Throughout nearly every physical medium within the art world, a muse is perceived as an artist’s creative soulmate and the source of limitless original inspiration. Whether you’re a cinephile or a consumer of classical art, the relationship between a creator and his muse has flourished throughout every caveat of cultivated art.
Welcome to the dreamscape of Daniel Bilodeau, one of the leading surrealism painters of our era. Molded by the distinct art colonies of Montreal, New York City, Florence, and Bali, Bilodeau has an unrestricted and multifaceted worldview that informs his outlook on creating art with a holistic purpose.
Las Vegas is the home of many beautiful women; however, none are quite as magical as those created by Kurtis Rykovich who pulls his inspiration from fairy tales, horror, comics and the furthest depths of his imagination. However, while his Damsels are the focus of his career as an artist, there’s more to Rykovich than just the dozens of beautiful women he’s brought to life.
In 1988, David Uhl purchased his first motorcycle and 30 years later, he’s created hundreds of oil paintings for Harley-Davidson. Pulling inspiration from bikes past and present, Uhl captures the spirit of the open road with each careful stroke. Uhl takes black-and-white photographs, some of which haven’t seen the light of day for decades, and brings them back to life on canvas. His timeless approach to artistic application blended with an all-American composition makes the work of David Uhl stand the test of time, in more ways than one.
Many tattoo artists never dream of leaving their careers behind. However, after 14 years working to become a world-renowned realism artist, Mike Dargas said goodbye to the tattoo world. Dargas’ decision was not made in vain. Instead, he channeled his energy toward large-scale hyper realism paintings, showing his collections in prestigious galleries around the world. INKED sat with Dargas to find out what led him to make such a drastic career change and what his process is for creating paintings with a sticky-yet-sweet twist.
How did growing up in South Africa impact you as an artist?I don’t think that had too much of an impact on me, as I was still very young when I lived in South Africa. Art back then was just a hobby; I’d occasionally draw if I was bored, but being in school, I was more concerned about getting through [school] as fast as possible. I never thought I’d end up being a professional artist. I guess if I think back now; I do find inspiration in African crafts (wire/wooden sculptures).
For our 2018 issue, we were on the lookout for a fine artist whose work highlighted both the classical past and innovative future of pin-up art. However, when we stumbled upon London painter Chris Guest, we knew immediately that the search was over. With a technical understanding of art history and first-hand experience as a collector in the tattoo industry, Guest has a perspective that resonates with both the classic and contemporary disciplines. He’s developed a style that expands our understanding of fine-art culture and reintroduces audiences to their favorite tattoo models in a revolutionary format. Much like the first pin-up prints captivated, challenged, and stimulated the people of the 40s and 50s—Guest’s work straddles the line between sexy and sleazy, but always manages to find a happy medium between the two.
While many artists go big in terms of canvas size, one multimedia sculptor has reached international success on a small scale. He’s gained a loyal social media following for transforming pencil lead into unbelievable sculptures, carving away precise details at a fraction of a millimeter. For the past four years, he has mastered his craft by replicating a number of recognizable symbols, images and themes found in modern popular culture. Take a look at how Salavat Fidai began his art career, his process for creating a sculpture, and which piece has been the most challenging so far.
As human beings, there’s something deep down inside that prevents us from looking away from scenes of horror and disaster. Whether it be a car accident on the highway or a torture porn slasher flick, something in our minds is drawn to witnessing atrocities. And it’s this peculiar lust for gore that makes the work of oil painter Christian Rex van Minnen so seductive. His provocative style evokes emotions of disgust and curiosity simultaneously, a juxtaposition he’s perfected over the last decade. We sat down with the Rhode Island native to learn how he developed his graphic approach and to uncover his growing fascination with ignorant style tattooing.
While sexologists have proved that size may not matter in the bedroom, for Portuguese painter Odeith, he’s found success under the mantra “Bigger is Better.” Odeith has crafted a name for himself as an international visual street artist by demonstrating his talent to transform any space into a spectacular work of art. He uses a sharp understanding of perspective and shading to manipulate the unique curves and textures of a given space, creating larger than life images that turn ordinary into extraordinary.
For many artists, their hometown, state or country plays a significant role in the work they create. Take Steven King for example, who has used New England as the setting for almost all of his stories. There's a number of reasons why an artist might take inspiration from where they grew up, whether it be nostalgia or simply pride. But for South African illustrator and artist Karabo Poppy Moletsane, she's pushing to boost and preserve the African aesthetic through her work. And based on her global collaborations with Nike, Coca-Cola, Bombay Sapphire, and Ponds—we'd say her message is making its rounds.
