The artwork in our steampunk community has such an impact in helping us better visualize what a steampunk world, in so many variations, could be like.
Another one of my very favorite images is The Past Future by Vadim Voitekhovitch.
For me, this work captures the intersection and rapid transition of technology, innovation, and society that could happen in the steampunk stories we read. At one end, there are people walking, the oldest and most basic form of personal transport. Then the horse and carriage which was prevailing means of moving cargo and groups of people for hundreds of years. The steam locomotive was new in the early 1800s, and towering above everything is the airship, using the technology of steampunk fiction.
While this could be seen as a classist transportation scenario, divided by who can afford each level of mobility, I see it as a society and culture engaging with all that is available to them. For some it would be amazement at each new rapid and evolving development, for others it would be parallel perceptions of the known comfortable past and the new exciting future at hand.
Prints are not available for many of Vadim’s work, and this is sadly true for The Past Future. Still, we can be thankful that he has posted it on his DeviantArt account where we can still enjoy it. Vadim did produce two calendars with his prints in 2014 and 2015, and while now long sold out, they might be (not easily) found on the secondary markets.
If you enjoy airships painted in a seemingly natural setting, then Vadim’s work might be of favorite interest to you, too.
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Airship Ambassador 
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