Interesting Art

Some art/artists I find interesting. In another life I majored in art history, so I'll spare you from all the big canonical names. Some more interesting illustrations were brought up when I talked about Trading Card Games.

A Long Vacation by Hiroshi Nagai (1987)

Hiroshi Nagai is pretty popular by now on the internet, but I highlight him here nonetheless because it fits so well with the themes of my site.

And why? Because Nagai's sun-drenched idealized depictions of Americana fit pretty well with the general themes of my website. The City Pop album covers he illustrated for also speak to that fascination. This idealized view of America as it never truly was is bit of a shared dream among us foreigners.

Donald Duck spending his last few coins on a Christmas tree sold by Uncle Scrooge.

Christmas Composition by Carl Barks (1972)

Famed Donald Duck comic artist Carl Barks painted quite a few oil paintings after his retirement.

This specific one was used as the cover of the Dutch 1996 Christmas omnibus which I had a child. It was a departure in style from all the other covers, which made it stand out even more. I really like the dark colors and extremely unsympathetic depiction of Scrooge McDuck.

An ice skater on a frozen pond in suburbia.

The Skater by Leonard Koscianski (2017)

I appreciate Koscianski's painting because of how the touches of surrealism and abstraction, together with the often weird angles, add a slightly uneasy touch to what otherwise would be cozy and nostalgic paintings. They're hazy and slightly melancholic memories of a childhood.

A witch working on her floating computer, while her cat paws at the computer mouse.

Curses Inc. by Tristan Elwell (1997)

Cover of the book Curses Inc. and Other Stories by Vivian Vande Velde. Elwell illustrated many book and magazine covers, and quite a few of them are really interesting. This interview highlights some of his more striking works, as well as his thoughts behind them.

A child window shopping for candy and pastries.

Illustration by Anton Pieck

Anton Pieck, the Dutch illustrator whose fairy tale illustrations defined the visual style of theme park the Efteling, was also known for his many nostalgic illustrations that often show up on postcards. I chose one of those illustrations, since I may end up creating a page on the theme park.

It was a bit bizarre to me, as a kid, to find out this man died in 1987. He felt more ancient than that, more foundational.