The Dinosaur Painting

Oil on Canvas, 2016
144 inches x 96 inches (366cm x 244cm)

This painting depicts nearly 100 different dinosaur toys from various generations of pop culture. The pattern is from a 17th Century illuminated Koran. The landscape is inspired by Albert Bierstadt's California Spring. A pale moon was placed in the top right of the sky, so that the lightsource coming from behind the clouds wouldn't reference the sun, but would instead be a subtle reference to a meteor descending from the heavens, imminently ending the dinosaurs reign on Earth. The flowers in the bottom corners of the landscape are a species of bromeliad, a flower which looks fairly prehistoric, but also visually fitting for a painting filled with toys, given their lush foliage and vibrant blooms. Many cultural universes are referenced in this painting, including: Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Transformers, Power Rangers, The Land Before Time, Dino Riders, Ninja Turtles, Street Sharks, Star Wars, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Flintstones, Dinosaur Train, The Good Dinosaur, Night at the Museum, Walt Disney's Dinosaur, The National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Godzilla, Turok, King Kong, Dinosaurs! the Sitcom, Pokemon, Digimon, Dino Mites, Marvel, Yoshi, Marx, Schleich, Papo, Rugrats, Denver the Last Dinosaur, Ice Age, Toy Story, Dinotrux, Fisher Price, and Barney. The painting was started in the summer of 2015 and completed in December of 2016. It was the first painting that was completed for a planned triptych of Dinosaurs, Aliens & Robots.