11" x 14" acrylic and oil painting on gesso board.

​

I was researching Ultraman and I discovered that Tsuburaya Eiji, the creator of Ultraman, was a Catholic and frequently used Christian ideas and symbolism in the Ultraman shows and movies. I just pushed that idea to a humorous extreme by depicting Mother of Ultraman Taro as the Madonna and Christ child.

I was really inspired by Byzantine depictions of the Madonna. I love the Christ child as a tiny man sitting in Mary's arms and the amount of gold leaf used now seems tacky to the point of camp. The esoteric symbolism makes me laugh.

​

Painting was featured in Q Pop Gallery's November 2013 Tokusatsu 2: Revenge of the Kaiju Show.