Personal websites of artists of all varieties. I especially like pop surrealism. Some favorites are bolded.
Jump to: photographers | painters | mixed media artists | print makers | illustrators | comic artists | graphic design | dimensional art
Also see: blogroll | interesting people | neat websites
2D Art
Photographers
- Ryota Kajita / 梶田亮太 – Photographer
- Christopher Payne – architectural and industrial photography
- Xavier Portela – nighttime city photography (Brussels)
- Sinziana Velicescu – abstract architectural photos (Los Angeles)
- Ben Simon Rehn
- Paolo Pettigiani – infrared photography (Italy)
- Luke Shadbolt – wave photography (Australia)
- Benjamin Everett
- Brittany Wright (Wright Kitchen) – flat lay rainbow food photos
- Mikko Lagerstedt – beautiful night snow photography (Finland)
- Maarten Vromans (The Netherlands)
- Oghalé Alex – fashion photography
- Morgan Heim – wildlife photography
- Melissa Groo – conservation photography
- Claire Droppert (The Netherlands)
- Karen Jerzyk – astronauts in unlikely settings
- Ben Zank – surrealist portraits (New York)
- Maria Svarbova – swimming pool portraits
- Scott Kranz – mountain photos (Seattle)
- Brooke Shaden – fantastical portraits
- Laura Paresky Gould (Miami Color Theory) – abstract (Miami)
- Reuben Wu – landscape photography lit with drones
- Warren Keelan – textural wave photos
- Tobias Hägg (Airpixels) – drone photography (Sweden)
- Pixelated Streets – street art photography (New York)
- Floris van Breugel (Art in Nature) – nature photography
- Uli Westphal – ombre flatlay collections (Berlin)
- Bernhard Lang – aerial landscape and abstract photography
- Roland Kraemer (That Bloom) – abstract nature photography
- Edward Burtynsky – “nature transformed by industry”
- Rune Guneriussen – delightful “parasitic” light and sculpture installations in nature (Norway)
- Forgotten Heritage (Matt Emmett) – architectural and heritage photography (England)
- Andrew Soria – photographic hyperworld collages
Painters
- Brian Despain – robot art
- Graham Curran – ocean monsters
- Jeff Soto – colorful fantasy birds and robots (SoCal)
- Scott Musgrove – imagined animal paintings and sculptures
- Renee Hartig – contemporary landscape oil painting (Oregon)
- Nick Sheehy – macabre surrealist paintings of animals and bones
- Dragica Carlin – beautiful swirling colors
- Kai and Sunny – colorful abstract stripes
- Grant Pecoff – colorful friendly landscapes
- Miranda Meeks – eerie fantasy paintings
- Conrad Jon Godly – bold thickly painted mountainscapes
- Peter Ferguson – old-timey surrealist paintings of people with odd animals
- Tom Bagshaw – dark witchy women
- Susie Ghahremani (boygirlparty) – colorful cheerful animals
- Amy Sol – moody peaceful pastel-hued women in fantasy realms
- Frank Gonzales – bird and plant surrealist paintings (Arizona)
- KM Steere – botanical cats and creatures (Pacific Northwest)
- Scott Listfield – paintings of astronauts in dystopian futures
- Laura Bifano – geometric colorful landscapes (Canada)
- Reliah Szade – cyberpunkish sci-fi paintings of people
- Allie Oldfield – landscapes (London)
- Lindsey Carr – almost obscene botanicals (Scotland)
- Femke Hiemstra (Femtasia) – surrealist stories with an old-fashioned vibe
- Joao Ruas – unsettling detached people
- Syd Bee – luminous pink and blue women (Seattle)
- Shaun Tan – surrealist worlds peopled by imaginary creatures
- Shok-1 – x-ray paintings
- Matthew Grabelsky – humanistic animal families on the subway
- Sarah Joncas – beautiful women (Canada)
- Martin Wittfooth – decadent fantasias
- Travis Louie – old fashioned monster portraits
- Rebecca Chaperon – mystical floating crystals over dark seas (Canada)
- Mary Iverson – geometry superimposed on landscapes (Seattle)
- Teagan White – gouache and watercolor wildlife (PNW)
- Andy Kehoe – mystical, celestial fantasy lands (Pittsburgh)
- Christina Mrozik – dying creatures and flowers
- Esao Andrews – surrealist portraits (Los Angeles)
- Jason Limon – retro skeletons and wordplay
- Audrey Kawasaki – powerful women on wood
- Jess Franks – colorful abstracted landscapes
- Brandi Milne – cheerfully dark fairy tale scenes
- Jeffrey Alan Love – mythical monsters and heroic scenes
