Friday Art & History Feature - Fantasy Artists I Recently Discovered

Every once in awhile, I like to look for new fantasy art artists and share them with you. Here is a sampling of a few I discovered recently. I hope you enjoy.

By Katy Rewston (katylrewston.com)

 

 

By Ruth Sanderson (goldenwoodstudio.com)

Urban Angel by Nicole Cadet (http://www.nicolecadet.com)

By Jana Souflova (maffet.cz)

Dragon Thrall by Nicole Cadet ((http://www.nicolecadet.com)

By Linda Bergkvist (furiae.com)

 Daisy Chain by Dashinvaine (http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Daisy-Chain-132358543)

Robin Hood by phoebe101 (http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Robin-Hood-170940249)

By James Brown (jamesbrowne.net)

As always, more will be coming in the next months. Please let me know if you have favorites among fantasy art and artists, and I'll include them in this feature.

Friday Art & History Feature - Katarina Sokolova

As you know, I love discovering new artists, and today I'd like to introduce you to Katarina Sokolova, who graciously permitted me to write about her and share with you her wonderful digital art.

First, a little bit about Katarina in her own words:

"Represented by LEMONADE Illustration Agency. For all the details please contact Justine Vincent info@lemonadeillustration.com.

In April 2008 Norma Editorial of Barcelona, Spain has published a compilation of my Art Photos and Digital Art called INSOMNIA.
It is available for purchase in the bookstores of European Union and online.

I was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
Starting from the age of six, I attended classes at the batik and graphics departments of the Art Union of Painters of Ukraine. In 2002 I have graduated from the graphics department.
During the last nine years I have been enjoying working as a computer graphics artist.

Since 2003 my works are regularly included in the books of the best digital art in the world EXPOSÉ (1, 2, 3, 4 - author of the cover, 5, 6, 7), EXOTIQUE (1, 2, 3), PAINTER (BALLISTIC Publishing, Australia)
My photo artworks were repeatedly used for book covers by many publishing houses: HildenDesign, SUMA de letras, Santillana Ediciones Generales, S. L, Planeta Group, Norma Editorial etc. (Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Argentina, Canada)

I have also participated in group exhibitions of Ukrainian painters at gallery "Dim Mikoly" and other galleries in Kiev.
Some of my works are kept in private art collections in Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the United States."

You can find more digital art by Katarina, as well a whole section of amazing photographs by her at her website: http://www.katarinasokolova.com/

Did you enjoy this art? What artists would you like to see featured here in the future?

Friday Art & History Feature - Art of Joe Jusko

One of the art books of Joe Jusko's art

Joe Jusko is one of the best known fantasy and comics artists out there. His first Heavy Metal Magazine Cover happened at the age of 17 (in 1977). Since then, the artist, who was born in 1959 on the lower east side of New York City, has worked for every major comics book publisher and has had a thriving fantasy art business. His love for art began when he was a child, and was encouraged by his family, especially his older brother. Visit Joe Jusko website for more information, a detailed bio and collection of all his work. Meanwhile, here's a little sampling of this great fantasy artist.

*Note: All works of art represented here are the property of Joe Jusko.

Dragonfyre

Lady Killer

Sad Wings of Destiny

Peace on Earth

Wolverine

 

 

Tiger Girl

Friday Art & History Feature - Jonathon Earl Bowser

Goddess of the Tides (image credit: http://fantasygallery.net, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

 One of my favorites in the Fantasy Art world is the Jonathon Earl Bowser, a Canadian artist.

Bowser Self-Portrait with Guitar (image credit: http://www.jonathonart.com, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

He was born in 1962 and graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1984, after which he worked as commercial illustrator for a few years. In 1989, he became a freelance artist. Today, his work can be found in many galleries and private collections around the world. Enjoy a sampling of his work and don't forget to visit his website and check out the extensive collection of his art.

