Marco Carloni

Marco Carloni, landscape paintings
Marco Carloni is a painter based in Rome, whose work is appealing because of his clear, direct observation, economical notation and sensitivity to subtle relationships of light and dark.

After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Carloni worked for years as an illustrator, matte painter and 3D digital artist before transitioning back to traditional materials and plein air painting.

Carloni takes good advantage of the remarkable landscapes in and around Rome, often focusing on those remnants of ancient Rome that have fascinated many painters in the intervening centuries.

His website is in both Italian and English, and can be read like a blog or accessed like a website, with a dedicated section for landscapes. You can purchase his work directly through his Etsy shop.

 
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Jack Davis, 1924-2016

Jack Davis, cartoonist, caricaturist, comics artist illustrator
Cartoonist, caricaturist, comics artist and illustrator illustrator Jack Davis had a pen that connected directly to the funny bone.

Noted for his horror comics work for EC Comics and Warren magazines, his movie posters, TV Guide covers, celebrity caricatures and, in particular, his loopy, wild, frenetic, over-the-top and uncannily hilarious comics and covers for Cracked and MAD Magazine, Davis influenced cartoonists and comics artists across the board.

Davis often left his readers in simultaneous paroxysms of laughter and wide-eyed admiration for his drawing skills, producing contorted reading positions that looked like.. well, like jack Davis illustrations.

Jack Davis died on July 27, 2016 at the age of 92.

The links below are mostly to recent obits and articles. For more links to image resources, see my previous post on Jack Davis.

 
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Eye Candy for Today: Meléndez still life with plums

Still life with plums, figs, bread, keg, jug and other containers,  Luis Egidio Melendez
Still life with plums, figs, bread, keg, jug and other containers, Luis Egidio Meléndez

Link is to a downloadable high-resolution image on Wikimedia Commons; original is in the Museo del Prado.

This is another entrancing and deceptively simple still life by the 18th century Spanish master. I have said that my favorite still life painter in history is Chardin, but Meléndez runs a close second.

Both painters achieve what I feel is one of the highest purposes of art — to prompt us to see the commonplace world around us with fresh eyes — as a cornucopia of visual marvels.

In addition, both Chardin and Meléndez have for me an uncanny Vermeer-like ability to suggest the suspension of time.

 
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Bastien Grivet

Bastien Grivet, illustrationa and concept art
Originally from Switzerland, Bastien Grivet is a concept artist and illustrator based in Montpellier, France.

Grivet’s work ranges from loose and gestural, with deft use of flat, geometric areas of color, to intricately detailed, with a dynamic sense of scale. He also makes use of dramatic lighiting to focus attention on the key points of his compositions.

Grivet works primarily through Wardenlight Studio, which he co-founded with concept artist and illustrator Jessica Rossier.

Grivet has some step-through demos on YouTube.

 
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Eye Candy for Today: Bernardo Bellotto Venice cityscape

The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice; Bernardo Bellotto
The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice; Bernardo Bellotto

Link is to the original in the National Gallery of Art, DC, which has both a zoomable and downloadable version. There is also a zoomable version on Google Art Project.

Following in the footsteps of his more famous uncle and teacher, Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto created strikingly precise and beautifully lit views of the city of Venice.

 
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Ian Ramsay

Ian Ramsay, watercolor
Ian Ramsay was born in England, emigrated to the U.S. where he studied at the University of Utah, and now lives and works in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley.

Ramsay’s background in architecture shows in his confident handling of complex urban and architectural subjects. His strong draftstmanship also affords him the ability to work with loose applications of color in areas without losing the fundamental geometric strength of his compositions.

I particularly enjoy the textural aspect of his approach, and the play of light and dark in many of his scenes.

Ramsay’s work is featured in issue #23 of The Art of Watercolor, and in Watercolor Artist magazine this summer.

 
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