Who are Your Favourite Visual Artists?

[ninj]

Are there any particular famous artists or works that you are especially drawn to? Do you purchase work from local artists or attend gallery exhibit openings?

Some of my favourites are Dali, Agnes Martin, whose work has pushed the edges of what I perceive as "art", Frida Kahlo, (although her work is very cliched now), and unbelievably, Norman Rockwell, who was technically an illustrator vs an "artist".
I own a vintage poster from Mendelson Joe commissioned for Algonquin Park's Centennial. He is my current favourite Canadian artist. Also like Joyce Weiland's multi media and fibre work. I missed her exhibition at AGO, unfortunately.

Joyce Wieland: Heart On | Art Gallery of Ontario https://share.google/5aoU2YXEWYF2LCpiJ

Karen Robinson Gallery – Representing Mendelson Joe Karen Robinson Gallery – Representing Mendelson Joe

5 Fast Facts: Agnes Martin | Broad Strokes Blog | National Museum of Women in the Arts 5 Fast Facts: Agnes Martin | Broad Strokes Blog | National Museum of Women in the Arts

Christ of Saint John of the Cross - Wikipedia Christ of Saint John of the Cross - Wikipedia

I did see a dual Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at McMichael many years ago.
Frida Kahlo. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. 1940 | MoMA https://share.google/pXWuK9289KIEDZetC

 

[Mendalla]

Mendelson Joe

Cool. I know him mainly from his music career but did know he painted, too.

If you go by my house, my favourite visual artist is (redacted for privacy reasons), a United Church minister who studied painting under George Thomson (Tom's brother) and did it throughout his career into retirement. He also happened to be my grandfather.

But more seriously, Grandad was a landscape painter mainly and whether it was his influence or just how I swing, I have always preferred landscapes to portraits and still lifes. So Group of Seven and Tom Thomson loom large in my visual arts preferences. Chinese watercolours, too, which are often sweeping landscape vistas. We have a few of those around the house, too, acquired on trips to my wife's homeland.

I am also fond of impressionism and post-impressionism, which are also heavy on landscapes and outdoor scenes. Loved visiting the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, which specializes in those schools.

And then there's the literary visual arts like cover artists and graphic novel artists. I love a well-done illustration and some of the best do amazing things with the stories. Jeff Smith who wrote and drew the wonderful graphic novel series Bone is a favourite. Cover artist and illustrator J. K. Potter is another. He created some of the darkest, most haunting fantasy and horror book covers and illustrations that I have ever seen, often using manipulated photos to give a realistic feel to otherwise bizarre imagery.