Earth, Autumn, Winter (image credit: http://fantasygallery.net, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

Cascade (image credit: http://fantasygallery.net, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

Autumn (image credit: http://fantasygallery.net, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

Guinevere (image credit: http://fantasygallery.net, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

Theater of Darkness (image credit: http://fantasygallery.net, copyright Jonathon Earl Bowser)

Friday Art & History Feature - Boris Vallejo

Those who know me, know that I'm a big fan of fantasy art and artists. One of my favorites is Luis Royo, about whom I wrote previously - find it here.

Boris Vallejo

 My introduction to the world of fantasy art happened through another artist, however. Years ago, when I was still in high school, my grandfather found an old used art book that he bought for me at some library, knowing my love of art. The book was by the artist Boris Vallejo - it was a collection of his work and stories by Doris Vallejo, his wife at the time. I was absolutely fascinated and I have Boris to thank for introducing me to the spectacular, vivid and sensuous world of fantasy (and erotica) art.

The book that start it all for me

 Boris Vallejo was born in 1941 in Peru and immigrated to US in 1964. He began painting at 13, and by the time he was 16, he had his first illustration job. Since then, he has worked with many big publishing houses on illustrations, as well as painted posters for major movies. His first wife, Doris Vallejo, is an artist and a writer. He has two children with her. His second wife, Julie Bell, to whom he got married in 1994, is an artist, illustrator and sculptor in her own right, and Boris has collaborated with Julie on many works. They now live in Pennsylvania and continue to produce incredible works of art.

Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell

 Boris paints mostly with oils. His heroes and heroines are strong and beautiful. Both him and Julie prefer to paint fit, muscular and toned models - though this is especially true for Julie. Because of her fascination with the human body, Julie started weight training, and eventually became a nationally ranked competitive bodybuilder.

Enjoy these paintings* - some are pure Boris, while others are collaboration with Julie, with a few of Julie's thrown in. Visit the Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell website. (As always, I'm not going to post the more explicit paintings, as there might be younger audience here. If you're interested in the art of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, their website has all of their work from all the years.)

*Please note that all the artwork is property of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell.

Announcing new scheduled Friday feauture and 1st - Luis Royo

I’m starting a new scheduled feature on this blog. Every Friday I will alternate between posts on my favorite artists (old and new) and posts on a historical site or event.

Art and history have always been my two other passions, besides writing, for as long as I could remember having conscious thought. And in all honesty, I think that my love of art and writing go hand in hand with each other. A writer paints with words. An artist tells a story with pencil and paint. It’s as simple to me as that. A great writer, like a great painter, will evoke certain emotions and will make you experience a whole different world with their work.

Who knows, perhaps these will inspire some of you as well.

For the first post in the series, I am excited to present one of my absolutely favorite fantasy artists – Luis Royo.

Luis Royo

Luis Royo, born in Spain in 1954, has achieved the mastery of technical drawing, as well as spectacular realistic fantasy painting that few in his genre have. The worlds of his work are dark and sensual. His etherial lights and mysterious dark contrasts are absolutly materful.

The theme of beauty and the beast is prominent in much of his work – the study of beautiful strong women and terrible monsters. The scenes range from violent to sensual to the interweaving of both.

His women never seem like damsels in distress. They take control, their power apparent in their posture and their eyes.

My own attraction to Royo’s work mirrors my interest in dark urban fantasy and paranormal romance as a writer. Interestingly enough, Luis Royo has in fact painted illustrations for some books in the genre, most notably the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton.



Anita Blake



His collections include

Tatoos

Women

Malefic

Dreams

Prohibited Book I, II and III

Evolution

Conceptions I, II and III

Wild Sketches

Dead Moon   

                                    

Dead Moon, in fact, is a collaborative work with Romulo Royo and is a story in words, as well as in art.  It is a tragic tale of love with an apocalyptic ending.

I cannot put many of my favorite paintings and sketches by Luis Royo here because of the adult nature of them (lots of nudity) but if this piqued your interest, I would definitely advise checking his work out. For more information go here.

But I have to put a disclaimer here - *much of Luis Royo's work is very explicit and graphic. You have been warned! :)

Now...any advice on what I should call my new Friday feauture? Any thoughts would be appreciated.