Rob Gonsalves was born in 1959 in Toronto, Ontario. As a young kid, he had developed an interest in drawing from imagination using various media. By the age of twelve, Gonsalves had became very familiar with architecture. In fact, he started to create his first paintings of imagined buildings. His primary inspirations were M.C. Escher, Salvador Dali, and Yves Tanguy. After attending college, he started to work as a full-time architect. Alongside, he also painted murals and theater sets. As years passed, Gonsalves started to devote more of his time to painting. From November 7th to December 31st, 2004, Gonsalves had exhibited his artwork in many galleries, including the Discovery gallery and Hudson art gallery. Throughout his career, Gonsalves had published 2 hardcover books full of his paintings: Imagine a Day, Imagine a Night. He had earned the 2005 Governor General's Award in the Children's Literature for his book Imagine a Day. Gonsalves work is often categorized as surrealistic. To conclude, his work is an attempt to represent human beings' desire to believe the impossible.

Erik Johansson was born on April, 1985 in Götene, Sweden. He grew up on a farm with his parents and two younger sisters. He would spend most of his time exploring nature. He liked to draw and he said he got his inspired by his grandmother, who was a painter. When Erik had turned 15, his father had bought him a digital camera. Even though it was a very simple point-and-shoot Fuji camera, it opened up a new world for Erik. He would play around with his camera and take pictures of the natural world. He also started to make his photographs more vivid and clear by editing them with his father’s computer. His interest in computers led him to major in computer engineering at Gothenburg University. By that time, he didn't have any plans on doing photography for a living. However, during college his friend Erik had bought the DSLR(Canon EOS 350d) and it had really intrigued him. In fact, he would buy his own and end up being a photographer. He now works with clients, such as Toyota, Volvo, Google, and Adobe. His work is often described as surrealistic because it attempts to represent human’s desire to believe the impossible.   

Artist’s name: Rob Gonsalves

Title of artwork: Arboreal Office       

Date of work: 2014

Description: A man is standing in a wooded area by a campfire, but as he looks up into the clear night sky, the trees morph into skyscrapers.

Analysis: The light depicted in the bottom contrasts with the dark, night sky. Not only that, but Gonsalves includes a dramatic transformation in his painting. It is very dramatic of seeing the trees morph into skyscrapers.

Interpretation: This painting is basically trying to show the contrast between the past and the present. Basically, in the ancient times, the world was full of forests, whereas now it is abundant with skyscrapers.

Judgement: All in all, I think that Gonsalves painting was a success. It is illusory and very dramatic. I also enjoy the fact how he related the transformation to reality.

Artist’s name: Erik Johansson

Title of artwork: Go Your Own Road

Date: 2008

Description: The man is walking and dragging the road as if it were a tarp. He is dragging the road along a rural area.

Analysis: The greenery gives more of a serene and peaceful atmosphere. The black road contrasts with the greenery surrounding it.

Interpretation: This photograph is basically trying  to portray that we should not be a follower. Instead, we should go our own pathway and pursue our own goals and dreams.

Judgement: Overall, I thought that this photograph was a huge success. It is illusory and very meaningful. The photograph gives out a strong and clear message of how we should go our own path, instead of following others.

As you can see, both of these artists have their own unique way in approaching their artwork. Gonsalves uses his imagination in order to create his painting, whereas Johansson blends in reality into his photographs. Also, Gonsalves is trying to show the audience a concept of how the world has changed from being rural to urban. On the other hand, Johansson is trying to give out a message or moral. Overall, both of these artists unique art styles allow them to create successful pieces of art.