The front room at Art Whino has one of the only seating arrangements found in the vast recesses of the gallery. The old sofa flanked by two chairs makes a nice, quaint vignette, completely at odds with the disturbing yet humorous paintings by JoKa, now on display.

Viewing the dark-humored compositions littered with meat, women and pirate paraphernalia, you can’t help but wonder where these images come from and how they are concocted. The artist, like his work, is unpretentious and can be described as “what you see is what you get.” His inspiration comes from found images which he uses to create painted collages using pointillism. The compositions contain a flatness due to the collaging of his imagery. A hook, eye patch and a peg leg show up in several canvases because his mom once brought pirate paraphernalia back from a trip she took.

While working at an adult film company, JoKa found a plethora of old Playboy magazines, which he now uses for reference. The woman in Wings Don’t Need Legs (pictured) was found in these magazines; she sits contently in the painting with her amputated legs, sprouting butterfly wings, and lovingly stroking the butcher knife dripping with blood, while a large high heeled shoe burns. It is one of his more overtly dark paintings, both in color and theme.

It is easy to see that JoKa has a good sense of color. Everything is slightly muted but works well together. “I love color and love to use it,” he said. In To Dine with Sue Wine (pictured left), soft pinks and greens dominate the composition and help give emphasis to Sue, a woman sporting a peg leg and a pig face who lounges on a disheveled sofa. Inspired by the picture he saw of the woman, JoKa concocted a story about an older woman who is not quite right in the head and invites you up for a drink. The effect is definitely eerie.

JoKa uses toothpicks to apply paint to his canvases, and takes approximately two weeks to a month to finish a piece, depending on the size of the canvas. In the majority of his compositions, the pointillism is very apparent, but it is hard to believe that the large flat color swatches in the background are also created with just a toothpick. In Enter the Watch Children, five babies sit comfortably in a carriage. Their faces are featureless except for a minute and hour hand. Dots of paint are apparent in the shading on their faces, making for interesting texture that helps emphasize the creepy, otherworldly feel of the piece.

Humor comes across both in subtle and overt ways throughout the show. While a face with a clown nose or cherry earrings on a polar bear rug are more in-your-face about it, often the titles of JoKa's pieces are what fully bring in the humor. Charlie Wasn't a Pawn (he played to win) is one of the smaller canvases found in the show, done in soft brown tones; within the outline of two pawn pieces is the face of a grizzled old man.

Images courtesy of Art Whino.

Trip on Memory Lane is on display now through March 15. Art Whino is located at 717 N. Asaph Street in Alexandria, VA. The gallery is open Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 6 p.m.