Favorite Artist

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Well, we have topics on favorite books, movies, music... what about art?

-=-=-=-=-

Me, I am utterly under the spell of this man's works. An awe-inspiring surrealist by the name of Jacek Yerka.

By sheer chance I ran across his stuff some six years ago on the net and the fascination has never dulled. In fact, it consistently inspires much of my writings. What I think first caught my eye was that I swear I've dreamt many of this before. There was just such a powerful niggling at the back of my mind that I'd awaken from something he'd drawn. And then I came to find that most of his stuff is drawn directly from his dreams. Makes you wonder, when we all sleep do we go to walk the mindfields together?

Here are a number of his galleries:
Gallery #1 (http://www.yerka.pl/stronaI/stronaI.html)
Gallery #2 (http://www.yerkaland.com/preview.php)
Gallery #3 (http://www.imageraptor.com/cabernet/jyerka1.htm)

[ZombieRockStar]

A while ago, I was pointed in the direction of Paul Klee. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klee) He's become one of my favourites. Add on to that the standard favourite of Salvador Dali and some other surrealists, as well as the Canadian painter Tom Thomson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thompson) (for his paintings of Algonquin Park).

[Amotis]

Paul Klee? Was that me? I don't remember. If not...then damn, another similarity! Heroic Strokes of The Bow is one of my favorites from him.

Dali, Bacon, Monet, Rubens, Rembrant, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Klimt, Munch, Larionov, Gilliam, Kiefer, and a lot more.

Degas is probably one of my favorites right now, it depends on my mood.

I seriously like visual art too much to be healthy. I'm suppose to be a music major for christ's sake!

The only art I don't like is some modern, minamalism, pop, land, outsider, and a few others. I adore the masters but pay a lot of attention to the modern ones.

[ZombieRockStar]

Yes, actually. You were the one who pointed me there.

[Amotis]

Ah, that explains the sudden connection.

I personally like artists that acutally have skill in what they do and who create beauty with meaning. Sure, VT's artist is cool (I've seen lots of his stuff floating around the internet) but I get nothing from it. It triggers no emotion and it doesn't make me feel. It's cool, but not my thing. I dislike things like those modern sub-par watercolor scenes with nothing going for it or pop art that only pleases the eye. 'Cause man, if you ain't got nothing to say, I don't wanna hear it. Which is why I don't like a lot of modern art and branchs of modern art.

That being said, one artist who people think as an illustrator but I think he's a great artist is Amano.

[soozenw]

i am a huge van gogh fan.

[MrsbwcMD]

I love almost all of the French Impressionists. My favorite, though, is Georges Seurat and his "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." I actually saw it in the Art Institute of Chicago several years ago. Just beautiful! If you don't know what I'm talking about, just watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

[Balathustrius]

John Singer Sargent probably takes the first place for me - ooh, and Rembrandt. Alphonse Mucha and Rubens are two of my other all time favorites.

As far as contemporary artists go, this guy: http://puddnhead.com/ is amazing. I got to see some of his work in person at a convention in San Francisco - truly brilliant.

[ray53208]

Tony DiTerlizzi: awesome guy and great artist.
William M. Kaluta: a legacy of great work and always has good advice.

Alphonse Mucha: i love art nouveau.

so there are some of mine. two ive met and chatted with. one i wish i couldve.

[waspsmakejam]

I'm torn between two.

Toulouse-Lautrec. When I went to Paris I had a list of works I wanted to see - the Mona Lisa, various Picassos and Degas-es (?), Rodin's sculptures. Toulouse-Lautrec wasn't on the list at all, I thought I knew his work from prints/images. Then I walked into a room at the Orangerie and Toulouse-Lautrec took my breath away. WHAM! So full of life, movement, emotion. Absolutely incredible. I've never, ever seen any reproductions that do the originals justice.

And Banksy. Because he brightens up life, and makes you think.

[bosssmiley]

And Banksy. Because he brightens up life, and makes you think.

QFT, he's what graffiti *should* be; a commentary that plays with the semiotics of the urban environment.

I love pre-modern stuff.
Albrecht Durer's work is incredible in the detail and the level of observation. The guy was arguably northern Europe's Leonardo.
I have endless time for Turner. He captured what the Impressionists were all striving for, and did it 100 years before them. In one word: "PWNED!" :smallcool:
I also like Hogarth's cartoons. I'm kicking myself I can't make it to London to see the exhibition of his work at the Tate(?)/V&A(?) right now.

