Paintings

Despite his phenomenal posthumous popularity, and having painted thousands of works of art, it’s nearly impossible to find an original Bob Ross painting anywhere. The New York Times dug into the mystery behind what happened to Ross’ numerous paintings in this great short documentary.

Artist Jimmy Swift spent hours getting beat up by the waves and sand to paint this pointy rock off the coast of South Goa, India to look like an angry great white shark. It makes for amazing photo opps for visitors, though smacking into a rock might be just as dangerous as swimming with sharks.

Back when science fiction was considered pulp fiction, art directors and artists had the freedom to run wild with the cover art for sci-fi books. Nerdwriter pays homage to some of these notable people and their work, and reminds us to have a greater appreciation for cover art.

Flying Dog Brewery teamed up with famed artist Ralph Steadman to produce this sweet limited-edition deck featuring 18 classic works in a style sure to be familiar to any fan of his good friend Hunter S. Thompson, who helped bring his surreal, splattered imagery to the forefront.

This 3D-painted anamorphic illusion by artist Leon Keer will mess with your head. Watch as a toddler drives her mini car into the middle of what appear to be a stack of giant Hot Wheels cars. Be sure to check out more of his amazing imagery on Instagram.

Tom Scott recently paid a visit a truly unusual and extraordinary collection – a working research library dedicated to the history of color. The Forbes Pigment Collection has spent decades cataloging and storing rare pigments to help verify the authenticity of works of art.

Artist Young-Sung Kim captured time-lapse footage over the course of ten months, as he painstakingly created a hyper-real oil painting of a fish. Everything looks so incredibly shiny, we just want to reach out and touch it. The painting is currently for sale from Saatchi Art.

Filmmaker Pablo Mengin (aka Megalopolis) created this intense and surreal music video for NYC rapper Bashton by painting 2000+ images over the course of 18 months. Each of the video’s individual frames could serve as a framed work of art all on its own.

Artist Dito von Tease turned classical portraits into selfies, alluding to the opposite backgrounds of the commissioned portrait and the digital self-portrait. The former was a privilege of the rich, while the latter is available to anyone with a phone.

Like Ant-Man with a paintbrush, artist John Brosio likes to play with proportions in his works, incorporating larger-than-life versions of animals and everyday objects juxtaposed with realistic images of suburbia. You can find limited edition prints of his works here.

Artist Anna Zhilyaeva has perfected the use of Google’s Tilt Brush VR application. Watch as she creates a 3D interpretation of Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People while performing live at The Louvre in Paris. See more amazing VR art on her YouTube channel

Unlike most digital displays, Canvia adjusts its screen based on ambient lighting. The result is that its high resolution artworks look incredibly real. The app lets you choose from thousands of curated pieces for free, and there’s also a premium tier for even more choices.

They may not be as thought-provoking as Antonio Santin’s work, but Jason Seife’s take on realistic carpet paintings are no less impressive. Not limited by history or fabric, Seife often takes liberties in his choice of colors and canvas.

Artist Bruce White (aka “Velvet Geek“) creates perfect likenesses of pop culture figures using the retro-kitsch technique of painting acrylics on black velvet. His extensive collection includes everyone from Scott Pilgrim to Roy Batty to Dwight Schrute to Derek Zoolander.

“No chaos dammit.” The Art Assignment made this great overview of Jackson Pollock and his divisive drip paintings. He wasn’t the first to do it, nor will he be the last. But the timing and coverage of his short-lived peak marked a new level for abstract expressionism.

Business Insider UK shows off some the art of Patrick Hughes. In his “Reverspective” paintings, sections of the canvas project outwards making closer objects seem further away, and further objects seem closer. More trippy business here.

Art dealer Philip Mould is removing the varnish from an unidentified painting that was made in 1618. Supposedly applied to the painting 200 years ago, the varnish has caked into a thick brown coat over the colors and details.

We at TA are no stranger to Duane Keiser, and he is no stranger to making wonderfully entertaining animations of his paintings. His most recent playful piece involves the tweaking of a still life – with a white vase, of course.

Vox contextualizes Grant Wood’s 1930 painting American Gothic. One thing they failed to point out is the significance of that Gothic-style window – it’s like a carbon fiber hood on a Prius. Whether it’s pathetic, aspirational, or just how life works is up to you.

“I don’t know what painting teaches me. I just know that it frees me.” Jim Carrey has enthusiastically shared his paintings with the public. But in SGG’s documentary, we see him open up about this lifelong passion, as well as the stories behind some of his artworks.

Simon Stålenhag is back with more retro sci-fi paintings. Set in an alternate ’90s US and centered on a young girl traveling with her robot, The Electric State is a 120-page art book with a supplementary narrative written by Simon as well. More on his site.

The latest addition to Max Factory’s Table Museum is based on Ōtani Oniji III in the Role of the Servant Edobei, one of the most famous woodblock prints of 18th century Japanese artist Sharaku. It comes with swappable arms as well as samurai swords.

“I think the strongest paintings reflect the highs and lows, kinda like the full spectrum.” Callen Schaub makes gorgeous abstract paintings that combine energy with serenity, but watching him at work and hearing him talk about his process will make you appreciate them even more.

Did you know that The Great Wave‘s focus is arguably not the wave but Mt. Fuji, since it’s part of a series of paintings about the mountain? Or that there’s a boat at the bottom of the painting? Seriously, we missed that one big time. More on The Art Assignment’s video.

Photographer Gabriella Achadinha worked with painter Marlize Eckard to turn her photos into haunting yet melancholic expressions of mono no aware, the Japanese term for appreciating the bittersweet beauty of life’s fleeting nature.

“Pictures don’t just have histories. They exist in history.” The Art Assignment reminds us that tons of visual artworks are made from or based on previous works. Artists have tackled identity, authority, and more by recontextualizing established symbols and images.

Robert Xavier Burden is a collectible toy geek. He’s also an incredibly talented painter. He combines his passions by creating massive and intricate Renaissance-style oil paintings – sometimes as tall as 15 feet – of his toys and their related characters.

Artist Stephen Andrade loves to make realistic pulp fiction or Choose Your Own Adventure covers based on popular series such as Rick and Morty, Labyrinth and Seinfeld. Prints of the Get Schwifty cover will be available on Gallery1988’s Rick and Morty exhibit.

Studio Smack created this weird and wonderful animated re-imagining of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden Of Earthly Delights. Watch in 4K, full-screen to see all of the detail – or head to MOTI to see the full-size installation. See if you can spot Spongebob.

Stålenhag’s follow up to Tales from the Loop, Things from the Flood is still filled with paintings of Nordic countrysides invaded by mechanical beings and relics. But here a flood from a “huge abandoned underground facility” washed up strange organic creatures as well.