"Worship the Octorus"

For a few years, Ive had this image in my head of an octopus with wooly mammoth tusks.  I had never seen it in the real world and, quite frankly, its a fucking rad idea.  The ceramic head was a gift a few years back.  It was white with a diagram of a brain on the cranial portion.  The wooden shelf-like object (behind the head) was purchased at a local thrift store. 

The concept of the "Octorus" is completely fictional.  But in that fictional universe, the Octorus ruled the World Ocean and was worshiped by the peoples of the Other Land.  It was said to have rows of sharp teeth, eight tentacles, and a pair of long curved tusks.

The Grand Shaman of this particular tribe had a special head-dress constructed in the likeness of the Octorus creature.  The Octorus was perceived as a "God" and its image was cast into the night sky as a constellation.

The design of the head-dress was drawn (with graphite) onto the black painted surface.  This process was extremely tedious.  The "mirror imaged" design needed to be as close to perfect as possible. 

Yes it has peyote cactus as eyes.

"Worship the Octorus" by BAO 2011

acrylic / ink / graphite / polyurethane

on Ceramic and Wood

"Apex Predators" from Planet Ish

"Extrasolar Botanical Study : Planet Ish : Apex Predators" was the third piece I completed in 2011.  The wood panel is one inch thick and is 11" x 37" not including the frame.  It took about a month for me to finish. 
Since I did not have a projector at the time, I had to use the old school method of graphite rubbed on tracing paper. 

The design/illustration is a vertical mirror image of itself.  The flower head and vines at the top portion of the panel match exactly to the design and shape of the spikey root system at the bottom portion.  I chose to break the entire piece into smaller sections for better accuracy. 

Once the design was transfered onto the wood panel, I used ink (Sharpie) to trace all outlines and then proceeded to paint within the lines.

The wood panel was sanded and stained Golden Oak.  Approximately three coats of polyurethane were applied on top of the painted/stained surface.   The frame was purchased as crown molding/trim....which was hand-cut, assembled, and stained (Ebony) by myself.

This "apex predator" killer plant was observed laying its long skinny vines on the bottom of lakes....and twitching the tips of the vine like a small gyrating worm....as a fish would strike (thinking its a meal) the plant's vine would quickly snatch the fish out of the water by hooking through and out the gills. 

It had also been observed grabbing birds out of the air, most often during mid-flight.  On some occasions the powerful and long vines would wrap so tightly around the neck of a bird that it would cause the head to detach from the body.

This apex predator was obviously carnivorous and all hunted prey were placed into the mighty jaws below.

"Apex Predators" is part of a developing series of paintings on various wood panels that all revolve around a "fictional" theme of a mythical planet called Ish.

Benjamin Andrews Oliver 2011

"Mating Dance" from Planet Ish

This was the second piece I had completed in 2011.  I found this wood in a woodshop and it was cut into
the shape that you see above.  It kind of resembles a skateboard.  I stained it with a red mahogany and used acrylic paint for color and ink (from a Sharpie) for the outlines.

The full name of the title is "Extrasolar Botanical Study : Planet Ish : Mating Dance" and it is intentionally long because this piece is part of a series of paintings revolving around a mythical planet called "Ish" where the dominant species is highly evolved plants.  The title can be shortened to "Mating Dance."

This particular scene shows how two common plants on Planet Ish can "fuse" together during a mating ritual.

"The Observers" January 2011

One cold day in January 2011, I visited my father at his wood shop.  I had promised myself to get back into
making art again.  It had been seven years since I had completed any artwork.  So....I was looking for plywood to paint some cool illustrations on.    After sifting through the dirty or splintered boards, I pulled a few good ones to the side. 

 When I got home, I decided to give these boards another look.  After staring at this one in particular....I started to notice how the wood grain patterns at the bottom.....looked VERY MUCH like a watery horizon. 
Upon further inspection, the WHOLE DAMN THING started to look like a specific scene!  Everything seemed crystal clear to me.  This plywood and its natural wavey grained patterns were suggesting a picture.


It looked like a nuclear explosion over an oceanic horizon.....with a UFO spaceship hovering in the foreground at a safe distance.  Keep in mind....this is what I saw in the natural patterns of the grain.  I simply added COLOR to bring that specific scene to life.  If I were to paint a picture of a nuclear explosion over an oceanic horizon with a UFO checking that shit out.....I would paint a much more detailed and elaborate painting than "The Observers." 

The beauty of this finished piece is in the process that it took.  It was found "as is."   Other people will see other scenes when staring at the original nude plywood panel.   Through a little imagination and persistence, I managed to bring a boring and forgotten piece of plywood to life. 

The black frame is hand-cut, assembled, and painted by myself.  The wood was purchased from a local lumber store and was sold as crown molding/trim.  The color of the painted frame is actually called "Charleston Green" and is a very dark green.....so dark that it appears black.  A small color photo of the original nude plywood panel is framed and displayed underneath the larger colored final version.  The small frame was purchased from a store and I sanded the inside border all the way down to grain.

"The Observers"  by Benjamin Andrews Oliver 2011

This painting was my first in seven years.  It is the only one in the world.

Acrylic / Ink / Graphite on Plywood panel