I don't like 'the moderns' (anything from about Impressionism onwards). The camera was invented, artists used it as an excuse to get lazy in their technical execution. Net result: Marcel Duchamp, Rothko, Warhol, Emin and Hurst, all of whom fail the 'garage test', and fail it hard!

{The Garage Test: if you picked up the guy's art lying in a garage, no frame, covered in grime, and with no clue as to who it was by; would you still pay money for it?}

I'll make an exception for Dali (the only Dadaist worth the paint), but that's as much because his stuff is well-painted as for the thought-provoking content.

[Amotis]

Plus Dali had the whole ecentric artist image down. Complete with outrageous accent.

[Zephra]

norman rockwell. he's halarious

[Closet_Skeleton]

John Singer Sargent probably takes the first place for me - ooh, and Rembrandt. Alphonse Mucha and Rubens are two of my other all time favorites.

I suppose I quite like Sargent and Rembrandt.

I also quite like some name lost to antiquity sculptors.

When I went to the Louvre I didn't bother with the Mona Lisa and went straight to the Persian Empire stuff.

I was in Rome last week. The Sistine Chapel has some nice Curtains. That whole city is art overload though. You can't escape it. It's in every restaurant, Church (which there is pretty much one to every proper street, one plaza had three) and even on some street corners.

[Amotis]

When I went to the Louvre I didn't bother with the Mona Lisa and went straight to the Persian Empire stuff.

I was in Rome last week. The Sistine Chapel has some nice Curtains.

You confuse me. :smallconfused:

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Sure, VT's artist is cool (I've seen lots of his stuff floating around the internet) but I get nothing from it. It triggers no emotion and it doesn't make me feel.
*sniffs*

You've got a cold, cold heart.

[tape_measure]

RALPH STEADMAN FTW!!!

Nough said.

[LCR]

I love almost all of the French Impressionists. My favorite, though, is Georges Seurat and his "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." I actually saw it in the Art Institute of Chicago several years ago. Just beautiful! If you don't know what I'm talking about, just watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

I saw "La Grande Jatte" in Chicago, just like you, but I have to admit that I like other impressionists (and wasn't Seurat more of a pointilist?) better. Caspar David Friedrich is also quite nice, but it's probably photography I like best. Especially the Magnum galleries on Slate are great ...

[Trog]

I am a big fan of the works of Paul Klee, of Degas' pastels (my medium of choice back in art school), Some Rembrandts are really beautiful. I love his sense of light. And his works are really amazing to see in person. I find the Armana Period in ancient Egyptian art to be a small fascination. The most recent exhibit I went to that I really liked was at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati with Thes. We went cause I really wanted to check out these works by Charlie Parker. Though almost as much of a draw was the fact that the visual identity for that exhibit was designed by Todd Oldham. Whose work in general I really like. He's a designer though, and not an artist per se. :smallsmile:

[Flabbicus]

I suppose I quite like Sargent and Rembrandt.

I also quite like some name lost to antiquity sculptors.

When I went to the Louvre I didn't bother with the Mona Lisa and went straight to the Persian Empire stuff.

I was in Rome last week. The Sistine Chapel has some nice Curtains. That whole city is art overload though. You can't escape it. It's in every restaurant, Church (which there is pretty much one to every proper street, one plaza had three) and even on some street corners.

Yeah, the second time there its just like "Another religious Renaissance piece..." God I sound pretentious.


Plus Dali had the whole ecentric artist image down. Complete with outrageous accent.

I really liked his work for the Divine Comedy rewrite or whatever it was. I just had to ignore the religious context because it ruins the feel for me. I also really like Alexander Calder, even when he's drawing normal shapes...

[Amotis]

Some Rembrandts are really beautiful. I love his sense of light. And his works are really amazing to see in person.

Seconded to Hades and back. The Art Museam in LA has a few originals and I was dumbstruck into silence. I was inches away from Rembrant and I my senses were exploding. I seriously couldn't talk for hours.

Probably the most moving experiance visual art has done for me.

[tape_measure]

arlight, Look who found a:

Ralph Steadman Website (http://www.ralphsteadman.com/index.asp) for your perusal.

