Art Paints Portals to Faraway Fantasy Locales Inspired by Pop Culture

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Sometimes the experience of looking at a painting can transport you to a different time and place. And while most canvases are rooted in reality, artist Aaron Long prefers to create compositions that ignite the imagination. His series of carefully rendered oil paintings depict faraway locations inspired by the fantasy genre.

From haunting blue cities illuminated by the night sky to pristine forest environments, the artist traverses an array of different destinations, each of which appears fully formed in his paintings. Long uses traditional techniques to portray fantastical locales as realistically as sites that exist in real life. Whether it is foreign architecture or a new mountain range, he faithfully adapts these original concepts as he sees them in his mind.

Based in Missouri, Long has been painting since 2013. “I discovered my love of painting through online tutorials like Bob Ross and Kevin Hill,” he tells My Modern Met. “I also discovered my love of making fan art when I tried recreating [scenes and places] from Lord of the Rings and Skyrim in my landscape paintings.” Most of his work is based on fictional places from video games, books, and TV shows.

You can purchase original art and prints via Long's Etsy shop, and keep up to date with his latest projects by following the artist on Instagram.