his Constellations were, and the vastness of his triptychs, Miro admittedly inspired by the American Abstract Expressionism, my boy Rothko! and bros., the minutely detailed his early works were with form and placing thrown to the wind. Fantastic.

There's only twelve days left of the exhibition, so if you're on the neighbourhood it is definitely worth it.

MORE MIRO

Kate Boxer

So whilst wondering around Shaftesbury with Cherub the Great I encountered a chair on a corner of a street with a pile of the magazine [Evolver], who also have a penchant for parentheses and whirly-gigs, and as I am a fan I snatched one up immediately, because I'm a curious creature and free stuff is normally better and more satisfying than anything that needs exchangement of paper with queens heads printed on them.

I discovered Kate Boxer's work whilst browsing and became immediately intrigued, her animal pictures in print and paint were striking and used big block colours which I do love so, and a bleak, melancholic atmosphere, especially with that serene green background in that top picture up there.

So yeah colour me a fan of Kate boxer, great work. My favourite though, contradicting my love of colour is that snake image, it's strong and bold, composed and writhing, I don't know exactly why, it hits me just right and would love it on my wall.

If you're interested to see more, check out her website, lots of good quality images there

And, uh, more information than just me rambling, is available here

Seldon Hunt

Seldon Hunt has a healthy obsession of skulls. An obsession I share. Hunt's work is vibrant, hectic, packed with colour and well, quite skully. The bottom image is of Master Musicians of Bukkake's record Totem One and it's one of my favourite record artworks.


Hit up Seldon's website for more cool prints and illustrations: here.

Paco Pomet

I don't normally include three pictures, too cluttery-ish, but Paco Pomet is just too good and I couldn't just pick two. Taking fine art traditional realism and infusing it with striking abstract details, conveying a rather off-kilter image. A feeling of something is not quite right. And, of course, a little humour helps.....

COOOOOKIE!

I insist you take a look at Pomet's excellent body of work which is rather comprehensively stored on his pleasingly simple website: here.

Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha illustrations are remarkable, his beautiful lithographs feel way ahead of it's late 19th century time. The excruciatingly detailed women detailed in his paintings have influenced countless of pretenders, one of the most obvious contemporary artists off the top of my head is John Dyer Baizely, whose work I am a big admirer of, albeit Baizely has more of a fascination with flowers and dismemberment. It is the warm, perky, natural colours which enamour me to Mucha's work, and it complements the gorgeous subject matter. Amazingly, it is Alphonse Mucha, a name which I indeed love saying, no one's called Alphonse anymore, who was the pre-curser for the French art movement Art Nouveau, which you can read about on good ol'wiki: here.

Moreover, you can read up more on Alphonse Mucha: here. He is indeed an interesting fellow as it seemed he had an internal struggle between his fine art aspirations and his commercial successes.

Alphonse Mucha is a popular guy so you can:

Hit up his official site to read up on the man: here
See a comprehensive list of his works: here
If you feel really good about yourself you can buy his posters: here

After the jump a photograph of the man himself.

Fursy Teyssier

'Écailles de Lune'

'Septembre et ses dernières Pensées'

(click either image to enlarge)

I really enjoy French artist Fursy Teyssier's distinct ability of composition. the positioning and placement of colour and figures really lend well to the overall image.

The top image is the record art for Alcest's 2010 record 'Écailles de Lune'. I love the extensive use of blue, the skeletal fish swimming with the moon, the natural flow of the mermaid's hair is wonderful. Whereas the bottom image, Les Discrets 2010 record art for 'Septembre et ses dernières Pensées', shows an odd juxtaposition compared to the top image. Even though this painting is dominated by a towering shadowy giant with a long pointed beak, there is a silhouetted couple holding hands, with one holding an arm up in seeming awe. Looking closer, the hooded giant looks like it's bending down to see what the couple have to say.

I find each image to be really quite sweet, the Alcest one portraying care and intimacy, whilst Les Discrets conveys a closeness of the couple and a trust of the giant.

You can check out more of Fursy Teyssier's interesting artwork: here.

Fursy Teyssier is also the man behind Les Discrets' music, you can check their brand of Shoegaze Black Metal: here.

Stephen Kasner

'Khlyst'

(click either image to enlarge)

Immediately Stephen Kasner's art is a haunting sight to behold. The dark and brooding images project a moving stillness, there are moving parts but they are dead and are laid in their natural positions. It is extremely bleak art.

The 'Khylst' image is an especially frightening viewing, something so beautiful like a swan, yet it feels cold and lifeless.

Unfortunately, Stephen is actually seriously ill and that he needs to sell his artwork fin order to pay hospital bills, which is an very sad situation to hear about for such talent. You can read more about his problems here. You can read a very insightful interview with Stephen about his art here.

There isn't an official website, so see what Google has to offer: here.

James Jean

'Wave II'

'Hounds'

(click on either image to enlarge)

James Jean is a name I found out whilst bored in Waterstones at christmas trying to buy my Pa a Francis Bacon book but got distracted because of all the other shiny art books were trying to make me buy them. Yep.

Anyway, in my fumblings with the hardback books in Waterstones I came across James Jean's cute little book called 'Rifts' which was a fold out book containing two multi-panelled artworks. You can see the two panels in great detail on his website: Side One and Side Two.

As I have said previously, I have grown particularly fond of Japanese art, and Jean's bold use of colour in 'Rifts' and in hand with the theme, obviously plays really well with my sensibilities. The top image 'Waves II' suits this theme nicely.

Whereas, 'Hounds' is bloody creepy, it looks like skinless dogs accompanying a nymph at night. Eek! Both pieces are very different but shows how broad James Jean's range is, but a common thread of the mythic and nature is apparent throughout his works.

Hit up James Jean's website to explore his coool portfolio: here.

A final image Cherub the Great might like after the jump....

Adrian Samson

'The Monkey'

I'm Runnin'!

(click either to enlarge)

I am ACTUALLY excited by Adrian Samson's photography. I have been pouring over his portfolio on his website for the past hour, just sitting with my jaw hitting the floor. Adrian Samson's images are a delight to view, I don't think any deep concept are sitting behind them, simply put they are just good looking, a real pleasure as a viewer.

The top image, 'The Monkey' reminds me of Jeff Koons' large, loudly coloured, placticky art and is part of a series, whilst the bottom image didn't have a title but I felt "I'm Runnin'" was appropriate. It's part of a series of photographs that shows Samson experimenting with digitally enhancing the images.

I completely implore you to check out Adrian Samson's portfolio on his website it is brilliant: here.

Paul Romano

(click to embiggen)

Paul Romano would probably be most recognised for his commercial work, working with bands like Mastodon and The Red Chord, the artist is easily affiliated with those bands and then his other works are forgotten. However, Romano's fine art is truly a spectacle. The exquisite detail he etches is remarkable, so much so that the horrible blurred image above evidently does not do it justice, so I suggest to click and embiggen.

Works like these always hurt my head, during the process the little, minute squiggles and whatnot don't make up much, but the finished article is always very impressive. Hmmmm....

Head over to his official website to see better and more detailed images of his work: here.

Go and check out Paul's blog it's quite interesting, albeit a little overdue on the post front: here.