Curiosities by artist Travis Louie

Last year, my friends and I went to an art opening at Gallery 1988, one of my favorite galleries in San Francisco. It was an exhibit called "Strangely Mannered" which clearly was quite fitting to include artist Travis Louie. I was reminded of him today for some odd reason, so I figured I'd share his world with you.

A little about his art (taken from his website):
Travis Louie’s paintings come from the tiny little drawings and many writings in his journals. He’s created his own imaginary world that is grounded in Victorian and Edwardian times. It is inhabited by human oddities, mythical beings, and otherworldly characters who appear to have had their formal portraits taken to mark their existence and place in society. The underlining thread that connects all these characters is the unusual circumstances that shape who they were and how they lived. Some of their origins are a complete mystery while others are hinted at. A man is cursed by a goat, a strange furry being is discovered sleeping in a hedge, an engine driver can’t seem to stop vibrating in his sleep, a man overcomes his phobia of spiders, etc, . . .Using inventive techniques of painting with acrylic washes and simple textures on smooth boards, he’s created portraits from an alternate universe that seemingly may or may not have existed.

My favorite thing about Travis' art, besides the fact that his work is incredibly skilled and detailed (these aren't prints - acrylic paint over tight graphite drawings!), are the little "stories" that he captions next to the paintings. I like that he is inspired and influenced by genre films, human oddities, circus sideshows, old Vaudeville magic acts, Victorian portraits, and all things otherworldly. A great blend if you ask me!