You Are Invited to A Party in Hell

Two Years in the Making: The Story Behind Man’s Ruin

It all started in 2023, on a first date.

We ended up in my studio. I handed him a canvas. And while he explored that blank slate, I turned toward the biggest canvas I had ever worked with and put on a show. That night, I laid down the first strokes of what would become a two-year journey — a painting that grew with me, through chaos, indulgence, destruction, and recovery.

Now, two years later, Man’s Ruin is complete. And it's going to be on display at the Gallery Show in Cspace Marda Loop throughout September 2025.

The opening reception is September 26th from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Atelier Artista in Calgary, featuring over 50 works by students of Bunny, the studio's teacher. All details are at the bottom of this post — but first, let me tell you the story behind this piece.

The Inspiration Behind Man’s Ruin

“Man’s Ruin” is a classic tattoo motif — a visual warning and celebration all at once. It's a reflection on the vices that attempt to control us: lust, alcohol, gambling, and power. I was fascinated by how this imagery has been passed down and reinterpreted by generations of tattoo artists, both traditional and modern.

But more than the iconography, I was drawn to what it means: the cycles of desire, collapse, and rebirth. What we worship, what we consume — and what, in turn, consumes us.

This painting became a mirror. A companion. A witness to my own confrontation with indulgence, escapism, and the wild chaos of trying to outrun your own shadow.

The Creative Process

This wasn’t just a painting; it was a practice in exorcism. Over the two years it took to complete, this piece sat with me during moments of triumph and moments I’m still trying to understand. It lived with me through emotional whiplash, temptation, unravelling, and piecing myself back together.

Painting Man’s Ruin became a dialogue — a way to respond to the voices that beckon me to lean into excess. To keep pouring the drink, taking the hit, entertaining the fantasy.

I didn’t always know where it was going or if I would ever finish it. So I’d come back to it in waves. Additions happened impulsively — with bursts of clarity, or while in the fog of late nights. Every brushstroke added another layer of chaos, or another layer of clarity.

The Aesthetic of Man’s Ruin

The piece is sensory overload by design.

Bright reds, glowing golds, toxic greens — all colliding in a hellish party atmosphere. Dice, poker chips, champagne bottles, and skulls surround a voluptuous central figure, dressed in a black bunny suit — seductive and chaotic, lounging across a 10 of hearts. She's the eye of the storm and the instigator of it. A symbol of allure, danger, and unravelling desire.

I leaned into surrealism and exaggeration to hint at traditional aspects of tattoo designs. Flames lick the edges of the frame. Bottles float midair. Hookah smoke wraps around limbs like spirits in disguise. Every object spirals downward — a visual descent into temptation.

The composition is overloaded, intentionally. There’s no stillness. Every corner of the canvas demands something from you, just like the vices it represents.

This wasn’t about being subtle. It's about the decadence of Hell and how tempting it can be to listen to your inner demons.

Why Visual Storytelling Matters

This painting is emotional storytelling through colour and chaos. It’s the embodiment of my internal push and pull — indulgence versus control, fantasy versus fallout. I used symbolism not just to convey external ideas, but to process my own.

That’s what I love about visual art. It lets you scream without saying a word. It holds the contradictions: beauty and danger, pleasure and punishment, desire and destruction. All at once. It holds many dichotomies that often are too complex to express in a single statement.

And in Man’s Ruin, all of that came to life.

The Painting Is Finished

It’s wild to say that this piece is done. For so long, it lived in flux — mirroring the chaos in me. But bringing it into the world, showing it publicly, feels like closing a chapter. Or at least burning one page to make room for the next.

This painting saw me through the worst and best of myself. It’s loud, messy, sensual, scary, and honest. And now, I get the privilege to share that with you.

Reception & Gallery Info

🎨 Man’s Ruin will be on display all September 2025📍 Cspace Marda Loop📍 1721 29 Ave SW, Calgary 4TH Floor

Reception Event: September 26th | 5:00–9:00 p.m.📍 Location: Atelier Artista, Calgary

The gallery show features over 50 works by the students of Bunny, our incredible teacher at the studio. Come by, see the work, ask questions, and soak up some incredible energy.

Thanks for being part of this journey — whether you’ve been here since 2023 or just now stumbled across my work.

See you at the show...