12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2017..

"Dogs Playing Poker" has burned itself in the subconscious corner of millions of brains; a piece of charming kitsch that can never be forgotten.

"Jokers Wild" is a nod to this iconic work. All TV and film Jokers are seen from left to right, with possibly the deadliest one placed in the shadows below. Batman is missing a card that Heath Ledger holds teasingly towards camera. 

Hopefully there's a joker in this painting for everyone.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2017.

The latest painting in my "Dark Disney" series where I attempted to merge the world of Winnie the Pooh and Stephen King's "It.", paying homage to the movie out this year.

It was pretty easy to combine the iconic Pennywise in the sewer scene with Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. Like my other painting "Fox and the Clown", something terrible is imminent but not seen. Hopefully that suspense drives the painting towards horror and suspense.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2015.

Lady and the Scoundrel fell into place rather quickly. As a 10 year old I loved Empire Strikes Back, with it's beautiful imagery of Cloud City, and the developing love between Han Solo and Princess Leia.

I also loved that classic romantic scene in Lady and the Tramp, so the idea for this painting was conceived.

This painting is a study of keeping it simple- a lot of core elements of Lady and the Tramp remained, and only a few parts of Empire Strikes Back was swapped in.

It ended up being the top seller at art events, even though my painting technique wasn't sophisticated at the time. It's proof that that concept of a piece rules above style. 

12" x 12", Digital Painting, 2016.

Alice in Escherland was the most difficult painting I ever completed. 

It turns out that trying to pay homage to M.C. Escher's "Theory of Relativity" isn't as easy as one might think. His strict use of perspective and mind-bending curves, even using digital tools, was extremely difficult to pull off.

It took 5 weeks to complete, with the background taking the majority of the time. I got to the characters with about 2 weeks to go, and to my surprise they fit in pretty seamlessly. 

To be honest it wasn't a lot of fun to paint, but the end result was pleasing. When it was finished, I wasn't sure if anyone would like it, but it's gotten a great response and became a feature painting on my art table.

There's a lesson here: difficult paintings are like marriages- you have to stay consistently attentive to them, and in the end, you'll be given a rewarding experience.

8" x 10", Digital Painting, 2014.

Sometimes ridiculous ideas lead to successful paintings. 

But one can't tell if a painting is ever going to work until it's shown to the public. Kirby's Scream is a lowbrow concept painted quickly on an iPad, in which I had no idea how the audience would react.

3 years later, Kirby's Scream still sits on the art table for sell, causing a chuckle ever few minutes or so.

So here's to ridiculous paintings painted quickly!

8" x 10", Digital Painting, 2015.

The twist here was inspired by asking this question: what could start a friendship between Gizmo and Totoro? The answer was simple: for Totoro to stop the rain from falling on Gizmo by way of umbrella, a solution that pays homage to both My Neighbor Totoro and the Gremlin movies.

The painting was done fast and loose so the kinectic quality of the falling rain was best captured. The primary focus was for Gizmo to have a look of absolute sweet adoration, and for their to be a colorful emotional glow about the painting.

It was a quick, loose painting about the moment when we first form a lasting friendship.

5" x 7", Digital Painting, 2016.

Could 2 characters from unrelated backgrounds match, only on the basis of their stomachs?

Another challenge, an idea conceived in the middle of a walk, and it came together quickly, in just a couple of weeks.

Sometimes strange ideas that pop into our heads lead to blind alleyways with no way out. Other times they lead to fun unexpected directions.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2016.

This painting is a reaction to Han Solo's death in Force Awakens, a travesty if there ever was one. Why didn't Chewbacca shoot Kylo to protect his BEST friend? Why didn't Han Solo, ever the scoundrel, fool Kylo (and everyone in the theater) and blast his rotten son to hell and back?

Father Knows Best addresses those questions in a manner most direct; Han Solo "corrects" that situation. 

Paying homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark was intended to remind that viewer that Han Solo still has a little Indy left in him; a cold blooded assassin when need be.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2016.

The Fox and the Hound's iconic scene, the scene where Todd the fox meets Copper the dog, led to this idea.

Inserting Pennywise (the evil clown from the book / TV series "It") made it dark comedy, and for me at the time, sealed the painting's fate. I kept telling myself there is no way this painting will be received well..as I was painting. That's a tough mindgame to play, but as it turns out, the piece was well received by the public, so as usual, I was dead wrong.

Most of the painting's time was spent on that lush background of that iconic scene, the characters themselves were fairly simple to paint.

And let's all keep telling ourselves Copper the dog escapes, for peace of mind.

