Art has afforded me the rare opportunity to meet people all across the USA to share in our collective joy of pop cultures.

So thank you to all the people I met in the cities below and hope to see more cities in 2025!

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-New York, NY

-Orlando, FL

-Honolulu, HI

-Denver, CO

-Seattle, WA

-Chicago, IL

-Rosemont, IL

-Anaheim, CA

-San Diego, CA

-Los Angeles, CA

-Ontario, CA

-Long Beach, CA

-Pasadena, CA

-San Jose, CA

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, 2022.

Kirby's mouth alone inspires so many paintings. This is one such painting.

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2024.

Kirby and Van Gogh: a match made in heaven.

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2021

For fans of Van Gogh and lovers of Gudetama, the world's most loveable egg!

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2021 .

For lovers of Gudetama, the world's most loveable egg!

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, 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 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 8", Digital Painting, 2020.

Ain’t nobody breaking up this happy couple! Eve has her (laser) sights on some pesky Jawas!

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.

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2020.

Norman Rockwell's timeless painting "The Problem We All Live With" in 1964 resonates with us even today. This painting is re-imagined so accompanying the young Ruby Bridges’ history-changing walk to William Frantz Public School for integration are the heroes from the Black Panther movie!

8" x 8", Digital Painting, 2020.

I tried to paint this work in the style of a romantic cheesy book cover but juxtapose that with the tragedy going on behind the main actors involving the wreck of the Titanic. Playing opposing themes off one another is of great interest for me. Pretty trivial to bask in the early glow of a new romance in the wake of a disaster.

I also liked playing off the boy-like quality of DiCaprio with the man-hunk that is Momoa, and I'm guessing it's not too far off to guess that Rose would have left Jack for Aquaman. One can picture this scenario as very plausible.

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 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 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.

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.

Samples of the graphic novel Jack Doesn't Live Here Anymore, an autobiographical story about our dear pet Jack, a black cat with a heart of gold.

140 pages, black and white.

Samples of the graphic novel Drawings Done Before Dawn, an autobiographical story about my formative teenage years.

160 pages, full color.