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Mechanical Bullshit
Year: 2023
Medium: Watercolor, hand-cut paper, and black paint in a floating frame
Artwork Size: Approximately 11 × 14 inches
Inspiration: Western cartoons, mechanical bull riding, mixed-media experimentation, repurposing materials, and finding creative ways to make artwork stand out.
I've always thought there was something hilarious about mechanical bull riding. It's essentially a machine designed to throw you off while you desperately try to convince everyone around you that you know what you're doing.
And somehow, people willingly pay to experience it.
There's something incredibly entertaining about watching someone climb onto a mechanical bull with all the confidence in the world, only to be launched off a few seconds later while everyone around them laughs.
That's the kind of ridiculous energy I wanted to capture with this piece.
The artwork features a cartoon cowboy desperately trying to stay on top of an angry mechanical bull. His hat is flying off, his arms are flailing, and his face suggests that he's beginning to seriously reconsider whatever decisions brought him to this moment.
Meanwhile, the bull looks absolutely furious, as though it's personally offended by the idea of having someone ride it.
But what makes this piece especially interesting to me isn't just the illustration. It's how I decided to present it.
I created the original image using watercolor, then carefully cut out the illustration rather than leaving it on a traditional rectangular sheet of paper. I outlined the cut edges with black paint to give the characters a stronger, more defined appearance.
By removing the surrounding paper, I was able to create something that feels more dimensional than a conventional painting.
The characters almost appear to be floating inside the frame, separated from the background rather than simply painted onto it.
I also wanted to experiment with how the frame itself could become part of the artwork.
Most people think of a frame as something you add after finishing a painting. It's there to protect the artwork, make it look presentable, and allow someone to hang it on a wall.
But I've always liked the idea of treating frames as another creative material.
Instead of designing a painting to fit a frame, I wanted to create something that interacted with the space inside it.
The dark background and the contrast between the cut-out illustration and the surrounding space help emphasize the movement of the characters. The cowboy looks like he's being thrown around, while the mechanical bull appears to be bucking violently beneath him.
I especially like the contrast between the relatively realistic background and the exaggerated cartoon figures. It creates this strange combination of traditional presentation and completely ridiculous subject matter.
There's also something satisfying about taking inexpensive materials, experimenting with them, and discovering that a simple change in presentation can make an image feel entirely different.
That's one of my favorite things about creating art.
You don't always need expensive supplies, complicated techniques, or a perfectly planned idea. Sometimes you just need a pair of scissors, some paint, an old frame, and the willingness to see what happens.
And occasionally, what happens is a cowboy getting his ass kicked by a mechanical bull.
I think this piece represents the more playful and experimental side of my artwork. It's not necessarily about exploring some deep emotional struggle or delivering a profound message.
It's about creativity, movement, humor, and trying something different simply because I thought it would look cool.
I also love the idea that artwork doesn't always need to remain confined to a flat surface. By cutting out the illustration and allowing the background to become part of the composition, I was able to give the piece a little more personality.
The result is something that feels like a cartoon caught in the middle of an absolutely terrible rodeo performance.
And honestly, that's exactly what I wanted.
Sometimes art is about confronting difficult emotions or making people question the world around them.
And sometimes it's just about a cowboy discovering that eight seconds is a really fucking long time.
Year: 2023
Medium: Watercolor, hand-cut paper, and black paint in a floating frame
Artwork Size: Approximately 11 × 14 inches
Inspiration: Western cartoons, mechanical bull riding, mixed-media experimentation, repurposing materials, and finding creative ways to make artwork stand out.
I've always thought there was something hilarious about mechanical bull riding. It's essentially a machine designed to throw you off while you desperately try to convince everyone around you that you know what you're doing.
And somehow, people willingly pay to experience it.
There's something incredibly entertaining about watching someone climb onto a mechanical bull with all the confidence in the world, only to be launched off a few seconds later while everyone around them laughs.
That's the kind of ridiculous energy I wanted to capture with this piece.
The artwork features a cartoon cowboy desperately trying to stay on top of an angry mechanical bull. His hat is flying off, his arms are flailing, and his face suggests that he's beginning to seriously reconsider whatever decisions brought him to this moment.
Meanwhile, the bull looks absolutely furious, as though it's personally offended by the idea of having someone ride it.
But what makes this piece especially interesting to me isn't just the illustration. It's how I decided to present it.
I created the original image using watercolor, then carefully cut out the illustration rather than leaving it on a traditional rectangular sheet of paper. I outlined the cut edges with black paint to give the characters a stronger, more defined appearance.
By removing the surrounding paper, I was able to create something that feels more dimensional than a conventional painting.
The characters almost appear to be floating inside the frame, separated from the background rather than simply painted onto it.
I also wanted to experiment with how the frame itself could become part of the artwork.
Most people think of a frame as something you add after finishing a painting. It's there to protect the artwork, make it look presentable, and allow someone to hang it on a wall.
But I've always liked the idea of treating frames as another creative material.
Instead of designing a painting to fit a frame, I wanted to create something that interacted with the space inside it.
The dark background and the contrast between the cut-out illustration and the surrounding space help emphasize the movement of the characters. The cowboy looks like he's being thrown around, while the mechanical bull appears to be bucking violently beneath him.
I especially like the contrast between the relatively realistic background and the exaggerated cartoon figures. It creates this strange combination of traditional presentation and completely ridiculous subject matter.
There's also something satisfying about taking inexpensive materials, experimenting with them, and discovering that a simple change in presentation can make an image feel entirely different.
That's one of my favorite things about creating art.
You don't always need expensive supplies, complicated techniques, or a perfectly planned idea. Sometimes you just need a pair of scissors, some paint, an old frame, and the willingness to see what happens.
And occasionally, what happens is a cowboy getting his ass kicked by a mechanical bull.
I think this piece represents the more playful and experimental side of my artwork. It's not necessarily about exploring some deep emotional struggle or delivering a profound message.
It's about creativity, movement, humor, and trying something different simply because I thought it would look cool.
I also love the idea that artwork doesn't always need to remain confined to a flat surface. By cutting out the illustration and allowing the background to become part of the composition, I was able to give the piece a little more personality.
The result is something that feels like a cartoon caught in the middle of an absolutely terrible rodeo performance.
And honestly, that's exactly what I wanted.
Sometimes art is about confronting difficult emotions or making people question the world around them.
And sometimes it's just about a cowboy discovering that eight seconds is a really fucking long time.