Lots of interesting bits here and well worth the time, really. If any of you are Hunter S. Thompson (like myself) you'll appreciate the large gallery of pictures used in many of Thompson's books. There's also a book available that Steadman wrote during his depressing state after Thompson commited suicide.

Mahalo

[Ava]

I like just about anything art neavaeu... and I like the Japanese-inspired landscapes done by the guy who did the backgrounds for Disney's Sleeping Beauty, though I forgot his name. >_<

[Amotis]

arlight, Look who found a:

Ralph Steadman Website (http://www.ralphsteadman.com/index.asp) for your perusal.

Lots of interesting bits here and well worth the time, really. If any of you are Hunter S. Thompson (like myself) you'll appreciate the large gallery of pictures used in many of Thompson's books. There's also a book available that Steadman wrote during his depressing state after Thompson commited suicide.

Mahalo

Haha, yeah instantly reconized his style. "Oh...that guy..."

[Mr Croup]

I'm a bit of mixed bag when it comes to art. Here are a few of my favorites:
Van Gogh, particularly his portrait work, my favorite being his portrait of Dr. Gachet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Portrait_of_Dr._Gachet.jpg)
JMW Turner. There's just something about his notion of light that I find my self drawn to. I've always liked this piece. (http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999996&workid=14750&searchid=8657&tabview=image)
Theodore Gericault, if for no other reason than The Raft of the Medusa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Th%C3%A9odore_G%C3%A9ricault_-_Le_Radeau_de_la_M%C3%A9duse.jpg)
René Magritte is one of my favorites, though there are some of his pieces which I can't stand. But the pieces which I like, which are the majority of his work, really strike me.
Rembrandt. There's a reason why he's touted as being a genius. Because he was. One of the most amazing experiences of viewing art came for me when I was able to see The Night Watch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RembrandtNightwatch.jpg) in person at the Rijksmuseum. Just stunning.
Sesshū, because he is, at least in my opinion, one of the best sumi-e artist I've ever encountered.
Lastly, Hokusai. I'm a fan of ukiyo-e, and he was a master. Most people only know him because of The Great Wave of Kanagawa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tsunami_by_hokusai_19th_century.jpg), but just because the image is everywhere doesn't detract from its beauty.There are other artists that I enjoy greatly, like Degas, Holbein the Younger, and Delacroix, but the seven above are the ones that really stand out for me.

[Cobra_Ikari]

My favorite artist is a good friend of mine named Landon. He's great. Unfortunately, he's also so modest (and possibly insecure) that he won't let most people see his work. Maybe I'll steal some of it at show it off for him... >.>

[Rabiesbunny]

Todd Lockwood.

God, he draws one HOT Fzoul Chembryl...

[bosssmiley]

Right now? Kuksi (http://kuksi.deviantart.com): weird and baroque allegorical wall hangings made with miniatures. Anyone who's into modelling go have a looksee and gnash your teeth that you will never be *this* good.

Still like Ursulav (http://ursulav.deviantart.com) for the bizarre whimsy of her art. Hunting acorns, Gearworld, mole rat dreams (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16200971/), biting pears, viking hamsters, actuarial snails, Ambulocetus beatnikii (the heppest of the transitional forms), the mighty Pearaphim, The Valley of the Wang, The blessed Saint Egg (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/37697905/), hadrosaur tea, wild lemonlopes (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/8765414/), the awesome cuteness of The Hedgehog's Balloon (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/3440749/) and the immortal caption: "Despite what Bob said Snocket knew his attack egg was cool... (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/13332786/)".
Yeah, I'm just a bit gooey over this stuff.

[Amotis]

Haha good choices bosssmiley. Kuksi is pretty cool. Heck, damn talented.

[sktarq]

Monet, Manet, Matisse, Rubens, Rembrant, Cezanne, Munch, Larionov, Dali, H. Bosch, Goya, and Vemeer

Van Gogh - only his last one but that moved me to tears.

My absolute favorite is actually a tie between Monet and Vemeer.

[General Leitmann]

Andy Warhol is my absolute favourite artist. Dhali comes a close second. The others just sort of file behind them in no real order, although I cannot stand Impressionism, not one bit...

[heretic]

I like Escher and for fantasy, Todd Lockwood.