Paintings: Van Gogh Never

"Van Gogh Never" by Scotia, New York-based artist Aja Kusick

Prints available for purchase from Etsy. US$12

For an ongoing series entitled "Van Gogh Never," Aja Kusick recreates Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night as a backdrop for pop culture characters.  The series started when an education blog mistakenly shared Aja’s painting of the Eiffel Tower as a Van Gogh original despite the fact that the artist died in poverty just a year after the monument was completed.  After that, Kusick decided to create other paintings of things that Van Gogh never saw, from the TARDIS flying over Gallifrey to a Super Mario Bros. level.

Posters: Van Gogh Inspired Prints

"van Gogh Never Boldly Went"

Van Gogh Inspired Prints by Sagittarius Gallery

Prints available for purchase from Amazon. US$15

These stunning prints of original paintings are printed on high quality Fujifilm Crystal Archive paper, which will last over 60 years without fading.  Available in 8x8, 10x10, 12x12, 20x20, and 24x24 inch sizes. The Lord of the Rings prints are especially beautiful.

Sweets: Van Gogh Gingerbread House

Van Gogh Gingerbread House by IndigoSalsa

Source: Reddit via Reddit

IndigoSalsa made a gingerbread house and layered on the frosting in the manner of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Plus, it includes the artist himself as a gingerbread man- with only one ear!

Illustration: For Wheat is Wheat

"For Wheat is Wheat" by KalesButt

Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$16

Crafts: The Starry Night Embroidery

Starry Night Embroidery Hoop by  Lauren Spark

Inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night, Lauren Spark spent forty-four hours creating this as a gift for her mother.

Video: Alice in 17 Classic Styles

"Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?" by Gene Kogan

"Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?" is a reanimation of the tea party scene from the classic 1951 Disney movie Alice in Wonderland in the style of seventeen classic artists.  The video was created by Gene Kogan using software and a style transfer technique to change the look of the scene to imitate paintings such as Starry Night, The Great Wave of Kanagawa, and The Scream.

P.S. If you ever wondered about the riddle "Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?"  The answer is that "both are written upon endlessly."  Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was a contemporary of Edgar Alan Poe, but while both authors was the progenitor of an entire new genre (Dodgson invented modern children's adventures; Poe invented the murder mystery.)  Dodgson's contributions were largely ignored by literati of his day, while Poe was often the subject of literary journal articles.  Thus, this little dig insinuating that Poe's sudden prominence was a form of madness.

Quick Pic: Vincent Van Gogh Float

The Coro Zundert parade in Zundert, Netherlands has celebrated the country’s reputation as a global supplier of dahlia flowers since 1936. This year, nineteen teams paid homage to the work of Vincent van Gogh. The flowery floats are filled with imagery, colors and expressions from van Gogh’s signature style. The floats are now a mixture of tradition and urban art, which are a beautiful spectacle  to attend yearly.  You can see shots from the parade, plus some great making-of footage here!

Mash-Up: Starry Knight

"Starry Knight" by California-based Vartan Garnikyan

Prints available for purchase from Etsy. US$140

Illustration: If I am worth anything later

"If I am worth anything later" by Kali De Wild

"Trying to find something to motivate myself and I found this little line from Van Gogh"

Sweets: Exploding TARDIS Cake

Exploding TARDIS Cake by Emilsmee of Cake Central

The Van Gogh episode of Doctor Who is one of my all-time favorites. It was Doctor Who at its best. This cake incorporates the design from Van Gogh's warning to the Doctor.

Mash-Up: Batman Paintings

Batman Painting Mash-Ups by Vartan Garnikyan

Prints available for purchase from Etsy. US$24 - $140

These are all digitally drawn from scratch with a tablet, all with different styles from one-another, and relatively close to the style of the original artist.

Link Round-Up: January 6, 2015

"Starry Night" by Denver, Colorado-based Newbpainter

Prints available for purchase from Etsy. US$15

"By zooming in on high-resolution face photographs, we were able to recover images of unseen bystanders from reflections in the subjects' eyes." Science catches up with Blade Runner.


Disney Characters fit right into contemporary settings in this photo series (Via)

The Dutch company Poopy Cat is offering Modular Cardboard Boxes that let you create fun Playhouses For Your Cats

The fine art of illustrating Haruki Murakami.

How Pokémon Is One Of The Creepiest Dystopian Societies Ever

If your new year’s resolution includes working out and having a superhero-like body, this "Batman Workout" by Neila Rey could help.
Nettarot is an information age tarot deck designed for the digital medium by Kevin Thrasher

This Supercut proves that The Doctor's favorite phrase in 2014 was "Shut Up"

Vince Frost, former Pentagram designer and founder of Frost*Collective, has recently launched a new book titled Design Your Life—in it, he details how one could apply design principles to life so as to “work better at living better.”

Paintings: Starry Night Cast

Starry Night Cast by Nicholas Frausto

Sure, no problem. Let me just whip out my brushes and whip something up. No biggie.

"My mum broke her wrist and didn't want to go to her dinner party with an ugly cast so I broke out some brushes and painted Van Gogh’s ” Starry night ” on it for her."

Quick Pic: Starry Night Pumpkin

Starry Night Pumpkin by The Maniac Pumpkin Carvers

Here's The Maniac Pumpkin Carvers’ interpretation of Van Gogh's "Starry Night," which was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. For at least three months each Fall, pumpkin carvers Marc Evan and Chris Soria, of New York City, relinquish their illustrator occupations to carve fantastical pumpkins full-time to become the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers.

Paintings: Together, or not at all

"Ponds- Together or not at all" by Amy Liu

Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$15 - $20

I love Liu's use of Van Gogh-esque brush strokes in this piece. It's a very nice reference to one of my favorite episodes.

"This is a slightly altered version than what I had submitted to the fan book, but I think this version works a bit better. The original version has the Doctor reaching out towards them from the rooftop. I think taking him out (ahh, sorry Eleven!), there's more focus on paying tribute to the Ponds, and it's a bit less distracting and a little more open to interpretation. I guess it also makes the fanbook version a bit more exclusive!"

Fresh Take: Oh my Gogh

"Oh my Gogh, We’re under attack" by Alexavander

Mash-Up: Dark Starry Knight

"The Dark Starry Knight" by James Hance

Prints available for purchase from the artist's website. US$15

Mash-Up: Super Starry Night

"Super Starry Night" by Nacho Diaz

T-shirts available for purchase from the artist's website. US$19.95

A mash-up of Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night" and Super Mario Bros.

Illustration:Starry Night Cast

Starry Night Cast by Nicholas Frausto

"My mum broke her wrist and didnt want to go to her dinner party with an ugly cast so I broke out some brushes and painted Van Gogh’s ” Starry night ” on it for her."

Video: Loving Vincent

"Loving Vincent - Van Gogh's paintings brought to life" by BreakThruPoland

"Concept trailer for the new production from Oscar-winning studio Breakthru films, a feature-length painted animation. A murder mystery about the life and death of Vincent van Gogh told through revealing interviews with the characters from van Gogh's own paintings."