Take one part Henry Darger's imagination, one-part skill, add a cup of William Blake's watercolor works, then blend them with a dash of Heavy Metal Magazine, and a soupcon of Patrick Nagel, then kick it up a notch with a few volumes of dark mythology and you might just get something close to the entrancing work of Santa Monica-born, Bermuda-bred Spindle Webb. We first discovered the purple-haired Spindle's unearthly, alluring paintings on his toolbox at Floyd's Barber Shop, and were pleased to discover the revelation of his new website Spindle's Lair.
His subjects, done in a deceivingly complex array of multi-hued, furious strokes, comprise a fantasy world dominated by strong Amazon women, wild, nature-swept witches, preening, hypercolored fairies, technologically-modified freaks, and hell-damned spirits. Haunting beauty seeps through impressionistic, electric-colored strokes, adding a strange blacklit effect and a definite warmth not seen in an artist like HR Giger, who could be a possible inspiration on some pieces. Despite Webb's obvious dark side, there is harmony in his chimera of a world.
When not rewarding shady spirits and women of all colors the honors they deserve, Webb's few landscapes show a sensibility with resemblances to Gauguin's or Munch's, as in the above painting of the Hermosa Pier. Some of Webb's other pieces employ collage and always bear his 3-initial signature that rivals the lettering of some of our streets' best taggers. Despite a use of varied techniques and subjects, the mysterious and wonderful chills elicited by Webb's work is dependably, and thankfully, the same.
The artist can be contacted at spindle@spindleslair.com