- Angela Lane – landscapes (Germany)
- Bao Pham – floral portraits of women (Iowa)
- James Jean – people in colorful fantasy worlds
- Lois von Baarle (Loish) – emotive digital portraits of women
- Paul Barnes – unsettling fantastical scenes
- Caia Koopman – hypercolor pop surrealist portraits of women
- Kristin Kwan – fantasy creature and mondo cat paintings
- Lee Madgwick – modern gothic landscapes
Mixed media artists
- Janelle Lile – paintings of women with nature ephemera (Washington)
- Kristen Meyer (Salvage Design) – photos of flatlay compositions made from natural elements (Connecticut)
- Chris Berens – soft surreal fantasy scenes (Amsterdam)
- Frank Moth – retro digital collage (Greece)
- Ulla Thynell – fairy tale forest paintings and mixed media
Print makers
- The Draculas
- Peter Mataya – abstract pattern monoprints
- Clare (Tiger Food Press) – block print artist (Oregon)
- Kit Vasey (Houndsaint) – medieval inspired demonic art
- Kelli MacConnell – linocut prints of landscapes and tree illustrations
- Christopher Lee (The Beast is Back) – fun screen prints (Los Angeles)
- Pam Wishbow (Seattle)
Illustrators
- Kevin Chan (Hey It’s Meu) – cute cat drawings
- Kelly Johnson – creepycute “wolfboi” illustrations
- Kim Slate – muted stylized animal illustrations (and sculptures)
- Samantha Mash – distorted animal and plant art (Portland)
- Damian J. McDonald – abstract mutant grayscale creatures (Oregon)
- Jared Tuttle – fine line art
- Deb JJ Lee – luscious colorful fantastical illustrations
- Anoosha Syed – fun colorful worlds and characters
- Taylor Price – tropical creatures (Los Angeles)
- Philip Giordano – geometric colorful characters
- Patrick Hruby – retro scandi-style nature illustrations
- Loris Lora – boldly colorful happy illustrations
- Ellen Surrey – mid-century inspired bright cute illustrations
- Nellie Le – adorable mini paintings of animals and kawaii food (Los Angeles)
- Lauren J Myers – mixed animal and botanical stylized art
- Lianne Pflug – adorable close scale floral, mushroom, and insect art
- Nicholas Slater – clean line flat illustrations
- Yoshi Yoshitani – colorful fantasy and fairy tale illustrations
- Nico Delort – scratchboard fantasy and landscape illustrations
- Ruben Ireland – dramatic warrior women
- Audre ‘Charamath’ Schutte – cool bestiary drawings
- Katie O’Neill – adorable fantasy scenes
- Alyssa Scott – botanical patterns
- Natalie Hall – illustration and tattoo art (Los Angeles)
- Yellena James – botanically inspired geometric art (Portland)
- Nick Kuchar – coastal scenes (Hawaii)
- Nico Salazar – tattoo style anime-inspired black and white girls
- Alex (Synthetic Animal) – skeletons
- Nicoletta Ceccoli – etheral girls (San Marino)
- Ella Bailey – cute bright pastel people and animals
- David DePasquale – animation and character design (SoCal)
- Nguyễn Thanh Nhàn (xnhan00) – delicate women paintings
- Candice Phang (Puffingmuffin) – exuberant fantasy figures (Singapore)
- Tran Nguyen – detailed drawings of women with animal and floral motifs (Georgia)
- Jasmine Floyd – neon psychedelic screenprinty style
- Owen Davey – stylized retro animal illustrations
- Sam Wolfe Connelly – conte black and white creepy scenes
- Jenna Barton (Dappermouth) – creepy dogs and wolves
- Eva Vilhelmiina Eskelinen (Canada)
- Meg Park – character design and illustration (SoCal)
- Marco Mazzoni – pink and blue flowers engulfing human figures
- Mike McCain – digital landscapes
- Rovina Cai – sweeping pencil illustrations
- Bo Feng Lin – tropical portraits of women (Germany)
- Joey Chou – colorful characters
- Caitlin Hackett – contemporary mythology
- Miranda Zimmerman (Faunwood) – imagined creatures
- Kamwei Fong – black and white fuzzy cats (Malaysia)
- Dan Funderburgh – patterned everything
- Britt Sabo – supernatural, monster, and folklore art
- Adam JK – handwriting focused
- Jess Phoenix – colorful floral patterns
- Pierrick Calvez
- Hollie Mengert – fun character designs
- Jemma Salume – geometric colorful designs
- Anuj Shrestha – fine-lined illustrator and cartoonist using limited color palettes
- Kim Smith – I really like her nature scenes and animals – she did a couple 59 Parks posters I liked!
