Monday, September 3, 2012

Roger Dean, Roger Dean!


What can I say about this guy? I first saw this Dean's work on the covers of my Dad's YES cds. His bright watercolor landscapes are entrancing. Often, I feel as though I could wander through them forever. As a kid raised on Star Wars, the fanciful sci-fi look of Dean's work holds a lot of appeal for me. 

This summer I picked up a book of his artwork (Magnetic Storm) at my local library in Tampa. I was surprised and delighted to discover that the man not only creates beautiful mixed media landscapes and fantastical stage sets for prog-rock shows, he is also a sometime-architect. According to his website, he is currently involved in a project to a create a sustainable living-style community based on his bubble-like, futuristic house designs.

 I'd love to live in a house like this! Only one problem - how do you get furniture to fit it? Most furniture is designed for square houses, they'd have to specially make things like bookcases to fit curved walls… not a problem for the artist!

Dean's capture of light is appealing to me because of it's crispness. I enjoy watercolor and mixed media myself, so I appreciate the difficulty of creating such defined shapes. His landscapes come alive because of his exceptional execution of dramatic lighting. I hope to someday be as effective at conveying epic landscapes.



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