About the Artist

Arne was born in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 15th, 1984 to Dr. Hans van Lamoen and Marijke van Lamoen Louis. Raised in the Netherlands, Oman, Norway, and Russia. Arne received his secondary education at the International School of Stavanger, in Stavanger Norway from 1995 to 2000 and continued at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, in Moscow, Russia, from 2000 to 2002. Arne received his IGCSE diploma in 1999 and his International Bacheloriate diploma in 2002. Arne received a Bachelors degree in Fine Art majoring in illustration in 2006, graduating from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.

To this day he holds close relations with his former college, attends continuing studies classes, and passionately practices his martial arts, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Aikido. Arne spends most of his time drawing, attending martial arts practice, and enjoying the Dutch countryside. He has recently begun studying Japanese in expectation of his move there in 2009.

Artist's Statement

My artwork has been inspired by many happy years spent traveling the globe and laced with the boundless incarnations of my imagination. The world around me, it's people and its places, diverse and many, leave imprinted forever in my mind an ever-changing world full of mazing places and fantastic beings. To that end my work reflects these manifestations, great and small, across a wide variety of mediums.

Though my work is often seen as dark I prefer to think of it as ulterior to the reality in which we live. We as a people define ourselves through the culture that evolves around us and with us, and what we perceive as reality is a direct reflection of this. My work shows us creatures of the imagination in the place of the animals we know to be real. The places and spaces, though certainly informed through modern and classical architecture and the many sights of my travels, are extended beyond the norm and molded into impossible shapes and sizes. So too the people, recognizable in form, evolve into fantastic beings themselves, right down to their attire- wholly different from our perceptions of what is normal.

Before me many have paved the way into fantasy art and conceptual design, but the consumer adjusts and comes to consider normal even those things which used to shock or surprise. Thus one generation passes the torch to the next as the contemporary fantasy artist tries to confound the expectations of his audience, and his peers.

The advent of the computer and animation has revolutionized the ulterior world I describe. Taken from the pages of fantasy novels, and the stories we told our children, modern technology and the creative teams behind them have transformed myth into a pseudo-reality. The fantasy worlds where once only our minds could visit are now accessible in living color, surround sound, and even in a tactile sense. Whether it is through games, movies, or alternative interactive experiences, the worlds that used to know splendor based solely on the imaginative capacity of the individual now is expertly crafted, honed to perfection, and detailed beyond a single imagination's potential such that we may immerse ourselves, even lose ourselves, in worlds that were created beyond our own.

I hope my work will contribute to these fantastic places so that the people of my generation can experience the wonders of the human imaginations and that those who follow can improve upon it, yet again, as we have.

I look forward to seeing all of you, wherever we may meet!