Fear not, this isn't going to be some minimalist white walled swanky modern art gallery or a nouveau urban gallery with faux grime, exposed brick and ventilation with piped in trip-hop of the moment... ...this is the Skullbrain Vinyl Accessible Gallery; open to all and with no snooty art lovers looking down their noses at you as you browse the images carefully placed on the walls. No one uttering: what are they wearing, please don't touch that or is it a toy in their pocket or a weapon. Over a decade ago, I stumbled across an Irish artist (if that isn't the beginning of a joke about heavy drinking, I don't know what is) who was having a small show in a gallery near me. His talent for painting still life was evident but what really captured my attention was one piece that had a very traditional style bar one obvious difference, there was an action figure in the midst of an otherwise classical painting. After chatting with him, it turned out he had a young son, who would often visit him in the studio, bringing the type of detritus with him that only young children can achieve so effortlessly. On one visit, after retuning to the studio after his son was in bed, he found a vinyl dinosaur had been plonked down in the middle of the still life arrangement he was in the midst of painting. Rather than move it, he painted it into the scene because, in his own words, it spoke clearly to him of the reality of his home life and being a father. In essence, it felt authentic. Whilst the original dino painting was one he had kept for himself, he had gone on to paint a few more and after speaking with him, I purchased two of them. Whist reorganising my home office over Christmas, where they reside, I realised that they may be of interest to the SB community because it can't be too often that we see toys shown in this manner. It is incredibly challenging to photograph the paintings, do them justice, show how realistic they look and also capture the depth of the colours; however, hopefully the photos will give you an idea. Firstly, this is not one of my paintings but will give you an idea of the skill that Conor Walton, the artist, has: Now, my two... the first one is called 'Here Be Monsters', so named after the habit that classical map makers had of drawing monsters in the ocean regions that were yet to be explored (and believed to be inhabited by beasts): And Some may pass it off as a gimmick but they spoke to me and, in my opinion, the best value a piece of art can have is that you like it and it either challenges you or brings a smile to your face. I hope you've enjoyed them and, at worst, it was something a little different from the normal posts. I'll close by saying, I must apologise for running our of canapés so early in the evening; some chap in a large green goji costume ate them all.
Awesome! Great thread! I'll make a couple additions (not that I own work by either of these artists, though I wish I did!). Robert Burden. Amazingly detailed large-scale oil paintings of childhood 80s toys. Glennray Tutor. Photorealistic paintings of toys and whimsies from a bygone era.