"Mr. Brightside"
#3 in "Fandom Rocks!" series
2 X 2 ft.
Gouache and Mixed Media on Wood Panel
2012
I want to give a HUGE thank you to Anthony Misiano, better known as "Harley's Joker", for allowing me to use his photo as reference. Best Joker cosplayer EVER!
While painting I listened to:
So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath
Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
Why I Painted The Joker:
Obviously, the Joker is hugely popular, and with good reason. People tend to overlook the horrible things he's done in favor of how entertaining he is. And no matter how many times he's foiled, he always tries again.
I mean really, the dynamic struggle between Batman and The Joker is what's at the center of the Batman universe. On one hand, you've got a man who's coldly logical, who suppresses his emotions, who has a strict moral code. On the other hand, he dresses like a bat and beats the hell out of people instead of shelling out the cash (which he has in abundance), for a therapist. It doesn't take a psychologist to see that the Joker represents Batman's own madness.
Another thing about The Joker is that since, like Batman, he's been around so long, many, many writers and artists have gotten to reinvent him. He's different in every story. Sometimes he a nihilist, other times harmless, other times a terrorist, and at my favorite times, he's a romantic. I absolutely love when he is depicted as equally obsessed with destroying Batman and being in love with him. In fact, he;s been so many things, that I've even read theories of him being different people all together, men possessed by a trickster demon of chaos who transforms them.
In short, the Joker is exuberance, an unstoppable force who enjoys life almost as much as he enjoys death. What's not to like?
