The artist
Hi, I'm Charles.
I paint the feeling of a person — their energy, their essence — as a burst of color.
I call them Joy Blasts. Each one is an abstract portrait with no face and no figure: just the spirit of someone, translated into dots, color and motion that radiate outward the way a person's energy does.
And I want you to feel something when you see one — mostly, that your day could be a little brighter.
Essence over appearance
I'm more interested in who someone is than in what they look like. A face tells you one thing; the way a person lights up a room tells you another. That second thing — the internal, the energy, the feeling of them — is what I try to paint.
The very first Joy Blast captured someone bursting with joy among fire and lights in a pavilion. That moment — joy that couldn't stay inside one person and scattered into everything around them — is still what every Joy Blast is chasing.
What it looks like
Up close, a Joy Blast is hundreds of small dots, each one a spark. From across the room it's one big feeling, with energy radiating outward from the center like confetti, like celebration, like light breaking through.
California Sky is the feeling of a California sunset over the ocean. The turquoise piece is a cloud of pink, orange and cream dots hanging in a turquoise field, like warm sun after a long gray stretch.
Not every Joy Blast is neon, either. The colors follow the person — muted and earthy for some, electric for others.
Good art, brighter days.
A painting is a small, standing invitation to a brighter day. You walk past it on the busy mornings, the slow afternoons, the in-between moments — and it's there, glowing, every time. That's what I want a Joy Blast to be on your wall.
More art, less rules.
What's coming
The Joy Blast keeps growing. A few things I'm excited about, all in the works:
- A ballet collaboration — Joy Blasts created from interviewing dancers
- Sessions with models, musicians and other inspiring people
Want a Joy Blast of you?
A commission is time spent together — a meal or a drink, a real conversation — and then I paint your essence. It's personal, and it's one of a kind. Prints from the collection are made to order by a boutique, high-quality fine-art reproduction print shop, and originals are available by inquiry.