Born in Concrete: EK Series Hardcover – Download: Adobe Reader, November 12, 2013

The media could not be loaded.  Born in Concrete is an artbook collecting some pretty amazing paintings from concept artist and illustrator Derek Stenning.The first thing that grabbed my attention is the size of the book. It's not very thick with 96 pages but It's big. The artworks do have the additional impact when they are printed huge. It's a pleasure to see them are large sizes.EK stands for Entartete Kunst which translates from German to English to mean Degenerate Art. It's a term used during the Nazi regime in Germany to describe modern art. The subject inspired Derek Stenning to create something of his own and the theme you see in the book is one of sci-fi, mystery, and hidden symbolism.Most the paintings involved cosmonauts that are attached by wires to mysterious floating orbs. Occasionally, there's some industrial complex in the background, which can be floating or on ground.The artworks are really beautiful and detailed. I love the use of colour tint that gives each piece a different mood and atmosphere. The mysterious nature of each painting also helps to attention to it, to invite the audience to think about what they are looking at. You may not know what the cosmonauts are doing, but you'll be captivated nevertheless.There are also some examples of the artworks being used on snowboards, on magazines and exhibited in a gallery. I can only imagine how awesome it would be to have one of the artworks as a huge painting hanging at home.Also included is a step-by-step tutorial on the creation process which is a mixture of illustration, digital painting with Photoshop and 3D modelling to create certain elements.This is a great artbook. Highly recommended.(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I came across EK through my coworker, who had a really odd but captivating image from this series on his desktop. After browsing the web for images I was curious enough to take the plunge and support the artist.Derek's journey and artist statement are very interesting, I couldn't believe anybody in a concept art field could get burnt out... but it turns out that was the motivation for this series.What to Expect:- A fairly deep journey into his creative process, he even does a 'step by step' near the end of the book I found really insightful.- A good quantity of extremely finished conceptual images that are a mix of concept art and abstract art (though well curated throughout)- References to the Occult. This isn't overwhelming, but it may be offensive to some- No sexual contentThe book makes an awesome coffee table piece (depending on how open minded your friends are) and should inspire artists in different fields.

Good book, inspirational

Very nice Artbook with full page Images and additional a lot of detail drawings out of the complete pictures.

Love this artist, just a huge inspiration. the book is so masterfully designed, just a great feeling having this book.Thank You:D

Awesome book, the best art or concept book I have scene by far.

Great art and explanations behind the pieces

😊

This is a truly beautiful book, and I have since bought very high quality models of these characters.

awesome work

Fantastic Book

Brilliant Book!

This book is gorgeous! It is a very tall book with numerous high gloss pages of Stenning's art. Furthermore, it also includes Stenning's discussions on individual pieces and their meanings providing a sense of transparency that for me further enhances the art.