Pretty Pictures

Wonderlust

I live in a tight-knit neighborhood community. On any given night the local bar plays second home to a storied crew of locals from the surrounding area. As with any small neighborhood, rumors and gossip abound. And when I first started talking up my affinity for Anthony’s intriguing t-shirt designs I learned that the owner of the local tattoo studio had a collection of colored works acquired in exchange for snack money or a warm cup of coffee. When I expressed my interest he gladly took me to the back room, where after digging around in a storage loft, he pulled out a handful of rolled up papers.

When I first saw his collection of Anthony’s work I was awe struck. The first piece I was presented depicted a hovering zeppelin of some kind, emblazoned with the insignia of an eagle. But most impressive were the tightly contained waves of tiny hatchwork strokes painstakingly textured in a radiating web of colors that stretched across the page.

Each successive piece seemed increasingly steeped in pop culture references and fantasy worlds, ranging from a portrait of Paul McCartney, to an homage to Ronald Reagan’s victory in the Cold War and mythical man-eating scorpions.

I’m no art critic. My response is driven by emotional cues rather than intellectual associations. I often struggle to find comparable artistic references or even explain what excites me, other than apparent artistic expression in it’s pure and unfiltered form. With these types of simple but elegant renderings the message isn’t clouded by the messenger.

A few days later when I ran into Anthony I complimented his work and asked if he had any more pieces at home. In his timid and humble manor he told me the majority of them had been misplaced. Let’s hope they turn up at some point.