When I say 'Brandon Boyd,' most of us down-under will conjure up an image of a shirtless Rock God crooning 'Drive'. Some may have witnessed the Incubus front man busting out illustrious moves at Soundwave this year. But the reality is this man’s creative juices can flow a lot further down that divine Aqueous River.

Six music albums and two books on, Mr. Boyd has poured his flashes of spiritual creativity into a new series of paintings. 'Ectoplasm,' his new art exhibit, has already been seen by more than one thousand people and it’s on display all month long at Mr. Musichead Rock Art Gallery, Hollywood.

In biology, 'ectoplasm' refers to the outer portion of a cell’s cytoplasm. Yet the artistic inspiration behind Boyd’s artwork embodies the supernatural concept commonly known as: “the substance that supposedly is emitted from the body of a medium during a trance.” In other words, if you grew up in the 1980’s and saw this paranormal 'ectoplasmic' slime you would most likely dial Ghostbusters.

“In a nutshell, ectoplasm is spirit matter,” says Boyd. “I chose this theme because of the obvious correlation between the artistic process and that of the Medium’s process. Both players delve deeply into the cavernous realms of the mind and 'pull out' information that garnishes response, reaction and changes in the viewer. Artists are, in my opinion, the Mediums of today; perhaps a bit more honest though.”

Like Boyd's song lyrics, vocals, poetry and reflections, his culturally rich artwork has the ability to strike the subconscious; since there is a purity about the way his artistic voice is communicated for all to experience. His individual style encompasses alternating brush strokes, analogous colours, mixed mediums and contrasting elements. When this contradiction of diverse technique is coupled with eccentric ideas, it is left sitting in a grey area that challenges the dichotomy of black vs. white, head vs. heart in the unknown world of imagination and consciousness.

                     

                               [ LEFT TO RIGHT: 'ORANGUTAN' - 'ECTOPLASM' - 'THE PLUNGE' - 'HEART & SKULLS' ]

Orangutan is a piece that could convey the flight of the imagination or forward-thinking. Orangutans symbolise intelligence. In this particular painting, the orangutan is stunningly painted with meticulous lines. It is elevated by a light-golden cloud. This glow is extended by an acrylic wash of dripping, runny strokes which creates movement and the allusion of floating. The translucent background has a soft quality and smooth texture. The children presumably seem to be intrigued. Overall, Boyd’s technical skill and narrative are anything but predictable or run-of-the-mill, and this innovative combination is a recurring motif in most pieces.

The Plunge and Ectoplasm are two similar paintings where Boyd's multi-layered backgrounds are strongly accented by meticulous and elaborately detailed undertones; creating a depth which if often more sensed than seen. Both backgrounds are painted with chaotic, thick, impasto, heavy, darker strokes, some even dry brush, which juxtaposes the delicacy, beauty and light in the foreground. In The Plunge, the goddess looking figure is subtley painted with softer lines, colours and intricate detail. The excreted ectoplasm from her mouth, in this same style, has a quality of etherealness about it. There are other womanly-focused pieces and the way Boyd portrays the mystery and depth of femininity and energy is uplifting.

Spilling/Spinning, the focal ‘Ectoplasm’ piece is reminiscent of a mermaid or nautical goddess. It evokes Waterhouse’s mythological paintings, but with an ultramodern Boyd touch. The intermediate blue-green blend of pigments such as turquoise, cyan and sea-foam green resemble the ocean, emphasized by the white, wave-like tinges on the foreground. It can even conjure up a rain-forest setting. Overall, the other-worldly spirit’s hair is the centrepiece. The flawless line-work, combined with vivid mosaic colours truly captures the skill involved.

The Heart & Skulls background is a remarkable blend of warm, fiery, intense, intermediate red-yellow colours that contrast the detail of gothic skulls, roses and a bleeding heart in the foreground. The radiating heart represents life, especially its upper glow. There is such a strong sense of spiritual and mixed feelings in this piece, that it is somewhat confronting. But the irony lies in the fact that it is comforting rather than a fearful confrontation.

I don’t want to defy the artist’s perspective or feelings, or elaborate on personal ones. However, Heart & Skulls is that powerful that to an extent, it reflects rising above circumstances that can potentially bring you down. Generally it’s a significant piece that has catalysed Brandon’s recent artistic direction and reflects a lot of growth and maturity of style, in comparison to his previous works.

"There's a lot of layering that goes on in the painting," says Boyd. "I think that it started to lean into a direction of where I was going and then I started doing the more large scale paintings."


At the end of the day, it’s not Brandon Boyd’s relationship between colour and form that is entirely important. It is his artistic contradiction of technique, expressed with feeling and honesty that creates a sensory, emotional and intellectual beauty all at once.

“One of the most beautiful and rewarding things about creativity is the opportunity to interact with spontaneity and truly not know or understand what you’re doing until long after you've done it,” says Boyd.


His art explores the mysteries of the mind and unravels boundaries that some are afraid of; or that social paradigms frown upon. But it is these discoveries that push the artist’s limits, develops intuition, and creates growth and understanding within the human condition and the world.

Brandon Boyd is somewhat a Renaissance man. It’s always a breath of fresh air when a contemporary visionary encourages today’s social paradigms to move forward; highlighting the link between conscious and unconscious. If Oscar Wilde taught me anything, it’s that your subconscious mind doesn’t lie.


Essentially, any form of creativity and self-expression can communicate a distinctive, artistic voice. We are so blessed to be able to use these gifts as a vehicle to intuitively learn from each-other, embrace our consciousness and progressively apply meaning to our lives; as opposed to drowning in stagnancy from an oblivious mind. In my opinion, it’s possible to find meaning in all types of art; even when a particular form of art is not regarded as traditional ‘visual’ art.

Viewing Brandon’s paintings is effectively no different to perhaps reading an excerpt out of From The Murks of the Sultry Abyss; observing lotus sketches and photography in White Fluffy Clouds; or listening to an Incubus song, if the same artistic sensibility poured into the work is personally recognised of course. I guess for me, all areas of Boyd’s art seemingly relay messages that prompt self-realisation.

Every so often, an artistic voice may become a trusting one that validates synchronicities; a voice that acts as an uplifting checkpoint of heading in the right direction in life, and confirms that your actual way of thinking is going forward. Art can remind us that we are all human, and this is why communicating is something I value. Creativity is a treasure, yet it should be shared and encouraged.

So really, if Boyd's art looks like it sounds, it’s because the voice is still the same; although sensed differently. When communication comes from a higher place, under the influence of a creative spur, the message is easily discerned and felt. Boyd projects a sense of authenticity and of knowing himself; and it’s this same creative energy being sewn into the work.

You can recognise his artistic voicing coming through, regardless of what medium it is coming from. His erratic brush strokes are what vocal vibrato is to singing. His scales of colour tones are what notation is to music. His multi-layered backgounds are what backing harmonies are to lead vocals. So as absurd as my metaphorical concept of vocally 'rocking out' on an art canvas may seem, Brandon Boyd’s art does look the way it sounds. I don’t know how it would smell though!

Boyd has future plans to exhibit his artwork globally within the next year, according to the Mr. Musichead Gallery's website; so there’s a possibility he may grace our lovely Australian shores. In the meantime, if you would like to see more of Brandon Boyd’s art, a portion of the ‘Ectoplasm’ exhibit and information regarding his books can be found on his website.

[ Copyright Images are courtesy of Brandon Boyd, Brantley Gutierrez, Timothy Norris  -  Licensed by Canvas Nineteen ]