Charming Animal Machines by Vladimir Gvozdev

The artist I am sharing with you today contrasts somewhat with my usual choices. I am amazed by the unique and unusual artwork Russian artist Vladimir Gvozdev and could not resist showing you a selection of his work. Vladimir works as a freelance painter and sculptor after previously working as a graphic designer and is also known as 'Gvozdariki'.

Despite the imaginative mechanical subject matter his paintings are created in a detailed and decorative style. Vladimir loves to experiment in the well known Steampunk style, that originated from Victorian steam-powered machinery and is magically transformed into a fantasy world. It is evident Vladimir has a real love for the unusual combination of subject matter he uses and a considerable amount of time is spent merging these together to create unique and charming creatures.

Unique layered backgrounds of vintage papers, aged documents and written text burn at the edges provide an antiqued and interesting surface to build his artwork upon. Vladimir incorporated 3D elements into his creations that include mechanical parts, rusted keys, padlocks, wire coils, cogs and old nuts and bolts. These contrast with natural elements for example pebbles, delicate butterflies, insects and leaves. It is this direct contrast and merging of the natural and mechanical work that I find works so successfully in his artwork.

You can view his website to see more of his unusual work here!