As the holidays approach, the time for constant text alerts from people asking "What do you want for Christmas??" is near. I'm pretty difficult to buy for as I never know what I want or what I want is too expensive and I refuse to let anyone know.
I finally figured out what I DO want, and that is more art for our /very empty/ apartment walls.
Most of the artists I follow I have found in my random circles of Instagram. I figured I'd share those I do enjoy, own pieces from, or want pieces from for those of you that like the same things I do!
So, here you go, a "holiday wishlist" sort of artist feature. None of these artists asked for this, in fact, only one knew about it. These are all incredibly talented people and I want those that do not know about them to see their work!
I really hope you enjoy this and find someone's work you'd never seen before! There is a part II coming along. Part I is going to be a mix of Paintings, Illustrations, and Photo. Many of these artists are multi talented, but this post will feature the previously stated things. Part II will most likely feature some of the same people if they have things in different categories. There are obviously SO many more I could post about, but these were the first ones off the top of my head. (I tried to keep this blog no more than 20 artists)
I will be including a bit of a blurb about each artist underneath the image gallery. That will most likely be copy + paste from their site, but please click through to the site if you want to see more!
1 // Henrik Aa. Uldalen, is a self-taught artist whose creative production revolves around classic figurative painting, presented in a contemporary manner. Henrik explores the dark sides of life, nihilism, existentialism, longing and loneliness, juxtaposed with fragile beauty. The atmosphere in his subject matter is often presented in a dream or limbo-like state, with elements of surrealism. His focus on atmospheres rather than narratives and realism leaves his painting open for many interpretations.
2 // Cassie Meder, is a young freelance filmmaker, illustrator, and model from Portland, Oregon whose work has ranged from dark and philosophically confronting to quirky and clever. As a conqueror and crusader of many art forms for six plus years, she is now described as possessing a dark and fascinating aesthetic sense and her film direction and illustration work have been called mesmerizing and haunting. Cassie is able to provoke the melancholy and chilling aspects in art, film and fashion, as well as able to make the unnerving undeniably beautiful.
3 // Dusty Ray, A purveyor of the strange and blood. Dusty produces marginally unsettling, weird, surreal, and/or creepy art gouache and oils
4 // Rotten Fantom (Elena Snegotskaia & Vladimir Snegotskii), do the surreal, horror and mystical black and white drawing using dotwork technique. They reflect natural forces’ never ending cycle of decay and resurrection. We bridge cosmic gaps between human, beasts and plant worlds researching the borders between life and death in quest for proto-entities behind dead and living matter.
5 // Bill Crisafi, is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Salem, Massachusetts. His work is an extension of the dark nostalgia of New England's past, focusing on themes of folklore and the occult, in addition to an ongoing exploration of Victoriana and fantasy realms. These themes are communicated through various mediums which include, but are not limited to, illustration, photography and sculpture.
6 // Alexandra Dvornikova, Illustrator and mushroom hunter from Saint Petersburg, Russia-- currently in London. She studied in Printmaking technology and Graphic Design at Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, finished in 2015 after 6 years of studies. Currently, Dvornikova studies art-therapy with A. Kopytin as supervisor and works as an volunteer weekly with autistic people. She hopes to work more in that direction after finishing her degree.
7 // Dylan Garrett Smith, is an artist/printmaker whose work is a product of his views regarding humanity’s relationships with - and the continually growing distance from - the natural world. Combining concepts of occultism, ecology, and memento mori, Smith stresses the importance of the cycle of birth-bloom-decay and the necessity of solitude in nature. Ashes, chalk-lead and ink on black cotton rag paper serve as the primary media to make his images, while reinforcing the natural process of life, death, and rebirth.
8 // Emilio Villalba, explores a kind of omnipresent pressure that we all live under. One that grows out of the clash between humanity —our unique mess of emotions, obsessions and urges—and society’s prescription for success. His visuals are a nod to the modern art aesthetic. Subtle shifts, repetition, (re)placement, or absence of facial features are attempts to create a feeling of dissonance and pressure in the viewer. Emilio wants someone to be drawn in by the uncanny nature of a piece and still feel safe to explore the feelings and reactions the pressure gives rise to.
9 // Hogan McLaughlin, is an American fashion designer, artist, and dancer. He began his professional career as a ballet dancer, performing with the internationally acclaimed Hubbard Street 2 and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2011, he met and collaborated with artist Daphne Guinness on his first garments, which ended up on display in the windows of Barneys New York Madison Avenue, and at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Later that year, McLaughlin launched his first collection under his name, and was subsequently profiled by The New York Times, WWD, Vogue.com, among other publications, and had the opportunity to create custom looks for a number of high profile clients including Lady Gaga. As an illustrator, he has had the pleasure of creating promotional images for HBO's Game of Thrones, Showtime's Penny Dreadful, and History Channel's Vikings.
