Amazing Surreal Oil Paintings by Joel Rea
“We are all naturally curious when we are eight years old. But as most people get older, they become less and less curious, so they ask other people to be curious for them. That is what I do for a living.”
– Ron Miriello
Joel Rea is an incredibly talented artist that uses hyperrealism in his oil paintings. While gawking at his paintings, for a moment there, I lost myself into them, and started reminiscing about days past. It has a sort of mesmerizing attribute that not only makes my imagination wander, but also makes my memories to come back in a cluster of emotions.
Dogs pulling on a leash of a giant puppy, tigers in a canoe or people trying to catch stars in a blanket – that is what to expect from Joel, and it doesn’t stop there. You can like his Facebook page for more goodies to appear in your newsfeed, or you can have your own dosage of Joel Rea by going onto his website. Lets embark on a journey of surrealism and see how magnificent his art truly is.
1. The Adoration of Youth
This one reminds me of my childhood puppy, Napoleon. He was a beautiful little amstaff that loved to play with everyone. Although, they are regarded as not being so social with others, except their owners, Napoleon was a bundle of joy to have around.
He would play for hours if he could, with anyone that mustered the opportunity – rabbits, squirrels, other people, his own tail, that block of cheese that just fell from the table, and lets not forget one of his favorite companions The Couch. I truly miss his wagy tail. Thank you Joel for reminding me of my dearest friend.
2. Moment of Truth
Business men were invented for this sole purpose. They usually go through a very hard training course were they leave all their empathy behind and become douches. This is the chosen one, entitled with the task of delivering the annual impact on nature. See him standing in front of Mother Nature, see how he trembles and begs, and nature just doesn’t care –“
Why are my waters polluted human? Why are my mountains crumbling? Why are my trees being destroyed? For your own personal gain?” Or maybe it’s just a crazy guy that has a death wish, and is standing directly in front of a Tsunami.
3. Star Catchers
A surreal painting of men trying to catch stars with blankets. I really like the idea of it all. I would also try this activity out, if I have the opportunity. I mean, who wouldn’t? It seems quite fun, and it probably has some cool effects also. I don’t know how much I can get for a star on the black market, but I think I’ll live well after a few filled blankets. I like the guy standing in the back of the painting, his like “How do blankets work? Is this real life or fantasy?”
4. Collision
The young sailor caught a glimpse of the perpetrator. You can also see him. His often missed, but if you look closely, you can snag a peek – he is the one holding some sort of celestial weapon, in the back of the frame. Only a man out of his mind would destroy a chunk from a mountain. A mad man I tell you!
But what is his endgame? Does he plan on ruining the world? Bring back the dark ages? Or he just simply wants to dwell in chaos? Well, yeah, chaos is fun, but you wouldn’t destroy a mountain for that, would you? Of course you would.
5. Conquest
Conquest? Who’s conquest? Mother Nature over the Animal Kingdom? This tiger over unavoidable death? Or just humanity’s conquest over everything – destroying all the world for the glory of man, right?
6. Edge of the World
Jumping off of the edge of the world doesn’t seem so smart. What do you expect to find over there? Curiosity to unfold the mystery that lies ahead has helped us strive as a species, and hopefully it will not be our doom, but you can’t go straight in without having any sort of a plan, even a back-up plan, to help you conquer what lays ahead.
7. Return to Soft Castles
Yet again, returning to my childhood period, where I would go to the sea side, at my grandmothers home, and play all day long in the sand, and in the water. Crafting fortresses, castles, moats, whole legions to defend my keep from the constant attacks of seagulls and annoying little crabs. They were indeed soft castles, they would crumble till the next day, and I had to do all the work from scratch.
But I never missed a day. It is sort of magical, when you are a young child, to create something from sand, and to see it destroyed in a matter of seconds – it gives you an early perspective on how things stand the test of time. Or maybe I was just weird thinking about life at that fragile age.
8. Land of Certainty
The only certainty here is that koalas are incredibly vicious creatures. Yeah, they seem fluffy, cute and all when they are munching on leaves in trees, but if you stumble on a koala on the ground, just run, don’t even try to approach it. It is a bear after all, it will feel threatened, and it will attack. Have I just shattered your perceptions of Koala Bears? I’m sorry, but you better know the truth before going head to head with these little fluffy monsters.
Joel Rea has some incredible pieces of art work, hopefully I have enticed your curiosity and you will go and look for more of his art work. Don’t forget his Facebook, and website where you can gawk at his art all day. If you found something that didn’t made our list and you want to share it with us, please post freely in the comments section below. We would love to hear you out!
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