Tag Archive for "poster"

What is Michael Kaluta doing?

Artists rarely have time to put pen to paper or bash out an email about what they are doing but occasionally we get updates on what artists are doing and what shows they are at etc.  Michael Kaluta, the well-known American artist, while waiting for the go-ahead for his latest project, has told us what he’s been up to in his last busy year.  This is what Michael Kaluta has to say -

“… back in March ‘09, I was drawing the 3rd issue of a 5-issue story arc for DC/Vertigo’s Madame Xanadu comic book: the collected issues, titled Exodus Noir, just hit the stands here in the States.

I was also getting the old Starstruck Comic Book ready for a reprinting through IDW: taller pages, new full-painted color (by Lee Moyer), each with a new cover. The Adventures of the Galactic Girl Guides has been added each issue as a back-up feature. (Pencils: me, Inks: Charles Vess, Color: Lee Moyer and Writing: Elaine Lee, naturally!)
Our 6th new Starstruck issue (out of 13-issue series) just hit the stands here… it’s a treat!
There WAS to be a George RR Martin Fire and Ice Calendar for 2010, but the publisher dropped the ball several times and even missed it on the bounce…  so, that art may find a home later…
I’m also knee-deep in three nice big commissioned pictures: two are Shadow-oriented, the other is part of a planned triptych based on A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (Titania and Bottom in his Donkey-guise)
I just did a silly but fun pin-up of Uncle Creepy for Dark Horse Comics and a Marvel Cover of Machine Man fighting Zombie Killraven…  go figure!!!
I’m waiting on some other folks to get back to me on different projects… the longer they don’t get in touch, the less time I’ll have to do the work.”
So there you go, a life in the year of Michael Kaluta.
You can see more of his work here or visit his own website here.
He also said that two of my personal favourites of his work are also two of his personal favourites.  These are:
Fate of Dollies Lost in Dreams by Michael Kaluta

Fate of Dollies Lost in Dreams by Michael Kaluta

and
Sentry by Michael Kaluta

Sentry by Michael Kaluta

The difficulty with some of Michael Kaluta’s work is that although it is quite immediate, vibrant and colourful, you don’t really appreciate it until you look at it closely and carefully.  So few people take the time to really look at art and they are poorer for the lack of attention they give to it.  If you want art to touch you then you have to give it your attention.  A quick glance and, “Oh that’s nice” really doesn’t do it.  Art will draw you in and reach depths of you that you didn’t know existed but you have to give it the chance to do that.  These two paintings by Michael Kaluta are very much like that.  ‘Fate of Dollies’ will probably awaken feelings you haven’t had since you were a child and possibly the same with ‘Sentry’.  ‘Sentry’ is more complex and poses more questions but both are truly evocative pieces like so much of Michael Kaluta’s work.  Let’s hope he’s doing it for many more years to come.

Picture of the Month

The Phoenix conceived by Roger Garland

Phoenix poster by Roger Garland

Phoenix poster by Roger Garland

This brilliant painting was painted by well-known  Tolkien artist Roger Garland way back and is one of the best depictions of the phoenix ever.  It was only ever reproduced as a large poster that for various reasons was poorly distributed making copies hard to find.  We were lucky to buy up the last of them from Roger Garland himself some years back and he signed them all with a silver pen.  A very impressive large image that will make you want to run around the room playing air guitar and singing the Wishbone Ash song!  If you can’t remember the words then here they are:

Bird rise high from the cinders
Leave it all behind

All the ruins and the fire

Bird raise your head from the ashes
Many men lay dead
You can see them like I

Phoenix rise
Raise your head to the sky

Picture of the Month

Well given the controversy over the new film AVATAR and the alleged wholesale ripping off of Roger Dean’s ideas I guess it is only appropriate to make Roger Dean’s ‘Floating Islands’ our Picture of the Month for December.  Here it is:

This image of it is from the Roger Dean Floating Islands poster published by Pomegranate

This image of it is from the Roger Dean Floating Islands poster published by Pomegranate

The thing to remember is that Roger Dean was painting fantasy landscapes before most of those watching the film AVATAR were even born!  If you are under 35 years old then while you were gurgling and attempting to spray the entire room with your latest meal he was out there making amazing art like this.  Roger Dean is thought of as one of the greatest fantasy artists but he thinks of himself much more as a landscape artist and designer.  As is often the case, the works that Roger Dean is so famous for are not necessarily what he considers to be the main areas of his interest or expertise.  Whatever, his influence is tremendous and his surreal floating islands along with his waterfalls under water have captured the imagination of many people including it would now seem a film director called Cameron.

Picture of the month

War of Angels by Todd Lockwood
War of Angels by Todd Lockwood

Painted in 2006 when Bullseye Tattoos called Todd Lockwood with what was for Todd an irresistible project.  This was to do an institutional series of posters where Todd Lockwood was commissioned to paint anything he wanted, so long as it looked like it was tattooed on a person’s back!  Every artist loves a job like this and Todd Lockwood was no exception!   He went into his archive of “Paintings I’d Like to See” and came up with this.  It turned out to be a stunning depiction of a war between heaven and hell with white and dark angels slugging it out in true Heroes fashion ! This ‘War of Angels’ was then reproduced as a large Todd Lockwood Limited Edition art print, which you can find on sale at Artists UK.

Picture of the Month

We are going to start putting up a classic here each month.  That is a perhaps a bold statement with the hectic couple of months of pre-Christmas trading fast approaching but let’s see what happens.  Anyway, this picture really deserves a lot more attention than it currently gets.  The real problem is that no photograph can actually do it justice at all.  When we traded at Merton Abbey Mills in South London all those years ago the Limited Edition of this painting, despite being fairly pricey, still outsold a lot of cheaper prints because it would just stop people dead in their tracks.  It is just a stunning work of art admired by art-lovers and artists alike all over the world.  It is called ‘Blind Narcissus’ and is by the extremely talented and well-known artist Jeff Jones.

Blind Narcissus by Jeff Jones

Blind Narcissus by Jeff Jones

Painted in the 70’s the original painting is 90″ x 48″ painted in oils on stretched linen. The Limited Edition print was published in 1979 so it is 30 years old this year!   Image size of the Limited edition print is still a massive 850 x 425mm and is signed and numbered by the artist over 1000.  It is printed on acid-free board.  Often considered as a beautiful centrepiece for any large room or at the end of a hallway.  There is also a collectible poster version of it as the Big O poster published by Dragon’s Dream and distributed through Big O Publishing.  If you want to see more on the print or poster or see more art by Jeff Jones then just click on the image.  One of the things that strikes people about this painting is its enigmatic quality.  The posture of the woman is unusual in itself but seems somehow not that contrived.  The way her dress seems to merge into the ground gives a vaguely ghostly air to the whole painting.  The painting technique itself is reminiscent of the best of the pre-raphaelites.  We really couldn’t think of a better classic to kick off our new theme with.