some artists I like in no particular order:

Justin Sweet - Wow. This guy blows me away. Love the painterly feel.

Derek Hess - Very cool stuff. I love poster art.

Craig Mullins - Truly the man. Phenomenal artist and a benchmark for digital painting.

Feng Zhu - Concept artist, working in the Star Wars camp. Awesome.

Celia Calle - One of my favorite artists right now. Super stylish, fluid, sexy and hip. Definitely check her out.

Tom Kidd / Gnemo - Fabulous painter, really interesting images for the Gnemo story. Mouth watering good.

Ashley Wood - Another current favorite. Really cool stuff.

Phil Noto - Just like the look of Phil's stuff. Both classic and super hip at the same time.

Terry Di Terlizzi - I have always liked the look of Terry's work. Playful and whimsical. Very engaging.

Morpheus - The art of the surreal & fantastique is what the sign says and that's what you'll get. Some heavy hitters in here.

 

publications and stuff:

Bud Plant - The place to get illustrated books and much, much more. Be sure to visit Jim Vadeboncoeur's illustrator's section. There are 100+ little biographies on illustrators with art samples.

ImageS - Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr. of Bud Plant fame is also putting out a publication called Images with art from the golden age of illustration up till about 1920. I have really enjoyed, and continue to enjoy these offerings. Almost all images, none of those pesky words. Of particular interest to pen & inkers such as myself, there are two issues devoted entirely to black and white [essentially pen & ink] work. A fantastic collection.

Flesk Publications - Speaking of phenomenal pen & ink illustration... Flesk has a book on Franklin Booth and two on Joseph Clement Coll. I have all three and they rock. Check out the other offerings too, great stuff.

Juxtapoz - Another staple around my house. All cool, all the time. The highest low-brow or the lowest high-brow - you decide.

Illustration Magazine - A very cool magazine devoted to Illustration. More in depth articles that cover the life of the artists. Always a treat when it arrives.

 

kalimba links:

The Hugh Tracey Kalimba - Check this site out for information on my favorite Kalimba. You can hear what they sound like too.

Kalimba Magic - Mark Holdaway's fantastic site for the Kalimba community. You can buy the entire line of Hugh Tracey Kalimbas here. Mark has also invented a way to write tablature for the Kalimba and has instructional books and information. Mark is a longtime player and has music available too. Check it out.

Harmonic Journey - Lucinda Ellison's site. Home of the e-mbira, and other artistically crafted kalimba treats. Really nice work.

Shinji's Kalimba Gallery - Here is a site I stumbled onto. I don't know how they sound, but they sure are beautiful Kalimbas. Very stylish and elegant.

eKalimba - Here is a link from Shinji's site. Another maker of electric Kalimbas. Kind of curious about these now.

African Musical Instruments - The full line of Hugh Tracey instruments; Kalimbas, marimbas, drums, etc.