Mark Demsteader

During the 1990s, with Brit Art on the rise, figurative draughtsman and painter, Mark Demsteader found himself surrounded by an art market dominated by conceptual art.

In the difficult years that followed however he finally found massive success, especially following his recent popular drawings of actress Emma Watson, and earning several notable awards including The Lyceum Prize and The Sidney Andrews Scholarship in the process.

His incredible work, a combination of original charcoals, pastels and oils, has undoubtedly renewed interest in traditional life drawing and classic figurative paintings. His drawings typically feature a beautifully balanced combination of the detailed, closely observed upper torso leading to equally striking expressive line work below.

Jeff Soto

Jeff Soto has been travelling through various planes of the art world since graduating from Art Center College of Design, California in 2002. He began experimenting with graffiti while in High School before taking a ten year break to concentrate on illustration and fine art after University.

With his roots based in graffiti as well as painting, Soto has managed to successfully bridge the gap between Street Art and Pop Surrealism, crossing over while remaining relevant in both genres.

He's easily in my top ten contemporary artists...

 

Shawn Huckins

Shawn Huckins is exploring the new American Frontier: the internet. Taking historical photographs and paintings, he replicates the images and then applies modern day slang and the language of text messages.

He explores the idea of communication and how it is constantly changing. Information that would once have taken weeks to reach their recipient via letter or telegram now takes mere seconds. Would the settlers have tweeted "wtf?!" as they explored the Mid-West?

Sean Cheetham

Sean Cheetham is recognised as one of the most acclaimed young figurative painters working today. In 2005 he exhibited in the Portrait Award, at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and was included in American Artist Magazine as one of their 25 Artists Of Tomorrow.

Below is a collection of his looser portrait work. You can feel a real connection to the painters of the late 19th century, too, like Delacroix, Corot or Courbet, or even further back than that. And that's what makes them so appealing to me: the continuation of an important way of creating art that has been largely ignored since the beginning of impressionism.

Jared Muralt's sketchbook

Every now and then you come across an artist whose work just flaws you. And not just one incredible piece of artistry, but every picture of theirs you see. This is true of the Swiss illustrator, Jared Muralt, founder of the illustration and graphic design studio, BlackYard.

Jared attended art school for a year in his native Bern, Switzerland. He is largely self-taught, receiving much of his study through books regarding art history, anatomy and comics. All of which are explored in his work and clearly visible in his sketchbook drawings below. There are so many of these drawings that it was damn hard trying to pick only a few.

For more of his work check out his website or his instagram feed. Seriously, every post is unbelievably good.

Vincent van Gogh

"I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly."

- Vincent van Gogh