12" x 18", Digital Painting, 2017, 2019 (updated w/Joaquin Phoenix)

"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, 2019

TBD

11" x 17”, Digital Painting, 2019.

Monetama was inspired by of our collective practice of taking selfies at famous art galleries. What if the water lilies in Monet’s famous painting were actually supporting a ton of eggs in playful repose?

This was my most ambitious painting to date involving over 25 characters. I painted a character a day during my lunch break. It was a lot of fun and I hope the silly energy of Gudetama comes through in this work.

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!

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, 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.

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2018.

Starry Fight was a lot of fun to paint because of it’s clarity. Both combatants wielding energy balls that mesh seamlessly into Van Gogh’s painting was a simple, powerful image to visualize. It took less than 2 weeks to paint; the challenge was getting them into a box shaped design, but other than that, it went smoothly. Van Gogh’s vividness of color and stroke are still a wonder to behold.

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.

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, 2018

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and these bears have some frosty payback for Mr. DiCaprio, who took their mom away one fateful afternoon. The composition was arranged in a circular design, with all the bears forming an arc shape leading to DiCaprio. The challenge of this painting was integrating DiCaprio with the cartoon characters, so I connected the nose of Baloo to his hand, as well as Paddington's umbrella to his rifle, to make sure they all shared the same world.

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 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.

8 x 10”, Digital painting, 2017.

If you look for traces of your lost one, you can find them quite easily. They reside in your memories. Sometimes you'll even see their name on some display in a store. Their past advice guides you to safety on a dangerous night.

This piece is called REFLECTION, a literal take on our loved ones watching over us as we travel through life.

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.
 

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2019.

Up is an uplifting movie about pursuing one’s dreams. And who better to wreck havoc on a dream than our dear Pennywise?

Part of the challenge of this painting was what approach to take: should it go dark like the subject matter? Or should it be bright and full of hope, with a ghastly ending?

I chose the latter, in hopes the viewer will go “aww..that’s beautiful” then recoil in terror as it starts to sink in what’s going to happen.

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.