Paintings: 20th Century Space Opera

"The 20th Century Space Opera" by San Francisco-based Robert Xavier Burden

Prints available for purchase from the artist's website.

This geektastic oil painting measures fifteen feet in width and stands eight feet tall.  It depicts the classic toy versions of all our favorite Star Wars characters, ships, and vehicles.  Burden spent over two thousand hours over the course of a year and a half working on it.  According to Burden’s artist statement:

“In 2006 I began a series of large-scale oil paintings based upon the small action figures that I played with as a boy. I remember these figures as being magnificent. They represented power, beauty, good and evil, and they captured every aspect of my imagination. As an adult these toys are wonderfully nostalgic, but they’re no longer amazing to me. The ineffability of what can turn a cheap yet coveted piece of plastic into an almost talismanic object was the original inspiration for this work.”

Limited edition 36″ x 24″ prints of this amazing painting are currently available here. However, if you’ve got a spare $200,000 lying around, the original magnum opus could be yours. It’ll be on exhibit at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center from April 16th through April 19th.

Head over to Robert Xavier Burden’s website to check out more of his pop culture-inspired paintings. You can also follow him here on Tumblr at robertburden.