Cabbage Head. Acrylic Pop Art Painting on Canvas
Angular panels, some resembling cut-outs from magazines, sit against a deep blue background, which is uncommon in Doug’s multi-image compositions.
The work celebrates the diverse quirks and surrealism often present in everyday life.
Off Head, On Cabbage
A man gazes into a mirror, only to see a cabbage reflected where his head should be. This likely references the old saying “Off head, on cabbage,” suggesting someone prone to impulsive or irrational behaviour.
The man wearing the fedora is a recurring alter ego in Doug’s work, though it remains unclear whether this scene reflects self-awareness or a form of mild self-critique.
Elsewhere, a glimpse of a man and woman appears through a stylised window, while abstract scenes occupy other panels. Above a crowded street, where people are symbolically walking off into the sunset, an aeroplane tows a banner reading “BUY,” emphasising the absurd cycle of Work, buy, and die.
*Artist Doug Kemp with Cabbage Head (Small Town Dramas Series) Painting
Strange is often just beneath the surface.
Part of a picture frame brackets Doug’s Cosmic Travellers, appearing as upside-down, translucent beings marked with abstract symbols.
Whether alien visitors or visual metaphors, they introduces a quiet irony into small-town life, suggesting that a willingness to accept the strange is often just beneath the surface.
