Chances are, you may not have heard of Eric Joyner, but a lot of people have. He has won awards from Spectrum Fantastic Art, and has been hired by the San Francisco Chronicle. His art is very popular among technology executives, and some movie stars have been known to collect some of his art. J.J. Abrams is a huge fan. (LOST baby!) I only came across him when I saw a preview for his book, “Robots & Donuts: The Art of Eric Joyner”, published by Dark Horse Books. Joyner paints his robots with an out of time feel and a vintage quality that never seems to get old. It is also right on time with the retro style that is ohh so popular today.

Joyner decided in 1999 that he was going to focus his art strictly on Robots and Donuts after his work in commercial illustration became too tedious. (I cant help but laugh to myself as I write this. Picturing someone fed up with commercial art, and saying “humm, well I love donuts, and robots seem really cool too, so maybe ill just focus on painting them. And ONLY them). All of his paintings start with an idea, then a photo opp featuring some robot toys from Japan. After he has his subject matter ready, he does a sketch and paints that with some acrylics. He finalizes his paintings with thick oils and 2 coats of spray Demar varnish. Joyner’s art is so refreshing that you can’t help but to love it. He paints with a childish, retro feel, and the subject matter forces a smile onto your face. I mean how can you NOT smile at Japanese Robots fighting giant donuts?