Matthew Grabelsky pushes the envelope with his amazing oil paintings of what at first may seem like humans going about their day in a busy city.
However, it is upon closer examination we see that these human faces have been replaced with an animal head. Grabelsky has created a world of his very own, imagining what it would be like if we were to live in a society of half-human and half-animal beings. This society that he has created is given stunning detailing with his crafted hand. These stunning oil paintings are truly life-like, with beautiful coloring and texturing that is barely recognizable from a fantasy or reality. Grabelsky doesn’t often use the same animal head, and consistently changes up the look of each piece.
The most intriguing part about each individual piece is that Grabelsky gives each creature a personality based on their specific animal’s persona, such as small kittens with Hello Kitty tracksuits, or a horse dressed in Western attire. Grabelsky seems to play on the idea of a parent and child relationship, consistently showing a child traveling with their parent. Whether it be a bay koala riding on its mother’s back waiting on the subway, or a baby hippo being held by her father while it takes a ride on the subway, it is very apparent that Grabelsky’s work gravitates towards these scenes with this intimate yet most relatable relationship. His work is based on a reference photograph, in which he adds on his animal head when he paints the final product. The stunning resemblance between the photo of the model and what he puts to canvas shows the truly iconic craftsmanship of Matthew Grabelsky
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