Jacek Yerka is an amazing painter from Poland. His subject matter ranges from odd beasts to whimsical landscapes incorporating extraordinary architecture, and includes imagery gleaned from his childhood. I handpicked a few of his pieces so we can take a close look at his world of painting.

“The Siege of Sidney Street, popularly known as the “Battle of Stepney”, was a notorious gunfight in London's East End on the 2nd of January 1911. Preceded by the Houndsditch Murders, it ended with the deaths of two members of a supposedly politically-motivated gang of burglars supposedly led by Peter Piatkow, a.k.a. “Peter the Painter”, and sparked a major political row over the involvement of the then Home Secretary, Winston Churchill”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Scots Guards and police on duty during the “Siege of Sidney Street” in east London. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images). 3rd January 1911

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

Maria Jose Cristerna is a mother of four, tattoo artist and former lawyer. 90 percent of Maria’s body is tattooed and modified with subcutaneous implants and therefor she is also called Vampire Woman. Her tattooed skin, body piercings and transformations make her look stunning, even to persons who are familiar with extreme body modifications. She is famous and a regular on television shows and events.

Born in Hanoi, 1979, a member of the Young Painter Association of Vietnam, Trang is an emerging young artist whose mind has been engraved with images of the city and the Northern villages. She brings these vivid memories of the villagers and their life to her paintings. She paints scenes of landscapes in thick textural impasto with bright colours of red, orange, yellow, and blue, making the genre of landscape her own. Her paintings depict her passion to showcase the radiance and freshness of the landscapes in Vietnam. For every stroke of brush reflects her burning desire to bring out a world of complications to simple living and a deep appreciation of nature’s blessing and beauty.

My name is Jakub and I’m a painter, illustrator & concept artist who lives and work in Poland. My speciality is dark fantasy, character design, concept art and portrait. Since several years I work and paint digitally, but I never gave up traditional drawing and painting. For me the most important in my work, is create unique atmosphere and tell some kind of story through my creations.

Mirko Hanák was born in 1921 in Prague, Czech Republic and worked as a painter, graphic designer and illustrator. His specialties were animals and human figures that were full of life and fun. He also had a firm grasp on composition as his paintings were so well balanced despite his casual fluid line. He was working on “Charlotte's Web” the movie when he tragically died at the height of his career from leukemia in 1971.