Sickly Sweet: The Art of Charlie Immer

Charlie Immer is a Maryland-based artist whose surreal oil paintings combine the grotesque with the sweet.

Grinning skeletons and brightly colored, blob-like creatures in fantastical settings are the focus of his work. Confetti and stripes lend a carnival quality to otherwise macabre worlds.

Immer's work is all about exploring the inner structures of the body; his characters simmer and ooze, pulling back panels of flesh to reveal the veins, guts, and bones underneath. Rather than taking a cool, anatomical approach, however, Immer chooses a more humorous one.

His explorations are more about color and texture than science. They take the fear out of death and decomposition and, instead, celebrate it.

Immer has been featured in 'Hi Fructose' magazine and his latest show, "Loose Juice," is on exhibit at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles until April 27th.

You can see more of his work here: http://charlieimmer.com/