Westminster artist’s ‘diary’ comes to life in many forms

By Eric Peterson

Peruse Kevin Eslinger’s selection of pop surrealist art prints, and you’ll find portraits of superheroes, denizens of Wonderland and Oz, legendary musicians, movie monsters and dastardly villains depicted in a variety of styles.

“I have a catalog of 750 characters, and that was my childhood,” said the Westminster-based Eslinger, 46. “A lot of my childhood was wrapped up in these pop culture characters.”

He added, “My artwork is the diary.”

Subsequent to a dissatisfying career as a toy designer, Eslinger started painting surrealistic scenes and characters in the early 2000s. His splatter art of superheroes soon proved a hit at comic book conventions and catalyzed his website into a self-sustaining business.

He backed off the shows in 2019 after copycats mimicked his splatter style. “The intensity of the comic book shows became such a thing where it changed the way I looked at art,” said Eslinger. “My website sales are enough, and my Internet community keeps me connected to the fans.”

The decision quickly proved serendipitous when COVID-19 arrived a few months later. “I watched all these fellow artists kind of torment over what happened the next year,” said Eslinger. “The pandemic helped me transition from shows to what I’m doing now.”

That would be digital, three-dimensional world-building in platforms like Blender and Unreal Engine. “I’m not thinking about world-building like switching careers, I’m thinking about world-building as an artist building worlds, like the way [H.R.] Giger built Aliens,” explained Eslinger. He described it as “combining all of my talents into one and just getting away from a strict pop culture focus.”

Eslinger is employing a build-it-and-they-will-come business model with the worlds he creates, citing potential monetization of YouTube videos as well as selling 3D-printed items from his worlds. Some of his projects involve the recreation of famous archaeological sites, such as Puma Punku in Bolivia, and his business model is proving apt. In early 2024, he said, “The History Channel called and said, ‘We noticed your video on Puma Punku. Could we use it for a program?’”

Eslinger is now collaborating with a team of archaeologists and academics on the project. “I’m being taken very seriously by a group of very serious people,” he said.

He’s also leveraging his skills through WeddingVisualizer.com, where he creates digital replicas of weddings for high-end nuptials, and other gigs that arise. “It feels like I’m walking around with a movie studio in my pocket,” he laughed.

But Eslinger said he wants to keep the focus squarely on his own projects, whether it’s recreating Puma Punku, or creating a 3D version of a house that was planned above the Hollywood sign but never came to fruition.

While it is a big departure from pop surrealism, he said he sees it as a natural evolution for him as an artist. “I equate it to baking cakes . . . just doing the same recipe year after year after year,” he explained. “I feel that that’s like an artist who finds a style and lasts in that style for the rest of their lives.”

He’s looking for something different. “For me artwork is at least a diary of who I am,” adding, “it's really odd to do something from my twenties over and over again.”

Authenticity is the crux, he added. “It’s hard for me to be something that I’m not in art. I was trained as an illustrator, but I have to illustrate what’s on my mind.”