"The Dreamer"

Oil Paint on Canvas, 40cm x 60cm (approx. 16” x 24”), 2019

A commissioned artwork for a graphic novel project

In this image a boy finds himself within a vision of a cornucopia of mutations. Their forms encroach so much they threaten to overwhelm him. At left are a mass of denizens, exhibiting mammalian, fungal, plant, snake, and bird characteristics. Many of its junctions froth with tiny bubbles, as if still in the process of a fermenting metamorphosis. The least mutated member of the group is a crow, mouth open and facing vertically in a soundless “kaw!” as it is absorbed into the mass.

At lower right is a particularly toothy creature; something akin to a giant chlorophyll green membrane, thick and embedded with innumerable eyes setting above a dark maw passively laying in wait.

In the middle beyond the young man an entity yawns wide a beak-ish mouth, around which are more spiny and pincer-like projections branching out of a segmented green skin existing corporeally somewhere between amphibian and plant. Its teeth are like maize covered in a thin cataract. Further still in the distance are a variety of strange eyes and a mushroom cap with human teeth.

Hovering before the boy is a psychedelic alien, communicating via its manifestation as a nexus of colors, forms, and shapes spanning the spectrum from butterfly to bird to fish to mandrake vegetation and more. Its left most projection precipitates into glowing blue-green worm-like transparent fingers, from which a broadcast of blue filamented energy engages the boy’s mind.

Haloing the boy’s head is a dim cratered moon setting against a dark starry sky. His face and throat are illuminated by an unknown and intense light source, as is his left hand which reaches out gingerly to touch the alien vision before him.

The narrative speaks to a reflection concerning transformation and its relationship to identity. The character’s hand gesture, calm, and the number “33” on his shirt foreshadow his own spiritual potential, catalyzed by the interloping influence of the psychedelic alien presence.