Fantasy artists – introduction

As back in time as ancient Greece, artists enjoyed painting mythical creatures. Chimeras, dragons, and unicorns abound in the art of many cultures all over the world, from China to Russia to Europe. In that, artists often followed legends of their countries.

Firebird from Fedoskino, Russia

Kitsune foxes trick men in Japanese woodblocks, Firebirds soar across the Russian folk art, dragons populate European medieval manuscripts, and gargoyles grin atop the Notre Dame in Paris.

Fantastic art still attracts the adventurous souls of many artists and appeals to their cravings for unusual and fabulous. Websites like http://deviantart.com and http://pinterest.com are full of fantasy art. Those images take us to the worlds beautiful or scary, whimsical or gloomy, but always unique.

Gargoyle from Notre Dame – Photo by John Cornellier, wikipedia

I’d like to pay tribute to these wonderful artists, to showcase them for the wide-spread community of fantasy fans. I’m starting a series of posts Fantasy Artists on my blog. In the 14th century, Ulisse Aldrovandi painted surprisingly realistic dragons in Italy. One of them became the logo of this series.

In a few days, my first guest will make an appearance. Stay tuned.