The printed sheet of paper remains a vital medium for mainstream illustration as well as artistic flights of fancy and severe experimentation. 2018 brought a slew of releases by artists both new to the print world and some classic heavyweights. These picks are in no specific order.

The shades of gray in Neal Russler’s drawings trick the eye — those washes are minuscule dots. That smattering of blood and mucus on the woman’s face is simply a collection of pen marks compressed, a constellation in miniature. The paper bright and infinite with his precise penwork making each face a galaxy of the beautiful and the grotesque. Calling his skill a ‘trick’ betrays the depth of Russler’s penchant for exactness and level of patience. With his art being something he does outside of his regular job, it is incredible any of it exists at all.

For his art print ‘Siege,’ Tong pauses the moment of death of a single soldier. This is not modern warfare but something more ancient. The armor and spear give the figure away as a citizen-soldier of Greece, a hoplite, a force of free citizens that utilized precise formations over military training and quality weaponry. Tong shows us the dying soldier, with her foe tied to the same bleak fate.

I found the work of New York-based photographer Daniel Anton in my usual way — the neverending clickthrough of links, likes, favorites, and various tags that bind the world of social media together. I was immediately struck by how natural his photographs were. His figures, all women, living as they do.

‘The best reason to paint is that there is no reason to paint.’ Keith Haring‘s mantra can act as inspiration or deterrent, depending on the perspective of the listener. The artist that picks up a paintbrush out of duty to self and to no other greater purpose is in line with Haring’s sentiment.