Oil Paintings. What? Yep. Over the weekend, I spotted that mama cat and her sweet little kitten on Create Magazine’s Instagram feed, and my fingers involuntarily started typing this post! SO. GOOD. This is the work of New York raised, LA based painter Matthew Grabelsky. Here is a description of his work via Thinkspace Gallery {LA}:

“… The appearance of the animal head feels distantly totemic, an archetype for something primordial, ancient, and psychologically motivated. Fascinated by the persistence of animal imagery in mythology and communal cultural imaginaries, Grabelsky superimposes its presence onto his depictions of the contemporary world. For the artist, the animal becomes a manifestation of the inner workings of the hidden subconscious, literally revealing the latent identities and motivations lurking beyond the composure of the human mask.

Technically inspired by 19th Century academic and naturalist painters, Grabelsky creates these unlikely, surreal scenes with a staggering degree of realistic detail. The contrast created between the visual verisimilitude of the works, and the surreal improbability of their content catches the viewer in a prolonged moment of convincingly suspended disbelief.”

Yes, I actually experienced several “prolonged moments of convincingly suspended disbelief”. Happy Monday.