"Mask Up" by Ty Tatmore (2024) is a powerful and unsettling piece of contemporary social commentary. This work throws the viewer into a scene of post-apocalyptic anxiety where an individual, wearing a striking conical hairdo and a defiant "MASK UP" t-shirt, sits amidst the wreckage of a dilapidated room.
The artist uses dark humor and surreal imagery to explore the cultural tensions surrounding public health mandates and personal responsibility. The sign "CHOOSE WISELY!!" acts as a stark warning, while symbols like the gas mask and the Scream mask and also wearing a mask suggest a spectrum of survival and fear. The massive explosion breaking through the window is a haunting, almost surreal symbol of the unstoppable outside forces impacting daily life.
With its raw, graphic style and intense atmosphere, this painting is a memorable and thought-provoking statement that captures the isolation, uncertainty, and dark irony of living through a moment of global crisis.
"Facade" depicts the duality between constructed appearance and natural image. The old woman manifests societal idealization of beauty within her headpiece, burdened by the intricacy. Aesthetically pleasing symbols around her echo the notions of her manifested identity. This facade subconsciously contributes to continuing superficial values.
Watercolor plein air painting but my painting subject of decorative flourishes portray the vibe of this park:
Relaxing ASMR sounds of barking dogs, screaming children, and screeching parrots.
When I was a kid, I used to draw nonstop. As I got older, I got harder on myself. Now I only draw when I think I can make something big of whatever I'm doodling. I want to go back to the way I was before,
Somewhere out there are a bunch of butterflies having a conversation about whether they've ever landed on a human, and one of them says "Yeah, it's an acquired taste."
A quiet study of restraint at altitude. Framed through an aircraft window, the world below drifts by while the interior remains still—objects worn, familiar, and waiting. Subtle distortions in perspective and muted tones emphasize the tension between motion and pause, progress and endurance. This piece captures the discipline of waiting while suspended between departure and arrival, where patience is not passive, but practiced under pressure.
Pressurized Patience
16x20 canvas
sealed interior, a distant promise, and time marked in scratches and routines.
Pressurized Patience explores endurance, isolation, and the quiet humor found while waiting under pressure.
