Thursday, February 26, 2009

Kawase Hasui

Kawase Hasui, (1883 – 1957) was a Japanese woodblock printmaker widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin hanga style, known especially for his landscape prints. His simple graphic style with elegant play of colors and light evokes his yearning for simpler, older times.

at the Hanga Gallery
a nice gallery
Wikipedia
on Lines and Color

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lowbrow

I am particularly fond of Lowbrow Art or Pop Surrealism. Pictured above is Mark Ryden's Allegory of the Four Elements. Here are a few of my favorite "lowbrow" artists, in alphabetical order:

Glenn Barr
Gary Baseman
Tim Biskup
Dave Cooper
Lori Earley
Audrey Kawasaki
Marion Peck
Mark Ryden
Jeff Soto

Heinrich Kley

Heinrich Kley (1863 – 1945) was a German caricaturist, editorial cartoonist and painter. His drawings comprised quick, loose, pen-and-ink sketches that captured an amazingly realistic and robust form. Known for his sometimes darkly humorous pen drawings, published in Jugend and the notorious Simplicissimus in Germany, Kley was an inspiration for a number of early Disney productions, notably Fantasia, as Disney was quite a collector of his work. Kley's work was also a big inspiration for me in my youth.

Kley's Art
Heinrich Kley
Wikipedia
twnty2wo blog

Monday, February 16, 2009

Ryohei Hase

Ryohei Hase, from Tokyo, Japan, is a digital painter whose subjects are a surrealist, nightmarish fantasy. He does it all painting freehand in Photoshop.

Hase's website
Hase at Deviantart

Dan Krall

Dan Krall is an illustrator, character and background designer, and animator and he has a wonderful chldren's book. He's responsible for the amazing look of Cartoon Network's Chowder, Camp Lazlo, and much or the look of the movie, Coraline (among many other amazing feats).

Dan's website
Dan's blog
Dan on Illustration Mundo
Dan on IMDb

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

d'Holbachi-Yoko

d'Holbachi-Yoko paints surreal images of colorful puffy creatures, toys of a nightmare dimension, oddly adorable monsters that bring a smile to one's face and disturbs one's soul. Pretty cool, huh? Check out her site and this interview.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Mark Verhaagen

Mark Verhaagen's digital illustrations are wonderful! Master of form, color, and composition. Go get inspired.

Update: Came across Mark's flickr and saw Mark's illustration in Computer Arts Projects magazine this month.