10 // Kevin Llewellyn, is an American painter known for his dark ultra realistic life size full body or life inspired oil paintings. His art hangs in museums and prestigious collections. He attended the Ringling College of Art and Design, and since has been a permanent resident of Los Angeles, California, where he continues to paint realistic portraits, full body portraits, and dark subject matter utilizing techniques of 17th-century painting masters.
11 // Nona Limmen, is an Amsterdam based photographer and artist, born august 15th 1986 in the Netherlands. She likes to spend most of her time traveling, discovering and creating. Dreams, fantasies and memories; they are all alike in that they are beyond our grasp. It's the beauty of the unattainable, the quality of the miraculous. In a sunlit quick world where time runs like dry sand through an hourglass, Nona creates her vision of a world where dreams, fantasies and memories come together, revealing its beauty, its mysteries and its riddles.
12 // Adrienne Rozzi (Poison Apple Printshop), creates otherworldly artwork and accoutrements for all manner of strange folk. Rozzi's interest in historical witchcraft and magick reflects in the immersive, old-world nostalgia of her original illustrations which draw you into an enchanting realm of arcane knowledge and dark wonderment. As informative as they are bewitching, these drawings adorn the Printshop's creations, imbuing them with unique meaning and a magical sacredness.
13 // Sverre Malling, is a Norwegian visual artist. His work, notable for its precision and intricacy, entwine references to classical art, botany, the occult, psychedelia, folk art and children’s illustrations.
14 // Abbey Watkins (Tobacco & Leather), is an artist whose work is based heavily on illustration, mainly pencil with digital colouring. Her inspiration can come from anywhere, as she find beauty in most things. A lot of her work is generated from fashion imagery, butte does love to create my own ideas from other areas of interest such as music, film, the natural world, past fashions, dreams and utopian worlds.
15 // Courtney Brooke (Light Witch), is a photographer and conceptual artist. She explores the ties of the feminine to nature and spirituality through the lens of nostalgia. Moments are depicted that only exist to punctuate human drama and clarify our cosmic existence, while finding the poetic meaning in everyday life. Her works sometimes read as cold or bleak, but always with disconcerting beauty. The inherent seductive quality of the work, along with the conciseness of her exhibitions, add to the manifold layers of meaning. By referencing romanticism, feminism and various forms of symbolism, she investigates the dynamics of landscape, the manipulation of its effects and the limits of its spectacle based on our assumptions of what landscape is.
15 // Dylan Pickering, is a self-taught artist from Vancouver, Canada. Over the past 10 years he has accumulated a set of skills, in which he displays in his modern work. Focusing on minimal composition, Dylan creates abstract art using resin and a variety of mediums. Colour & Shape are the basis of inspiration for all of his work. He is highly influenced by Outer Space, The Ocean & Beautiful Landscapes.
16 // Mikey Carrasco, In the Gothic Subculture, there is a preference for dark colours and sentiments.Mystic, morbid, and romantic motifs range from erotic artwork to romantic images of death. Carrasco has been creating art since he was a child, but it wasn't until he found tattooing that his talents began to flourish. He began painting oils in 2012 and two years later decided to strive for higher merit in the arts. For Carrasco, fine art is a symbolic rebellion from the confines of traditional tattoo art, although tattooing still permitted and influences his fine art practice. He currently tattoos at Kat Von D's studio, High Voltage Tattoo.
17 // Christopher Lovell, is a UK based artist who specialises primarily in illustration for clothing companies and band merchandise. Christopher is self-taught and his influences started very early on in his childhood where he developed a deep interest in fantasy and sci-fi. He was captivated by toys, cartoons and films which helped to fuel his imagination and which still inspire him to this day.
18 // Aaron Horkey, is an illustrator from the Rural Midwest. He has created concert posters for bands such as Boris, Converge, Isis, and The Melvins. First Showing described him as "one of Mondo's most popular and respected artists." Key personality traits include debilitating social ineptitude and a perverse attention to detail. Enjoys desolation, megafauna and transplanting sumacs. Currently ensconced in a bucolic whistlestop just west of the Mississippi, he whiles away the hours staring at his chore list and cultivating ulcers. Fully prepared for and welcoming a long languishing into obscurity, Aaron is the sole survivor of the Black Osprey Dead Arts Society and founding member of the Cottonwood County Druids Skateboard Gang.
19 // Fay Nowitz (Nyxturna), is a Queer artist, designer, and ((femme))nist witch based in Chicago. She is inspired by magick and visions of darkness. Fay has beautiful and magickal photography and handmakes talismans, armor, & jewels infused with queer magick.
20 //Jas Helena, is an illustrator from California, currently residing in Savannah, GA. She focuses focus on light and dark themes, geometry, ornate detail, nature, life, and death, Jas Helena illustrates artwork exclusively in black, no matter what her medium.