- Tracy Walker – colorful geometric illustrations – nice color palettes
Comic artists
- Ted Naifeh
- Tessa Hulls
- Kate Wheeler
- Maria Capelle Frantz
- Ethan Aldridge
- Faith Erin Hicks (Canada)
- Tony Cliff (Canada)
- Jen Bartel
- Reimena Yee
- Lenora Yerkes
- Tomer Hanuka
- Kate Beaton
Other
- Peter Popken – sci-fi movie concept art
- Candace Rose Rardon – visual storyteller
- Andy Gilmore – graphic artist (New York)
Design
Lettering artists
- Kyle Letendre – lettering and illustration (Portland)
- Jessica Hische – flowing illustrated type (California)
Graphic designers
- Dan Shafer (Dandy Co) (Seattle)
- DKNG Studios – design and illustration (Los Angeles)
- Charlie Wagers (Pittsburgh)
- Steve Leard – book cover design (UK)
- Ryan Swierczek (Swierczek Design Co) – retro toned digital collage posters
Dimensional Art
Ceramists
- Victoria Buchler
- Beth Cavener – incredible emotive rabbits and other animals
- Erika Sanada – cute wounded dogs and birds in blue and pink
Sculptors
- John Voss – kinetic and solid animal sculptures (France)
- Aaron Li-Hill – dynamic installations (New York)
- Ellen Jewett – natural history surrealist sculpture
Muralists
- Luise Ono – large scale flower murals
- Steve Martinez – bird and animal murals and illustrations
- Adele Renault – richly colored pigeon feather murals
- Gemma O’Brien – large text installations
- DALeast – animal murals made of ribbons
- Ink Dwell – scientific nature murals
- Brendan Monroe (Brendan the Blob) – landscapes made of sinuous black and white lines
- D*Face
- Niki Zarrabi – melting flowers
- Emily Ding – animals and people
- Michael Reeder – stylized portraits blending bold color, texture, and detailed skulls and hands (Dallas)
- PichiAvo – graffiti + classical sculpture
- Ricky Watts – swirling ribbons of color (NorCal)
- Huh.art – graffiti art and commentary
- Nuno Alecrim – typographic poster and mural artist
- D’outros Tipos – typographic muralist (Portugal)
Textile artists
- Erin Barrett (Sunwoven Studio) – woven wall hangings
- Lindsey Thomas – needle felt characters (London)
- Humayrah Bint Altaf (The Olde Sewing Room) – dimensional insect embroidery
- Han Cao – embroidered antique photographs (Dallas)
Paper artists
- Grace D. Chin – affirmative paper floral wreaths (Berlin)
- Amy Genser – abstract wall sculptures constructed from rolled paper
- Kate Alarcón (The Cobra Lily) – paper floral arrangements
- Tiffanie Turner (Papel SF) – oversized paper flowers (Bay Area)
Other
- Christopher Marley – mandalas and compositions made from insects and other specimens
- Ememem – “flacking” filling potholes with tiled designs (France)
- Nick Terrell – woodworking
10 replies on “Cool Artists”
I’m a book lover, sci-fi writer, and native plant nerd. Learn more about me, and see what I’m up to now. This is my personal site — you may be looking for my professional sustainability consulting services. Explore my site Join me in pondering my big questions (my approach to organizing my learning and thinking…
Updated 12 April 2024 This is more of a “following” page than a curated blogroll, but I decided to go with the more is more approach 😄 I maintain this page manually so I don’t update it often — also that probably means I’ve missed some feeds I follow 🤷♀️ My websites | Personal blogs…
Over the years, I’ve followed hundreds of artists and interesting people on Instagram and Twitter. Social media platforms don’t make it very easy to see everyone you follow, even as they constantly change the way they show you information so you don’t know what updates you’re missing. They also reward frequency and recency. The idea of an algorithm is nice — ‘it’ll show me posts I missed from people I care about!’ — but in practice it’s more like ‘ok thanks for showing me that five people I follow liked a political meme’.
