In his work, artist Matthew Grabelsky creates oil paintings of hybrid creatures casually navigating the New York City subway system. The gifted, Los Angeles-based painter adds animal heads to human bodies, mixing the mundane with the surreal. Grabelsky says that his pieces are inspired by riding the subways in New York as a boy and by his passion for Greek mythology.
Grabelsky starts each painting with an idea, then does a photoshoot with friends or family members, and works up a composite in Photoshop where he starts visualizing what the painting will look like.
“I spend most of this stage laughing. I find that when the image cracks me up I know it will make a good painting,” the artist told in an interview for Sour Harvest, and adds that the rest of the time he spends creating the painting which requires many hours of intense concentration.
He also revealed that his creatures will one day leave the New York subway and then go out into the wider world.
“I certainly want to do paintings set in different locations in New York. I was born and am currently living in Los Angeles and so I expect that my characters will make it out to LA at some point.”
If you are curious to see his artwork, check out the gallery below.
