Workshop Gallery | Mind-Trip Studio

Hood River Valley

Created on the premiere episode of "Galen's Workshop" Season 6! This image was painted with acrylics on a 12x16 inch canvas, drawn with oil pastel and black marker, and finished with a sealant. Hood River Valley is located in the state of Oregon and is one of Galen's favorite destination spots nearby his homestead.

Lights In The Sky

In the 2nd double creation round of the season, Galen began the episode creating this artwork inspired by UAP sightings, which are more known and talked about more since the government released footage showing citizens that they do exist. One sighting in Utah was the inspiration for this piece. A reminder to keep your eyes to the skies. This artwork was created with air dry clay to build a textured landscape, then used fluorescent and acrylic paints to bring it to life.

Galen's Gecko

This artwork was created with air dry clay and multiple layers of acrylic and oil paint. Galen wanted to create his own textured Gecko in the form of a portrait. At the end of the episode, Galen only had one regret with this piece, which was the textured background. You can find this artwork with a black-colored background on Galen's Instagram account and on the products in Galen's shop!

Passiflora

Galen wanted to tackle a challenging subject based in nature, so he chose Passiflora as his inspiration (also known as Passion Flowers). Galen initially ran into trouble halfway through production, and had to make the decision to go with shoe laces as a texture, even though it was a much thicker material than he originally wanted. However, Galen wanted to showcase how weird and "alien-like" this flower is visually, and in the end, the artwork came together.

"Mental Reboot"

The inspiration behind this artwork is healing the insecurities within myself through encouragement and will power. Doing so will allow my mind to break free from the routine. This was painted with acrylic paints, and I added a plastic "scarf" hanger to add texture and a new shape to the image.

"Stand Together"

This was a great first challenge for me! Not only was it fun to think of alternative ways to paint an image without normal utensils, but it was also challenging to decide which direction for me to go with the composition. As the background developed over the course of the creation process, it gave me a feeling of a spiritual apocalypse. To complete the image, I had found old drawings of failed attempts at art work during the series.

"The Melted Craft"

I did enjoy performing this art challenge, with the extra bonus of having to interpret these given materials into a composition on anything that wasn't a canvas. The only thing I had available was a 2x3 foot cardboard box, and I cut out 1 side of it to use for painting on top of it. Not the most creative use of materials, but it did give me more space to utilize all of my materials. I used the bottle caps and pieces of the facial mask to conceptualize a "UFO." I used the string of the mask to cut out small pieces and shape them into birds in the sky. The bubble wrap was cut into pieces for use of clouds, and I added spray paint to give them texture. Very proud of this piece!

"Jungle in the Dark"

This challenge twist was crazy - painting in total darkness! The only light I could see was from the reflection of light against the wall from the camera and it was very minimal! I could not tell what colors I was using, and at times, I completely forgot where the canvas was. However, I am happy that at least a few elements look similar to plant life. That combined with the black and blue background of odd shapes, it gives the feeling of natural vastness, thereby fulfilling the challenge brief.

"The Resurrection"

I desperately wanted to experiment with photography and mixed media in a piece inspired by old school monster movies. It is critical as a creator to know where your own faults are and how to approach it differently next time. On this subject, the one thing I had a struggle with was getting the thickness of the lines perfect to where you can still see detail of the photograph/background. I went heavy handed. However, as a first attempt at a process like this, being imperfect just makes me want to stay this again in a future episode of this series, so stay tuned!

"Return to Sigiriya"

For the first time on the series, my Instagram audience was tasked to vote between 5 artworks for redemption. While the audience split the vote in the end, John chose wisely and gave me this assignment of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. This project was painted on my 2nd season of the series, and I was disappointed with my background and details. My objective was to take care of what wasn't working and learn from my mistakes. As with anything, practice creates a better craft and understanding of the subject matter. Thankfully, I was not disappointed after painting this redemption piece.

"Anomaly in the Sky"

This project, while not a re-do of the previous Skinwalker Ranch artwork I did on season 4, is still inspired by the same subject matter. What the scientists currently at Skinwalker Ranch have caught is pretty incredible. One instance really caught my imagination and I had no choice but to follow my creative desire and paint what I saw. A perfect way to close out a strong season of art and creation. Most seasons I only like a few of my designs, but this season, I felt more proud of what I accomplished. There is much more room to grow, and as long as that is the case, I will return with another season of my 'Workshop' series every year! See you all in 2024!!

"Tangled Web"

As we get tangled in the metaphorical web of life, crawling our way out of deceit and lies to a much more hopeful life. This was painted and drawn as the canvas spun in circles!

Ghosts of the Barn

This image was inspired by a photo taken from Farmington, WA, and my challenge was to draw this in black and white, and to incorporate carved pumpkins, ghosts, and a twister to the composition. Drawn with charcoal and pencil.

Back to the Moon

Season 10 of "Workshop" began with a reflection back at my very first episode of season 1, where I spray painted a moon with black and white colors only. This time, I wanted to show a difference process without the spray paint and instead, using construction paper and 2 additional colors, with more emphasis on shadow and depth. The new moon was constructed on an 11x14 inch canvas.

Wreck of the Peter Iredale

This was quite a fun challenge taking on the subject of the Peter Iredale shipwreck in Hammond, OR, a challenge given to me by Matt & Teresa, who have given me 5 commissioned assignments on the series so far! If you have not seen the Peter Iredale on the Oregon Coast, I highly recommend it during the spring/summer season! This piece was painted in 2 and a half days, with acrylic and oil paints.

Stacked Spaces

I used a lot of different materials in this piece: magazine clips of textures, ribbed cardboard lining, honeycomb paper, wood panels, sequins, beads, ink marker, acrylic, cardboard cut-outs from a board game, and glittered/patterned paper! Instead of creating a miniature landscape like I did multiple times on season 3, I wanted to try a different interpretation of that idea by stacking the materials on top of another vertically instead of horizontally. I took inspiration from an old classic by Alfred Hitchcock, "Rear Window."

Demonic Forces of Nature

This is the first "Workshop" challenge of the season, where I have to draw themes and subjects to include in my compositions. I drew the subject of Tornadoes, and my theme was Exorcism. I took inspiration from the wild and deadly outbreak of tornadoes happening in the U.S. lately, and the interplay of religion and the unpredictable forces of nature. This was a challenge of making the two themes blend harmoniously together and I envisioned this exactly as if it happened in a movie, starring a priest stepping out of retirement to exorcise one last demon: a possessed tornado. This piece was painted on an 16 by 20 inch canvas with acrylic paints and markers.

Destination: Paradise

Painted with acrylic and drawn with ink on a 16x20 in canvas, this piece is called “Destination: Paradise.” This composition showcases a colorful community interconnected together with each other and with their environment. There are people scattered throughout the composition, each one is colored blue, red, and black, to signify that no matter what color, age, political party, or religion you represent, the community doesn't thrive unless we are connected at the heart. Each line corresponds to the compassion each person has for another and for the nature around them. This composition can also be flipped upside down to reveal three characters unconnected, looking up and reflecting back at their community, wondering what if things were different. Could our community truly be paradise?

GALLERY