I truly believe that to be the best artist you can be, you should surround yourself with artists and other creatives that share their passions and talents. Being around that energy not only gets your own creative juices flowing but it establishes a community of friends and artists that together can create amazing stories, collaborations and friendships! I love looking back at the year and seeing how many “new” artists that have suddenly come into my life and how inspired I am by their hard work and passion for their craft. I could write an almost endless list of amazing artists that I think you should like/follow/subscribe/ and delve into but I’m going to narrow it down to 5 incredible talents that you should certainly check out!
1. Robert Cornelius
Robert has been called a “god of photoshop” and while I know he’ll very humbly (and humorously) accept the title, it’s one that certainly fits. Robert is not only a talented photographer and editor, but he’s also a fantastic writer and someone who isn’t afraid to share his entire process with his adoring fans. I’ve been a fan of Robert’s since I first saw his impressive studio work earlier in the year and was so excited to meet him in the fall in New York. Watching him be able to take his incredible in-studio work and transfer the style into magical outdoor locations was wonderful and I think you’ll agree that the results show how amazing his story-telling and processing are. Robert writes detailed blogs and shares speed edits of many of his images and his blog and faecbook/flickr feed are definitely ones to follow in 2015!
http://robert-cornelius.squarespace.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RobertCorneliusPhotography?fref=ts
2. Leah Flores
If you’ve been into an Urban Outfitters, Chapters, or Free People then you’ve probably already seen Leah Flore’s travel inspired graphic work. Leah is a passionately talented photographer and graphic designer located in Portland and seamlessly blends her passion for traveling with her love of creating resulting in images that ignite a spark of wanderlust and happiness inside. Her simple quotes about love, travel, and life are perfect additions to your home and her ever popular Society 6 shop is brimming with her creative products. You definitely need to follow Leah Flores and her travels in 2015!
Facebook
3. Jen Brook
While the rest of the people on this list are creators behind the camera/screen/paintbrush, Jen is bravely balancing both a creative life in front and behind the screen. Jen’s modeling portfolio boasts some of the most impressive conceptual and fashion photographers out there; Brooke Shaden, Miss Aniela, Von Wong, Rosie Hardy to name a few. She’s traveled around the world sharing her impressive talent with these photographers and fellow creatives, documenting her life on her blog. She’s a double threat as her writing is equally as captivating as her modeling, her blogs have been featured on several popular photography websites like CreativeLive, Fstoppers and DIY Photography and her ongoing “Matchmaker” series is the kind of story telling that gets you hooked and wants to make you buy a book of her story telling! Jen is also a huge reason why I decided to move to the UK after she simply looked at me and said “why not?” and that was that! Jen Brook is definitely someone to watch and read in 2015!
http://jenbrookmodel.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jenbrookmodelling
4. Fawnlorn
I’ve been a fan of Matt Hayton, AKA Fawnlorn for a while now, first stumbling across his beautiful paintings on Instagram last year. His whimsical watercolours inspired by nature, fantasy and fairy tales are not only beautifully painted but also showcase his love of the natural world and creative energy. I love following the “Fawnlorn” accounts because he regularly shows each stage of his paintings coming to life, a process that I admire and appreciate. This year I finally purchased a small painting as a housewarming gift to myself and I highly recommend you visit his Etsy shop and pick up an original for yourself!
http://fawnlorn.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/fawnlorn#_=_
5. Wendy Lin of Coffee & Chocolate Milk
I met Wendy this year at our final Wild Ones workshop in New York City and after checking out her creative photography comic lovingly titled “Coffee & Chocolate Milk” I was hooked! Wendy turns her every day life with her husband into a creative photography experience using handmade figures and props. Each day she posts an addition to the growing saga of her characters and the amount of detail and work she puts into each addition is impressive. The stories are cute, heartwarming and make you want to start at the beginning all the way to the end. I highly recommend following “Coffee & Chocolate Milk” on Facebook for a daily dose of happiness
http://www.coffeeandchocolatemilk.com/
https://www.facebook.com/coffeeandchocolatemilk?fref=ts
*Bonus #6*
James Mille
I couldn’t make this list without including one of my favourite new artists and friends, James Mille. James is fully immersed in a 365 photo project that has already shown his incredible growth as a conceptual photographer in the 241 days that he’s been doing the project. James combines his passion for story telling with his creative photography style to produce images that blend fashion, surrealism and whimsy into each photograph and I always look forward to seeing what he creates next. I admire any photographer that can live in a city as big as New York and create images like he does on a daily basis. James is definitely someone to watch in 2015!
https://www.facebook.com/irisism.photo
https://www.flickr.com/photos/123449762@N02/
Hope you enjoyed this list of amazing talented creatives and all the best for a fantastic, creative, and inspiring 2015!
AAAHHHHHHH JOEL!!! You my friend are too kind. I so appreciate being on this list of yours. I remember the day I stumbled upon your work and had to mop up the drool from my keyboard. I decided I was going to start making my own conceptual photos and stop with the regular head-shots work that I wasn’t really enjoying. Way back then I remember thinking, “One day I’m going to meet him, I think we would be friends.” Hahaha and now we are and it warms my heart. Also, I’m so very pleased to see some of my other very favorite friends and creatives on this list along with me! CONGRATS Wendy and James you guys ROCK!!!!!! AND I’m super excited to start following this Fawnlorn fellow, and I foresee a print in my future. Lastly I hereby declare that one day I will do a shoot with Jen Brook. (Jen if you’re reading this…HI JEN LET’S BE FRIENDS AND MAKE ART, yeah?)
Glad to see ol’ Robert on this list – he’s fantastic. Not to mention a top bloke.
The rest are great too. Looks like I have 5 more photographers to follow!
Hey Joel!
I’m a 20 year chick from India. I’m a student of photography and digital editing and; a biiiiiig fan of your work and your consideration for the people/ [photographers/ students around you. I really loved his article and all your other posts.
You’re an inspiration 🙂
Thankyou for this!
Hey Joel!
I’m a 20 year chick from India. I’m a student of photography and digital editing and; a biiiiiig fan of your work and your consideration for the people/ [photographers/ students around you. I really loved his article and all your other posts.
You’re an inspiration 🙂
Thankyou for this!
Keep it up!
I am also the follower of Fawnlorn. These are the people who are adding up to the art in real sense. Hoping to get a lot from his in 2015.
I’ve literally only just seen this! Thank you so much Joel, I really appreciate it!!