Forbes 30 Under (Art and Style) honoree and Society of Illustrators New York Gold Medalist Victo Ngai 倪傳婧 is a Los Angeles based illustrator from Hong Kong, graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. “Victo” is not a boy nor a typo, but a nickname derived from Victoria – a leftover from the British colonization.
Victo provides illustrations for newspaper and magazines such as the New York Times and the New Yorker; create storyboards and art for animations with studios like NBC and Dreamworks ; makes books for publishers such as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Folio Society and Macmillan; and works on packaging and advertisement campaigns for Apple, Johnnie Walker, American Express, Lufthansa Airline and General Electric.
Victo has also taught at the School of Visual Art New York, the Illustration Academy and gives guest lectures and workshop at universities and conferences, this has become her favorite excuse to visit different cities.
Apart from drawing, Victo’s biggest passions are traveling and eating. She’s hoping that one day she will save up enough to travel around the world and sample all kinds of cuisines.
Lyrical
Lindsay Pickett
Lindsay Pickett’s gorgeous oil paintings of warped and distorted cityscapes transcend and confuse our orienting reflex in deeply surrealistic and magical ways.
Artist Statement
My main practice involves painting with oils on canvas, linen and board. I start with a basic study of a composition idea, usually in the form of a basic pencil drawing first, then I take it further as a small watercolour painting as a final idea and then develop it more as the finished oil painting.
For finding ideas as inspiration, I also use photographs to create a visual reality that can be convincing at times and especially if I want to get the likeness of a person or a landscape. It has also been good for me in the fact that it has taught me to use observational skills a lot.
A lot of my current practice is something that I have mainly taught myself and also ideas that have stemmed from dreams. I find that producing my ideas can only work if the photographs or images online that I try to find lends itself to the idea of something Surreal.
To create a warped landscape or some other kind of impossible reality the chosen idea or theme must create one impossible landscape and for that, the lighting has to work together and not look too much like a collage. This is often the longest part of my studio practice as finding ideas can take time. The two or more landscape images must blend together in a subtle way. A lot of my ideas also come from some films of the science fiction genre. Especially when seeing films that have a lot of cinematic scenes in them. Whereas such images are mostly created on computer, for me I like the challenge of creating something impossible by hand. I find it much more challenging and stimulating. This is also where I feel my work stands out.
The historical influences in my work arise from Surrealism and fantasy art. Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Brueghel, Rene Magritte and M. C. Escher are also influential. With Escher, metamorphosis is a recurring theme as it is with Salvador Dali and this drew me to their work. My painting practice started when research into Hieronymus Bosch and Salvador Dali took place. This occurred when I was still quite new to painting during my BA Hon Fine Art Degree.
My own contemporary concerns include the use of warped cities and impossible landscapes that otherwise do not exist in reality. They usually depict a recent dream I have had and they totally ignore all concepts of the laws of physics in terms of the real world we know. In my work there is no way of knowing what is up or down.
I also like to look at fantasy artists who paint images for science fiction illustrations and particularly like looking at the alien landscapes they create, artists such as Wayne Barlowe, Jim Burns and Stephen Youll come to mind. I also feel that my more recent works may appear to a wider audience of people in terms of the landscapes themselves featuring famous buildings and landmarks such as Big Ben for example. This also has been a good way for me to sell my work and make money. I have managed to do this by being commercially successful in some art exhibitions that I have had recently and also producing prints of my work and selling them on a part-time basis to private clients.
Eric Johnston’s Dream Realm
Through the mindful practice of fine art and a passion for cultural affairs worldwide, Eric Johnston has created a distinctive visionary approach to his artwork.
Every component of Eric’s artwork relies on one main objective, to precisely reveal a connection in the subconscious mind and alternative realms that cannot exist in our conscious reality.
Using academic realism, surrealism, and abstract influences to contemporary art, his paintings represent the way humans perceive reality and the environment in which they exist during dream states.
Mr. Johnston’s artwork is centered on the principle of eliciting strong emotional responses to everyday elements based on the viewers’ past experiences.
The ability to see beauty in simplicity is a theme carried throughout every piece of Eric’s artwork which speaks in a language all of its own.
Color, form, and composition are all key attributes in Eric’s daily life that help shape the way he views the world around us.
A lifetime of drawing and creative mind authority, have led to a realization that all his paintings are physical manifestations of the dream realm.
9 Unexpectedly Surreal Affordable Art Prints
A small curated selection of gorgeous contemporary art prints from some of today’s most promising surrealistic artists. The following are just a few beautiful surreal gems from some of the many talented artists including surrealistic painting, collage, and lowbrow pop surrealism.
1. Midnight Mass by Michelle Concetta
Brilliant surrealist collage artist Michelle Concetta contrasts classical imagery with contemporary photography in these evocative collages. This gorgeous and growing body of work is a brilliant addition to any cutting-edge collectors collection. Midnite Mass is just one of several mouth-watering prints available by this artist.

2. Manor House by Arabella Proffer
Proffer‘s Manor House is just one of a gorgeous collection of pop surrealistic artworks. Proffer “brings together my interests in botany, microbiology, space, disease, and the evolution of cells. I subconsciously explore the relationships between anatomy, biology, nature, and emerging sciences while creating from my own imagination.”
We love beautiful art and painting. And we’re just in awe of Proffer’s astounding imagery.

See more by pop-surrealist painter Arabella Proffer.
2. Inner Jungles – Alice In Lockdown IV
Marta Zubieta explores the confusion and transformative journey equating the dream logic of Lewis Carroll’s perennial classic with the bizarre and misshapen realities of Covid-19 since the beginning of Lockdown.
Bringing vibrant color to bleak subjects, Zubieta examines contemporary issues through millennial culture with its pink-tinted glasses, neon colors, and dreamy characters.
Alice represents the struggle to survive in the backward world of adults. Covid-19 plays the rabbit hole imprisoning us in our homes and separating us from each other. We struggle with our inner demons while listening captively to our own incompetent rulers and the treacherous mass media.

4. Bloom by Frank Moth.

5. Spore Collector by Eugenia Loli.

6. Elephant by Vincent Fink
Vincent Fink’s Iterations: In the pursuit to better redefine modern surrealism, I often find myself indulging in the vibrancy of color and concise composition with flaring elements of Sacred Geometry. The same level of intense detail is implored in all of my work but this series attempts to focus on the singularity and realism of the objects in my visions. I want to convey the world through another dimension: to see the hidden geometry that makes up everything in the universe:

7. Film Noir by Cassia Beck

8. Meteoric Rainfall by Picomodi

9. Pink Eruption by Filip Hodas

Lola Mitchell
Lola Mitchell uses textures and digital painting to create stories through images. Her surrealistic underwater photography resonates with rhythm and explores emotional concepts.