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Renee Nault’s work is an interesting mix of Japanese inspired imagery (she credits ukiyo-e paintings for this; see bottom) and modern watercolor renderings that produces emotionally provoking imagery. Atmospheric in nature, Renee manages to infuse her subjects with movement and grace — as seen via her character renderings that seem to be inspired by manga.

I love how she has taken the traditional concept of ukiyo-e and translated it into something refreshing and contemporary.

From Wikipedia:
“Usually the word ukiyo is literally translated as “floating world” in English, referring to a conception of an evanescent world, impermanent, fleeting beauty and a realm of entertainments (kabuki, courtesans, geisha) divorced from the responsibilities of the mundane, everyday world; “pictures of the floating world”, i.e. ukiyo-e, are considered a genre unto themselves.”

She is a frequent illustrator for The Los Angeles Times, and you can purchase her prints over in her Etsy shop.

Heiko Müller is a Hamburg (Germany) based artist who combines the surrealism of nature with art. With themes that revolve around nature with a touch of darkness, he experiments with imagery that has the ability to haunt and delight at the same time.

From his bio:
My art comes from an urge to explore. I like the countryside. I like a good view. And once I’m face to face with a lovely scenery, I feel immediately tempted to find out what it’s concealing. The dark goings-on behind the façade of nature, you might say, or the hidden machinations of the animal kingdom.

To imagine and express this, I usually tap the lines linking religious icon art, renaissance painting and comic culture. I am particularly thrilled by the kind of spiritual terror you find expressed in the paintings of the old Flemish masters, and I’m trying to find out what happens when you apply that mood to the serene and harmless world of rural folk art.

There’s something to be said about the way Heiko renders the hidden inner workings of nature’s mind; I’ll definitely look twice the next time I’m going camping! Of course if you don’t want to do the imagining so much, pick up Heiko’s prints over at Thumbtack Press.