Behold this oldie but goodie from 1979: Musical Mirage. This hypothetical album cover was a fun challenge for me. My concept featured a young couple listening to music and imagining a whimsical fox band performing the songs!
An incredible location in New Zealand served as the inspiration for a painting that holds special meaning to me. In 2005, I was working in that country as a character animator on Peter Jackson's King Kong movie, spending long hours behind a computer screen at the studio. To unwind from the demanding work, I occasionally wandered through the Wellington Botanic Gardens during my rare free moments. The magnificent trees intrigued me, and I captured their beauty with my camera. Years later, I decided to recreate those memories on canvas, drawing inspiration from the photographs I had taken.
Smilodon, the iconic saber-toothed cat, has fascinated me since I was a child. What an incredible creature! Many talented artists have portrayed Smilodon since its discovery in the fossil record. Inspired by their efforts, I decided to create my own version of this prehistoric predator in its natural habitat: Southern California, over 10,000 years ago.
Over the years, I have incorporated waterfalls into many of my paintings, but this was the first time I featured one as the main subject. This piece, Cascade, was my rendition of the Meyberg Waterfall at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. The stunning scenery offered numerous points of interest to capture in paint, and I deepened my understanding of the nature of water through the experience.
Typically, my paintings are rooted in metaphysical or psychological concepts, and while a landscape may play a role in the composition, it is usually secondary to the central idea. I wanted to break from this tradition and create a few landscape paintings purely for their aesthetic beauty. One such piece is Shaded Grove, which was inspired by a view from Descanso Gardens in Southern California.
This symbolic painting depicts the meeting of two opposites. Taking place in a desolate landscape, the personification of matter rises from the ground, reaching out to a celestial force.
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14).
That parable from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount inspired my 1980 painting, Two Roads. While artists have depicted scenes from the Bible since at least the 3rd century, my aim was to create an image unlike any seen before: an in-depth portrayal of the ultimate duality through symbolic imagery.