A participant of the Castle Party festival poses for picture as a man walks past in Bolkow, southwestern Poland, July 16, 2015. The annual festival features around 50 musicians and artists playing on various stage Gothic rock and other styles of the dark music subculture. Outside Germany, it is one of the biggest festival with this genre of music, the event attracts regular international audience of up to 5000, the organizers said. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Leading contemporary artist Remi LaBarre describes his evocative oils as “painted songs”. Influenced by John Singer Sargent, his work reflects the lighting of hushed environments and presents poetic narratives of life after dark in bars and clubs. Remi's acclaimed artwork has won him a formidable reputation in Europe and North America. His premier UK collection features a breathtaking quartet of musical portraits which represent an atmospheric homage to his great love of jazz.

“24.27 N, 81.44 W. These coordinates mark the spot of the final resting place of an old brave soldier, the USS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. In 2009 it underwent a complete change when the creaky steel monster became a mystical bearer of secrets. In May of that year, the Vandenberg was lowered down into the darkness of the ocean off the coast of Florida to become an artificial reef, where it would dwell in rigor mortis at a depth of 130 feet. This lively, animate, secretive nothingness, this menacing, wild emptiness would haunt and seduce the renowned Austrian photographer and passionate diver Andreas Franke...”. – The Sinking World (Photo by Andreas Franke)

Visitors to the Nightmare Fears Factory in Niagara Falls, Canada, are obliged to navigate their way round the supposedly haunted building in total darkness while live actors jump out of them. The Nightmare Fears Factory team have been using hidden cameras to take pictures of their guests' terrified reactions, which they've then posted on the company's Facebook page. And it turns out they're all pretty funny. (Photo by Nightmare Fears Factory)

The creator of this architectural installation, placed in a deserted alley in the city of Quebec, probably got his inspiration after looking at French fries while being on acid. This might be the reason why Les Astronautes called his creation Delirious Frites (frites is another name for French fries). This colorful installation attracts passersby like a magnet, making everyone want to enter the narrow passage between hundreds of foam noodles. Though it may look peculiar during the day, this installation looks even better during the night. The light, shining from above, creates a lot of shadows as it encounters all the “tendrils” that seemingly grow from the very walls of the buildings. This will leave even the sanest person wondering if he isn’t having a delusion.

These adorable pawtraits seem to show the personalities of a variety of canines, capturing their incredible diverseness in their expressions and fine details. Khokhlov and Ershova, who are from Moscow, have taken portraits of about 50 breeds of pooches – earning much critical acclaim. (Photo by Alexander Khokhlov/Veronica Ershova/Caters News Agency)

Tempering the violence of modern weaponry with charmingly rendered creatures, artist Xiau-Fong Wee captures a dark humor in her quirky drawings. While some of the weapons appear terrifyingly realistic, others such as in the ray gun wielding bunny portrait, speaks more to the fantastical worlds of science fiction. The anthropomorphic dispositions of the spectacle-wearing creatures also range in merry reverie to stern seriousness, adding to the delightful nature of these well-executed portraits. View more of the drawings below.

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.