The Art of Vitaly Medvedovsky

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Vitaly Medvedovsky's paintings are the very definition of picturesque. A Ukrainian-born alumni of OCAD and Concordia University, Medvedovsky aspires, and succeeds, in cultivating a rich inner mythology coursing all throughout the body of his work.

Arctic labyrinths, impossible attic spaces with no end, and the husks of bi-planes strewn about empty airspaces littered with the remnants of a long-dead world. It's as if his subjects reside within a truman show-esque simulacra of half-reality that's nested within the foggy borders of a half-forgotten dream. Occasionally, from time to time, an inhabitant might manage to peek past the curtain to catch a fleeting glimpse of the edges surrounding this whimsical paracosm of otherworldly delights.

The muted vibrancy of Medvedovsky's colors and the elegant simplicity of his compositions bring to mind comparisons to Jonathan Blow's upcoming video-game The Witness. Beautifully impressionistic, pop-surrealist storybook illustrations underscored with an almost rockwellian aura of poignance and solemnity. Check past the break for more of his work over this past year, with more paintings in-progress to come!

The Art of Rafael Sarmento

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Rafael Sarmento is a Brazilian freelance illustrator whose subject matter combines the painterly nuances of Kuang Hong mixed with the macabre surreality of Francis Bacon. Delving into his portfolio is like walking into a banquet hall where grotesque oddities, otherwordly aristocrats and unsuspecting mortals come together and co-mingle.

The palette and texture of his more detailed painting is so convincing that I almost mistook them for traditional paintings (all digital), and the composition of his illustration work creates a mythology of aloof mystery that I'd love to see explored in the future. Check more of Sarmento's stunning work after the break.

The Art of Ivan Alifan

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Ivan Alifan's ongoing series of paintings, It's Not Milk, are beautifully rendered meditations on the tenuous divide between sensuality and perception. Alifan describes his work as, Using ambiguity as a tool [that prompts] the viewer's exploration of their psyches and provokes self awareness; I can say confidently that, for me at least, he's accomplished his goal and then some.

His paintings conjure up a wellspring of reaction; the aloof halo of mysticism and sensuality that permeate off these figures in his portraits evokes a sensation like being doused in a torrent of frosted ice-cream. Cold, alarming, and oddly enough, pleasant.

Mythic Beast Travel Posters by Fro

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I'm a sucker for well-made travel posters, and these fun mythological creature posters were no exception.  You might not believe in Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster ('Peter Pan' taught me not to mention belief in fairies, so leave that sh*t alone), but they're fun little stories nonetheless.  Fernando Reza, aka Fro, did an awesome job with this retro-looking series. 

Check out the rest of his work on his site. More posters after the break!

The Spectacular Fantasy Art Of Yang Qi

Niu Mowang, the Bull Demon King (Via)

Yang Qi recently made quite a blip on our concept radars by dumping a ton of his amazing work online at once on Deviantart. It never ceases to amaze me just how many 'uncharted' concept artists there are out there, and how much beautiful work is sitting on peoples hard drives, or country specific art websites like PixIv.

Yang really caught my attention with his beautifully detailed concepts from 'W Game' and 'Asura,' two relatively unknown MMO's here in the west. The 'W Game' concepts are definitely noteworthy, as they are themed after the classic epic Chinese tale of 'Journey To The West,' revolving around Sun Wukong, aka The Monkey King. I'm looking forward to seeing more from the Shenzen based artist, as his attention to detail and rendering style truly is excellent. Check out more of his work after the break!