Scott G. Brooks, featured here on our blog, paints offbeat portraits, often expressing a surreal narrative inspired by children’s books and his own psyche. Described as twisted, sentimental, and disturbing, his portraits are characterized by his use of wit and the distorted version of reality they present. “Using a language that is easily understood, I tell stories. I weave figures, symbols, and elements together to create a narrative to share with an audience,” he says.
For his new series, Scott has produced a body of work that makes “relics” of every day objects like plastic dolls incorporated into his portraits. In one portrait, “The Shaming”, he reproduces the image of Christ wearing a crown of thorns and clutching a Barbie doll. His fingers cross with a red crayon to form the letters “IC XC” (Greek letters for “Jesus Christ”), bringing a whimsy to the serious tone of religious portraiture. Though the setting is imaginative, the series sees Brooks using a more realistic style.
On his work’s playfulness, Brooks shares: “I use humor in my work and in real life as a way to cut through the uncomfortable-ness, both my own and that of other people. My humor can fall flat in both circumstances as well, but often it can put people at ease. Art with a capital “A” can be quite intimidating and take itself too seriously, so the humor in my work helps alleviate that.” Scott G. Brooks will be showing new work in “Curios” at beinArt Gallery in Australia on May 28th.
Italian painter 
Calling his surreal paintings “suspended moments,” artist 
In the 2005 series “Teenage Stories,” 