About the Artist

"I bring the varied experience of my life and through my imagination try to create something emotionally tangible.  It's just that most of what I have experienced is completely absurd."

Rory Skagen was born in Portland, Oregon in 1962, and graduated with a BFA from the University of Arizona in 1984.  He has resided everywhere from Altoona, Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, California.

"In Altoona it was like the calendar stopped in 1931, there was a bar and a church on every corner.  I was so desperate for a job I applied at a factory that made wooden legs.  I didn't think anything could be as depressing, until I moved to Powell, Wyoming."

Through the years Rory has made his living in a variety of offbeat careers.  For a while in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rory lived at a 24-hour animal hospital.

"There was a loud speaker in my room, and during the night they would alert me to pet emergencies.  I had to finally quit when they wanted me to siphon out a dead dog freezer that broke."

Rory has also been a strip club DJ, Credit Manager, and short order cook.  For his four years in Los Angeles, Rory was a Credit Manager at a famous retailer.

"I was in the business of granting credit and kissing ass.  Dean Martin's wife would call up and want to talk about the soap she bought for her guest bathroom.  At times, I supervised up to 200 people.  Their job was to take about 40 calls an hour, but every other person was just hanging up on the customers.  I guess that's why India is in charge of that now."

After missing the Rodney King riot by about a week, Rory ended up in Austin, Texas in 1992.

Currently, Rory Skagen is part owner and Art Director of Blue Genie Art Industries.  He formed the company with business partners, artists, and visionaries, Kevin Collins, and Dana Younger in 1999.

"My imagination wanted to expand from the world of painting and drawing where anything visual is possible."

Blue Genie Art specializes in creating custom artwork including murals, sculptures, trade show booths, museum displays, parade floats, and art cars.

"It's always a surprise what the next customer will want; we just recently completed a mural for Andy Roddick the Tennis Champion.  One day it's monumental Texas sculpture on the outside of a museum, the next day; it's a twelve-foot tall squirrel with interchangeable hats."

The award winning quality of the work at Blue Genie Art is only possible by bringing the best together.

"We have been fortunate to work with each other and artists like Ian Shults, Chris Coakley, Dan Morrison, Marty Garcia, Mark Schatz, and Joe Irby.  It takes a whole lot of talent and brains to pull off some of this stuff.  You don't want to wake up one day and hear someone has been killed by a giant snow cone with shades."

During all of this, Rory has been loyal to painting.

"Art is just a positive form of addiction, and I have a very addictive personality."

That is why, for the first time, at roryskagen.com, Rory offers up his images for sale online.  Rory's Giclee prints are printed on the highest quality paper and each print is hand signed and dated by the artist.  Each print, mug, mouse pad or clock is checked personally by Rory Skagen to ensure the highest quality.

"I’m a fanatic about color exactness."

As for his paintings, depending on scale, each original is hand painted on illustration board or hand stretched canvas. Roryskagen.com offers an unforgettable imagination at an affordable price.

Rory's paintings are influenced by his fascination with imagery as a kid.

"My Dad got a purple heart on Iwo Jima.  My older siblings spanned the time from the Rat Pack to Fog Hat.  Our house filtered through a lot of consumable images.  I looked at every popcorn box, model car box, men's magazine, dime store catalog, beer can, lunch box, coffee label, firecracker package or comic book that came my way.  After that, I read a lot of literature and studied fine art."

But, if you really want to know about the artist it's best just to look at his artwork.  The confused monkeys, drunken tikis and unashamed bra models tell the rest of the story.