In a Mirrored World

Central Arkansas artist looks to send viewers into space

Missouri born Kai Denton has one foot on Earth and one foot in outer space. What began as a story that 13 year old Kai was creating quickly blossomed into a passion for developing mystical worlds. These worlds demand attention with groovy explosions of neon colors and striking humanoid characters. Kai’s art isn’t the only unique thing about them, their journey as an artist and the things that inspire and influence their art makes Kai stand out.

Kai’s has creativity in their blood, their aunt was an art teacher and they spent plenty of time with her. They credit the time spent bugging their aunt about what she was teaching the kids in her class as the start of their love for the craft. From there, it was all uphill. Kai began writing stories and creating characters to go with those stories. Over time their style developed from sci-fi, to whimsigoth and back. Today, Kai tells us they often find themself imagining a world just like ours — except everyone is an alien.

"This painting was extremely fun and emotionally fulfilling to do!! I wanted to do my own take on nostalgic Halloween experiences and ‘retro’ festive illustrations but with my little guys, probably in their tweens circa something close to the late 70’s with costumes to match. I feel like I say this about every painting with them but I like to imagine what they’re saying. During the painting process I can’t help but see them walking and talking in my head and dishing little jabs out to each other. Anywho. Sized 11x17 made using watercolors and a bit of pencil and gouache for some details" - Kai, 2024

Kai’s retro futurism palette and subject matter are inspired by a great deal of things. They are active in the local music scene here in Little Rock, in particular the punk scene. Kai often attends shows and takes pictures to use as references for their art. Beyond the local scene, The Gorillaz also plays a huge role in the influence of their art.

Outside of music the boundless sci-fi and feature creature movies of the 80s are at present in the specific style that Kai uses in their art. In fact, Kai tells us that to get into the flow of things, they often imagine themselves set up in an animating cubicle in the offices of their favorite studios – like Nickelodeon in the 90s – doing something tedious like drawing backgrounds.

As far as other artists that inspire them, there is no shortage of incredible people whose books Kai has taken a page out of. Jamie Hewlett who does art for The Gorillaz (obviously!), Tank Girl and other grungy, street style characters. Hayao Miyazaki for his beautiful and soul-touching storytelling and approach. Last but not least, the creepy king himself — Jinji Ito. “For me, that’s like the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!” Kai says.

"Pluto’s Diner 🪐 This painting is probably, personally, the most significant piece I’ve made thus far! I put so much planning into it; Using 3D models to make my own references, doing full color tests, lots of Pinterest scouring for inspiration and pictures of diners. I was nervous after doing a digital test that I was really happy with, cause I wasn’t sure how I was gonna pull it off in watercolor. There’s still parts of it that came out a little rough that could’ve been fixed with some more knowledge and practice, but I’m still happy with it for what it’s worth :) it’s also a painting that’s kind of been years in the making. I’ve had this idea in my head since 2017, when I began designing characters and writing short stories for what I thought could be a cool comic. Years later, I picked it up again. As I was re-designing characters a new story started to come to me, and I’ve verrryyy slowly been writing a script. Essentially, this idea is what got me so dedicated to the idea of film-making, and for the past couple years I’ve made concept boards and soundtrack playlists and designs for this film in my head. Will it ever get made? I don’t know. Here’s to dreaming though. For now, I can give you bits and pieces through paintings. Overtime that’s become my reason for making them - painting is a lot cheaper than making a film 😂" - Kai, 2023

For Kai’s part in the upcoming Loom event; Art Shuffle, they will be participating in the mini gallery. Among others, they plan to bring a selection of paintings that showcase retro toys, a series that was born from art block believe it or not. The series was a joyful project that Kai started as a way to do something just for themself which helped them reconnect with their passion after exhaustion worked its way in. Their work is also available as a tattoo for a limited time only at this event!

Kai will also be displaying a variety of pieces made with watercolor — and occasionally colored pencils or acrylic. For the future, Kai hopes to get into making comics and to continue expanding the story and the characters in the retro world they’ve created. Above all else, Kai wants to inspire people in the same way they’ve been inspired by their favorite artists. They encourage others to tap into their own unique perspective on the world and not be afraid to include that perspective in their own art.

If you’d like to check out more of their work, you can follow them on Instagram @_2f4r0ut_.