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Craig Davison’s Wonderful Childhood Fantasy Paintings

The knock on today’s children is that they no longer play outdoors. Instead they’re inside four walls and glued to screens, with programmers doing the imagining for them. Maybe that’s why ex-game-designer and multitalented artist Craig Davison’s paintings are so striking: They recall a time when children’s imaginations were exercised in fresh air, often using DIY props to support their fantasies.

UK-based Davison once worked as an animator and computer game designer, then moved into sculpting reference figures. Incredibly, he didn’t start painting until his 40s, when he tried his hand at it in order to enter a contest held by art publisher Washington Green.

For the paintings I’m currently producing [shown here] with Washington Green, the inspiration is obvious; my childhood! I try to capture the endless summer holidays spent out on my bike with friends, rescuing Mexican villages from bandits!

The details are fantastic: Toilet-paper tubes become laser pistols, a steering wheel club becomes a laser rifle; shoelaces are often untied; the family dog moves up to co-star status. 

You can check out more of Davison’s work here and here.