8" x 10", Digital Painting, 2015.

To be honest, I love to start paintings with something that I...love. 

And I love the Shining. And a good challenge too. Making the Shining into something funny and upbeat was that challenge. Then the title came, and it all made sense, that these two would somehow be bedfellows at the Overlook hotel.

The painting was pretty easy actually, with the background posing the most challenge. Jack and Slimer were both quick painting sessions, and I tried to paint them as quickly as I could so the energy was maintained in the piece. As a rule= slow painting, low energy. Quick painting, lots of energy.

May they rot in hell happily ever after.

8 x 10, Digital Painting, 2016.

The concept came from my wife, who is my frequent colloborator, when I was struggling with a Van Gogh / Mr.Potato head mashup.

In painting this illustration I couldn't help but be awed by Van Gogh's color choices- vibrant, unpredictable, almost melodic. It's a humbling experience, one in which led me to change my approach to color theory. 

In contrast to the swirly emotional nature of the self-portrait, I wanted Mr.Potato head to stand out, almost as if he was at an art gallery and Van Gogh's portrait suddenly came to life.

A quick painting that I hope brings a smile to your face.

8 x 10, Digital Painting, 2016.

The thought of a boy playing with a group of tigers was fairly ridiculous- how would the boy NOT get ripped to shreds? 

That question led to the answer of the boy being Calvin, one of the tigers being Hobbes, who would then protect Calvin against the other tigers if need be in a fun game of "tag".

Painted in a loose painterly style, "Tiger Tag" is about letting go of reality and enjoying a sunlit day with one's imagination.

5 x 7, Digital Painting, 2017.

After doing a number of mashups it dawned on me that I enjoy taking 2 different characters from different worlds and putting them in the same space together to create something new and unexpected.

This kind of dissection can lead to a stale and forced approach, and a number of my less successful pieces have suffered this fate of picking process over inspiration.

"Father and Son" is (hopefully) a lighthearted return to approaching art as one silly playground, seeking meaning but not the meaning of life, if that makes any sense.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2016.

Why not make the princess her own hero in her own story?

Originally I planned to have Prince Charming singed to a crisp, a victim of Maleficent's fiery breath. Deciding against that, I went with the more positive approach: Aurora uses the magic sword to kill the dragon, riding on Toothless. A dragon on dragon fight would ensue; no Prince Charming needed at all.

As with most of my work, it's the background that takes all the time. Toothless was difficult to paint as well, particularly the rocky texture of his scales.

It was a fun painting to do and I hope it promotes the idea that women can (and should) be the heroes in their own storylines.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2016.

Bet you thought that it was E.T. who propelled that bike into the moonlight sky? 

The thought of two aliens being part of an extended family was just too irresistible to pass up. 

This painting carries the theme of friendship and helping someone else out that I try to portray in much of my work. Overall it took about 3 weeks to complete, with the primary challenge being capturing Yoda's and E.T.'s faces accurately.
 

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2015.

The Death of Robin is a playful acknowledgment to how important symbolism is in paintings.

Trying to jam all of Batman's villains into one painting was difficult, and I should have found a way to weave Poison Ivy into here somehow.

This painting was an earlier expression of my need to explore the boundaries of dark comedy, and it was a lot of fun to do.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2016.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, painted by 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, turns out not to be the easiest painting to pay homage to.

It's subtle use of colors and texture and lighting scheme was beyond the scope of what I could emulate, but it served as an inspirational launching pad for my 4 week painting.

Replacing the earring was a simple choice, giving this painting it's primary twist. I added that Rebel tattoo to give Rey more of an edge. Her lightsaber was really a stand in for the main source of lighting, the same lighting that the original painting has.

I felt that my blending technique had improved a lot over the last 3 years so I wanted to tackle the challenge of capturing the smooth beauty of Daisy Ridley, combined with the rugged heroic expression of a modern feminine hero.

12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2017.

There's a melancholy beauty in this tragic story of a family interrupted, and to illustrate that tragedy I wanted two worlds, roughly the same size, to contrast the sad fate of the father and mother against the hopeful Earth that has welcomed their son.

As for the primary composition, I took inspiration from the structure of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam".

It's impossible to describe how much Superman the movie (1978) has meant to me. It laid out an impossible blueprint that hasn't been matched since; all the DC and marvel movies pale in comparison with their immature grab at empty spectacle and true lack of risk. Here's to Reeve's towering performance, John Williams in his prime, Richard Donner's mature, deft touch as director, the optimism and clarity of that movie bringing a superhero to the big screen.