As I move away from regularly using Twitter and Instagram, I don’t want to lose track of everyone who I followed there. So, I made my own lists of people who I follow — their own websites, not their social media accounts or profiles on other platforms:
Cool Artists – artists and craftspeople of all varieties
Interesting People – people with interesting and helpful things to say, from a range of backgrounds (science, art, advocacy, interior design)
Some of these people may also have newsletters and blogs that I don’t know about or am not following, or may have no way to follow their activity at all outside of social media — but at least I’ll always be able to find them. (Presumably anyone who’s bothered to set up a personal website will keep it?)
And maybe a list is a way other people can find new folks to follow too. The main bummer is not having images to represent everyone’s art, but that sounded like a helluva lot of additional work 😉
How I collated these lists
I went through my Twitter and Instagram following lists — which were much longer than I had realized 😨 — and opened bio links to personal websites for everyone who had one. There was probably an easier way to do it, but I manually opened everyone’s profile to remind myself who they were. Instagram’s interface to see who you’re following is Terrible if you’re following any large number of users.
Because I’m into the IndieWeb and everyone having their own website, I decided to be a stickler and only include personal websites, not BigCartel shops or platform profiles or linktrees. That meant a number of artists did get excluded — but honestly the lists are plenty long anyway 🤷♀️
I also didn’t duplicate my blogroll, so the websites of people whose blogs and newsletters I’m following aren’t currently on this list… I may go back and add personal websites of people who write newsletters instead of blogs.
When we in the IndieWeb talk about owning our content, the focus is often on the things we have posted ourselves, or saving our likes and bookmarks — but keeping track of who we follow is also useful.
Also posted on IndieNews
Over the years, I’ve followed hundreds of artists and interesting people on Instagram and Twitter. Social media platforms don’t make it very easy to see…
I like to support independent shops, artists, and craftspeople, as well as shift away from Amazon and other chain stores when possible. Artists and small business owners have shared how much it’s hurt their business to be at the mercy of the algorithm. Organic reach has tanked, targeted advertising blows, search results suck — small…
Liked How to Weave the Artisan Web by John Scalzi (whatever.scalzi.com)
I’ve got 1 and 3 down — it’s 2 and 4 that are the hard part for me 😉
I post here multiple times a week, but don’t write something on my blog Cascadia Inspired every week, nor my pen name website.
Here I link to a lot of other people’s blogs and sites as I bookmark and comment on articles, but not so much on my blog. I post mostly original content there — photos and essays. For visitors to this site, I do have a blogroll plus my new pages of artists and interesting people.
Almost never do I remember to share work from any site — mine or others’ — on social media. Lately I’ve been trying to share my blog posts on micro.blog, though Twitter or LinkedIn would theoretically reach more people 🤷♀️
Note to self: offer on LinkedIn to help anyone who wants to set up a new website.
I have too many pages to fit in my nav! Here’s a sitemap of all the pages on this website. Blog Mind Garden Index Links to blog about Big Questions Big Questions Balanced Lifestyle Effective Creative Processes Writing Fiction Thinking Better Information Diet Future of the Internet Resisting Fascism Building Community Transforming Capitalism Collections Cool…
Also see: cool artists | interesting people | indie shops | blogroll Fun projects It’s Post Day! (Sarah Avenir) — email art project How Not to Make a Book (Robin Rendle) — documenting the process of creating a book about typography Werner’s Nomenclature of Colors (Nicholas Rougeux) — A recreation of the original 1821 color…
And unweirdification is unhumanization. The pattern follows the same path as the consolidation and corporatization as our built environment… The internet has been…
Replied to 100 things you can do on your personal website by an author (jamesg.blog)
James has a fun collection of ideas of things to do on one’s website, some of which I have done and some of which I have not. Here are a few more things I have on my website that weren’t on the list: Yearly listening pages to supplement last.fm’s tracking Recreated playlists A page listing…