Okay folks, there’s a lot going on here. Affordable Solutions to Unusual Problems is a bit of a lynchpin for this series, drawing connections between many paintings and characters, but there is more to it than that.
The setting was chosen because I hoped for one more canvas featuring a local landscape. In that great outdoors, I wanted Hot Rod and Moon Dog to be offering their services in a sort of superhero lemonade stand. When we wore those costumes for Halloween, we also made a bunch of fake business cards that suggested we were heroes, detectives, and other types of problem-solvers, and I thought it would be fun to paint that aspect of the characters. Plus, that meant I would get to paint some people standing in line, which would be another chance to suggest bizarre stories, and mysterious connections.
Also, without trying to be a killjoy, I have to mention that my little brother died right before I started this painting. This isn’t the place to get into all that, but I wanted to dedicate something to him. So that guy standing there with the… vampire pumpkins, maybe? That’s my little brother Ian, and he was pretty great, and I miss him a lot.
Connections:
The main subjects of this painting, Hot Rod and Moon Dog (along with the killer whale), also appear in the paintings Interdimensional High-Five and Escape from the Chicken Chimera!
The little girl at the front of the line is being accompanied, followed, or menaced by a thumb creature that’s dressed just like her. The thumb creatures also appear in MagThumb, P.I. and Digital Sasquatch. She’s also holding a yellow helium balloon in the shape of a killer whale. What’s that all about?
Morihar is standing at the back of the line, his wizard staff apparently having come unsprung. Perhaps it was damaged by those grasping tentacles, which bear a striking resemblance to the cat creatures from Tendril is the Night and Interdimensional High-Five.
And I’m sure you’ve noticed that Ian is wearing Thomas Magnum’s signature shirt, also seen in MagThumb, P.I. and Ghost Snacks.
