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

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.

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

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.

Florian Bertmer

I love poster art. I have actually blogged a few times elsewhere, thematically with High on Fire here and again focusing on the great Frank Kozik here, and yet I keep on finding more and more cool artists. The latest one being Florian Bertmer.

I unfortunately know very little about him apart from the fact that he does some very cool art. And that I am tired and that I can not be bothered to look. However,n what I do know is that the bottom image is beyond way cool, the intricacies and vibrant colour, the beautiful tattooed woman holding a spear(!) juxtaposed to a symmetrical shrieking squirrel lurking behind her is not something you see every day. I love it.

I do sincerely urge you to check out his other works at his blog: here

More images can be found: 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....

Stacey Rozich

(Click on each image to enlarge)

Record art, I find, is often a handy gateway to find decent more obscure artists, and Earth's 2011 record 'Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light' artwork is no exception. Stacey Rozich's fantastic folk art is so damn eye-catching, the stripes, the waves, the blocks of vibrant colour. It's alluring art to say the least.

In the past few years I've grown to be a fan of Japanese art, to say it hasn't had a huge influence on modern art, especially western, is an understatement, check out Japonism. Stacey Rozich shows great appreciation of the characteristics that made up Japanese art: "the lack of perspective and shadow, the flat areas of strong color, the compositional freedom in placing the subject off-centre".

I do urge you to check out Stacey Rozich's portfolio it's more of the same, and it's excellent: here.

If your interest is piqued, Earth sound like a Spaghetti Western, check them: here.

André Ethier

I am aware that Cherub The Great isn't a huge fan of some contemporary art, however I hope she can appreciate Ethier's use of vibrant, almost edible colour which is inherent in all of his oil paintings.

I initially found Ethier through this image above, it was used for the record art of Quest For Fire's 2010 record Lights From Paradise, which provides an exquisite journey, a review can be read here, and it was Ethier's painting that indeed captured my attention.

Childlike, noxious, grotesque, vibrant, rough-around-the-edges, excellent.

You can view a whole load of his paintings: here.

To hear a track off of 'Lights From Paradise' hit the jump.