When someone asks me who my art influences are, I struggled with how to answer them. I didn't think my work showed the influence from artists I loved - Lisa Frank and Schim Schimmel specifically.
I had Schimmel art on my school folders and clipped it out of magazines to stick on my wall when I was a teen. I loved his paintings of dolphins in space the most. He paints in oil and his work is so crips they almost look like collages or something.
Lately, I find myself thinking about his work again as my new series of work - things I have painted strictly because I wanted to (not commissioned) do happen to remind me of this favorite artist of mine. And when I realized this, it made me pretty happy.
Schimmel's work is crisper than mine. He isn't as obnoxious with his color schemes as I am and focuses more on celestial elements overall instead of the northern lights (although I don't leave out planets and moons).
I don't work in oil because I have only one eye that works and that eye is legally blind - so I have to look closely at my art (my nose almost touches my painting lol) so there's not enough room for a mask or filter and breathing oil paint that close can make someone very sick. But it's an awesome medium and one I love to look at.
I came across this image when doing this post and I was stunned because it instantly reminded me of one I had done in the past. It was a total accident and this is how I know this man is my "soul" artist. Just look at how similar these two paintings are - the top one being mine I created for a personal journal and bottom is painting by Schimmel.
He also loves to paint water and that is something I'm highly drawn to and would like to practice more. Expect to see more ocean themed art soon - and now you'll know why.