Whomever is your favourite artist?

[Frater_Tsalal]

My favorite artist, by far, is Andy Warhol. I'm especially obsessed with the work he did during his "Silver Factory" phase in the 1960's (actually, I'm also obsessed with many of the people who made up his inner circle in that time period), though I also enjoy his whimsical cat illustrations from the 1950's. And as his recently discovered Amiga computer art of the mid-1980's showed, even in his final years he was still creating innovative, exciting art.

Other artists whose work I admire: William Blake, Ernst Haeckel, Leonora Carrington, Odilon Redon, Max Ernst, Roger Dean, Gilbert & George, Louis Wain, Austin Osman Spare, Steffi Grant (that's Kenneth Grant's wife), H.R. Giger, Salvador Dali, Edward Gorey, and Francis Bacon.

Amongst my own friends, I would also say O.B. De Alessi, Michael Salerno, and C.L. Martin.

Favorite comic book artist at this moment is Chris Burnham: the work he's doing for Grant Morrison's Nameless is amazing.

[Frater_Tsalal]

I also enjoy the very striking and minimalist book jacket designs that Lawrence Ratzkin did for most of Tom Clancy's old books.

[miguel1984]

If we talk about book jacket designs, I think Chip Kidd is among the best.

Also, I love the cover Frank Miller did for Thomas Punchon's Gravity's Rainbow:

[Michael]

Holy crap, that was Frank Miller seriously??? I have that exact edition. Would NEVER have made that connection.

[miguel1984]

Yeah, it is Miller. According to Variety, at first Pynchon did not want Penguin Classics to release a new edition of the book, but then said he would only accept that if Miller drew the cover.

[Michael]

Wow. I had NO idea about this back story. (Or that Pynchon was such a Miller fan.) I gotta look this up now to get more on it. I was totally oblivious to this background until you pointed it out. Thanks!

[miguel1984]

I found the backstory here:

Gravity's Rainbow covers - Thomas Pynchon Wiki | Gravity's Rainbow

[miguel1984]

Here is some more information regarding Miller and Gravity's Rainbow:

Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader?: Frank Miller Week: Miller and Gravity's Rainbow

pynchonoid: P chooses cover artist for new Gravity's Rainbow

Also, I recommend the artwork of Zak Smith, who published the book Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow.

[Michael]

Thanks a ton! VERY much appreciate it!

[nihilsum]

Art is my favorite thing, it overshadows my passion for even literature and music. So I have quite a few favorites. Here's some off the top of my head...

Old Masters:
Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Mantegna, Hieronymous Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, etc.

Romantics:
William Blake, Caspar David Friedrich, Gustave Doré, Carl Gustav Carus, Anne-Louis Girodet, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Alexander Cabanel, Albiert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, John Martin, the Nazarenes, etc

Pre-Raphaelites:
William Holman Hunt, Edward Burne-Jones, Evelyn de Morgan, John Duncan, Ford Madox Brown, John William Waterhouse, Byam Shaw, etc (in truth I love most of the artists associated with the Pre-Raphs)

Symbolists:
Jean Delville, Gustave Moreau, Léon Frédéric, Arnold Bocklin, Franz von Stuck, Max Klinger, Sascha Schneider, Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach
Fernand Khnopff, Amos Nattini, Alphonse Mucha

Post 1900:
Ernst Fuchs, Zdzisław Beksiński, Salvador Dali, Robert Venosa, Victor Safonkin, Albin Brunovsky, Oleg Korolev, Agostino Arrivabene, Santiago Caruso, Denis Forkas, etc.

And many, many more. There are plenty I've forgotten I'm sure.