Chester Arnold

It's hard to imagine an artist who can paint trash with more wit and charm. And the self deprecating ability to view the accumulated canvases in his studio in the same light is hard not to admire.
There's a good deal of work to look at on his website (www.ten2ten.com/arnold) but the images are very small. For larger but somewhat fewer images go to his gallery's website www.cclarkgallery.com



















"Scenes From the Lives of words" 18x22" 2008



















"Inventory" 22x26" 2005


















"The Giant Piece of Turf" 70x84" 2008
















"Entropic Landscape" 72x94" 1999

Jaroslaw Kukowski

Okay, if you go to his website (kukowski.pl) it's not all going to look like these three paintings. Some of his work is, I have to say it, a little silly. But the guy has a lot of talent and these three paintings (at the very least) are really really cool.


















"Modliszki" 120x110cm






















"Maternity" 80x100cm























"Centaur" 75x60cm

Owen McAuley

I'm mad at Owen McAuley. I stumbled on his website ages ago and I immediately loved what I saw. But what did I see? These images are tiny. I'm guessing that the paintings are pretty amazing, but how can I be sure? Well, I'll post them anyway (don't bother clicking on them, they don't get bigger). I can't resist a good night scene. That one of the tracks in the snow, lit by headlamps... well hell, I just wish I could see the actual painting. I don't think I'll make it down to Texas anytime soon so I can only hope he'll post slightly larger files later on.
www.owenmcauley.com
















Madison NY 12x16" 2004
















"Skyline" 36x48" 2003
















Olney MD 18x24" 2008

Thomas Edetun

Cryptic work but when it works it works. His website is www.edetun.se but you may also want to look at paintings on his Myartspace page
















"Folklore Fantastic"


















"Levitation"

Heather Accurso

Sometimes you can't decide at first if you like something simply because you've never seen anything quite like it before. But quality comes through if you're paying attention and something different is always refreshing. That said, some of her images are really just plain weird (I mean that in a good way).
There's lot's of great details on her website although the navigating is not immediately intuitive: www.heather-accurso.de

click on these to view larger


















"Nuclear Test Site" 94x75cm 2006























"Highrise Plane" 53x43cm 2006





















"Big City Girl" 62x56cm 1999

Josh Keyes

Here are some pretty unique and striking images. I almost wish they could be turned into life-size dioramas, like displays in some future museum of the end of civilization (but wait, if there's no civilization how could there be a museum....? Don't bother me with details).
He has a lot of images like this and more at his website www.joshkeyes.net



















"Sowing" 30x40" 2009























"Overflow" 12x12" 2007






















"Lurk" 12x12" 2006

Alex Kanevsky

He has an interesting feature on his website where you can watch a sequence of images of his paintings as they develop. I've seen the like on other sites but what makes his so interesting is that each step is more like a different version of the same painting, instead of a steady progression toward completeness. He just keeps repainting it over and over until he gets the results he wants. These paintings aren't layered in the traditional sense but they develop what he calls holes through which you can see bits and pieces of the earlier paintings. It's all very immediate and seemingly effortless though of course it really isn't.
While most of his work centers around the nude he tackles other subjects as well, often with reference to earlier 20th century artists.
There's much more to see at his website www.somepaintings.net/Alex.html






















"Blue Bathroom" 36x36" 2009























"Interior With Meat" 36x36" 2006






















"JFH - Knee Deep in Water" 36x36" 2009

[I love this painting but Water? Really?]

Gail Potocki

Here's another contemporary symbolist drawing on 19th century predecessors who has obviously met with some success. The images on her website (www.gailpotocki.com) are frustratingly small but I found a couple decent images that you can see reasonably well. Just click on them to view slightly larger.


















"Silence" 56x46" 2001
















"Giver and Taker" 54x44" 2003

Lori Field

I'm sure this is the kind of work that really needs to be seen in person to be truly appreciated. Encaustic tends to be that way. Nonetheless her imagery and colors have a dreamlike quality that comes through even in the digital image. There's plenty of work to look through on her website www.lorifieldfineart.com
Or you can check out her Flickr page





















"Do You Like My Hat?"























"Butterflies In My Stomach"






















"The Little Death"

Fred Einaudi

If my previous entry depicted a subtle horror here's the horror with the subtlety stripped away and exposed to the harsh light of day and handed to you with a wink and a smile. The images are so striking that one almost forgets to notice how well the realism is handled.
fredeinaudi.com























"Mermaid" 18x24"






















"Patriot" 14x20"























"Hunger" 16x20"

Maya Kulenovic

These are some psychologically dark images. There are a lot of artists out there dealing with dark imagery but rarely is it done with such subtlety. They are all the more effective because of that. Most of her work consists of brooding portraits of adolescents with a few of older faces as well. She also does some architectural studies and swamp-like landscapes that all convey an equal sense of despair and crushing isolation. So... have fun checking out her website! www.mayakulenovic.com























"Blight" 34x30"























"Tranquility" 28x22"
























"Intellect" 26x22"

















"Sanitarium" 48x36"

Martin WittFooth

Here's another artist/illustrator. But these are not merely well crafted illustrations. Mr. Wittfooth seems to be dealing with some pretty substantial themes. While he presents no artist statement on his website (www.martinwittfooth.com) what I see is a cast of almost mythic characters (all animals) playing out a drama in an ongoing apocalypse named mankind.
A large number of these pieces are from this year so he's obviously very busy. I'll definitely be checking back in.

















"Saints Preserve Us" 88x51" oil on linen 2009












"Beyond The Fence" 30x15" 2009






















"Angel" 30x30" oil on panel 2009

Mattias Adolfsson

On a light note, here's an illustrator from Sweden whose voracious consumption of moleskin sketchbooks is really quite impressive. There is a playful wit to his work that raises it far above the average doodler. Mr. Adolfsson has created his own unique and weird little world. You can keep up with his daily output on his blog: mattiasa.blogspot.com. Or you can browse through hundreds of drawings on his flickr page.

These images are pretty big, so please click on them to view larger. The details are wonderful.





















"The Gorgon"























"Merchant-Navy"






















"Mobile City Block"

Jonathan Viner

This guy has a beautiful technique that is oddly reminiscent of animation. I mean that in a good way. One almost expects these characters to start breathing. I'll leave it to you to decide the deeper meaning of his seeming recent obsession of hotties in headphones but he does do some striking work on sensuality. See his website www.vinerstudio.com






















"A Discerning Youngster" oil on panel 24x36"















"A Discerning Youngster" detail






















"A Pale Girl in Pale Camo" oil on panel 24x36"