Images and words. That's how people usually deal with ideas, conceptualize, think, communicate, and generally live by. Composing imagery isn't simply about aesthetics; it's about understanding and communicating that understanding. One understands an object a great deal more after drawing it, and so too does one who views that drawing.

 

Drawing and painting are some of the most effective and efficient ways of conceptualizing, designing, and expressing, and as such, they offer one of the greatest portals into life, the universe, and everything that you are likely to come across. It's up to artists to keep that portal alive and relevant by continually composing and evolving their imagery.

 

Plus they're fun and exciting to look at. If you draw a really good rendering of something and show it to someone, nobody is going to tell you that it was a waste of time. No one.

 

Here are some of my favorite visual artists. Enjoy. And click the images for relevant links, mostly links to places where you can see more of their work if you'd like.

Nikolai Getman is the reason why I pursue the visual arts. From 1946 to 1953, he was a prisoner in forced labor camps in Siberia and Kolyma. He was a prisoner of the Gulag, the penal labor camps of the Soviet Union. He was imprisoned because one of his friends had drawn a caricature of Stalin on a cigarette box. Getman worked, survived, and upon making it out, vowed to make sure that what he had borne witness to would never be forgotten. He ensured this by painting what he had seen in secret, as it was illegal to do what he was doing and, if caught, he would have been sent back to the very place where the horror had occurred.

 

In all, Getman did 50 paintings. And unlike the work of many other artists, I stopped even considering composition, color, lighting, value, design... It all just faded away as I realized I was looking at something much more than a bunch of paintings. I was looking into the very soul of the Gulag: the very people who lived and suffered themselves.

 

This is something more than painting. This is the blood of human souls on canvas. And it is a testimony to something that should never be forgotten.

Mathias Verhasselt is what I imagine to be the perfect concept artist. He does amazingly gorgeous work amazingly fast. From a distance, his paintings look completely refined, but upon closer inspection, these are actually quite gestural works. These are paintings that upon initial read look like they've been labored over for days, even though many of them have been done in a couple hours.

 

This is the stage where an artist wants to be in this era, I think - able to bring phenomenal visions to life in an incredibly believable manner, but in the span of only a few hours, for there's only so much time to do such work. This is what one can do with truly refined skill.

Looking at the work of Andrew Jones is like having an out of body experience, finding nirvana, and being sucked into an organic digital landscape, all at the same time. This is the work of a true visionary.

 

In my opinion, it's not really that difficult to learn how to draw or paint something realistic. Still lifes are not the pinnacle of artistic expression, as the old masters would agree. The work of Andrew Jones, is. Form flows freely. Color and light mingle at times harmoniously, at times cacophonously, always comellingly. Texture, line, and symbology turn these paintings into living creatures with personalities of their very own. Look deeply enough and one can feel them breathing their life back into you.

 

A man who can craft 1000 self-portraits in 1000 days uninterrupted is either insane, immortal, or both. Either way, he's a genius, and one who has truly mastered the mystic art of expression.

In my studies and my personal development, I've come to learn how to truly appreciate work that isn't necessarily my personal taste or style (a very, very important ability to have, might I add). Wayne Barlowe... now this is my style.

 

He's done some really amazing stuff, such as his Expedition series of paintings depicting alien lifeforms of a fictional planet. However, it's his Inferno series that pushes him beyond being a simple sci-fi/fantasy painter and into the realms beyond. Inspired by Dante's Inferno, the series of paintings is a depiction of Barlowe's personal visions of Hell. This is an epic struggle for the human soul. This is a personal battleground where the very essences of hope and despair collide carnally. Raw and relentless, Barlowe shows us what happenes when inner torment and emotional power is completely let loose in a take-no-prisoners visual assault of artistic expression.

 

Welcome to Inferno. Enjoy your stay. I sure as hell will.

Some painters have learned to capture the essence of humanity on canvas. Ansel Adams has learned to capture the essence of the natural world through his camera.

 

The black and white imagery is not stark or austere at all, but lush, vibrant, glowing, and absolutely epic. A master of composition, Ansel Adams shows that the universe itself is the greatest artist of them all.

I love Magritte. Weird, wild, wacky, funny, absurd, yet deep, contemplative, and beautiful at the same time, Magritte's work is truly grand.

 

His paintings speak for themselves, though what they might be saying is at times beyond me. It doesn't matter though. One cannot help but gaze deeply regardless.

"Tuesday's coming. Did you bring your coat?"

"I live in a giant bucket."

"Hoyohhhh!"

 

Welcome to the absurdist humor of animator Don Hertzfeldt.

 

Commentary on the commercialization of human society? Exploration of the meaningless cruelty of existence? Just a bunch of random crap thrown together with an injection of exaggerated violence for good measure? Call it what you will.

 

I call it awesome.

Rembrandt... what's there to say about Rembrandt? His images say it all.

 

His work is timeless and may outlive humanity itself. An alien civilization could come across the remains of humanity after we have passed, look at Rembrandt's paintings, and know exactly what we are or were all about.

Master of mind bending illusion, old M.C. is the O.G. of alternate reality. Escher's work is just so out of this world, the immaculately crafted illusions throwing your mind into a loop. What is the background, what is the foreground? What is up, what is down? I don't know what's going on, and I'm lovin' it!

 

This is theoretical physics in pictorial form. Who needs drugs when you can trip out on an M. C. Escher drawing instead?

Ryan Church is a brilliant concept designer, digital painter, and all around artist. He has worked on all sorts of films and whatnot, and he's a definite authority in his field and medium. However, that's not why he's on this list.

 

Not only is he good, but he's shared all of his secrets with his DVDs. He has thoroughly, thoroughly discussed all of his thought processes, his workflows, and everything he's learned throughout the years of his artistic career. This is something that is beyond generous. It is absolutely invaluable, and through his in depth discussions, one can come to truly understand and appreciate his ability.

Jan Vermeer has learned to capture the essence of the human soul through imagery, and he has mastered this ability. Now if only he had produced some training DVDs so I could do it too.

The master of lighting. His work was so dramatic, so powerful, and so new that pretty much everyone and their dog copied his style, though they would never admit to it.

 

Caravaggio's Biblical and classical imagery is rendered in such a moving, well composed manner that it's easy to see why his style was and is so copied. For when one were to look upon his work during his time, one would be looking into something absolutely revolutionary.

Good lord. That was my initial reaction when I stumbled upon Mr. Noah Stacey's work. His work is beautifully dark and cryptic, the harsh and organic black and white imagery of a lot of his work conveying a sense of color unseen.

 

He's been an inspiration to me for a very long time now. I hope one day I can develop my ability enough to be able to take him on. Till then... I study and refine my abilites.

Wes Borland. The former guitarist of Limp Bizkit. An amazing painter. Really? Apparently yes, really.

 

Now I think Wes Borland is a really great guitarist. I wish Limp Bizkit released albums without vocals, because Borland's guitarwork with them was actually quite good.

 

But looking at his paintings, it's obvious that not only is he a skilled painter with a powerful understanding of the human figure and form, but he is a dark, creepy visionary with the ability to conjure images of true, primordial terror. And yet there is a subtle, sensitive beauty that makes itself apparent in some of his work as well. I certainly hope he can spend some more time painting.