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josh.aguayo.ca
Josh
@josh.aguayo.ca
2.5K followers 180 following 790 posts
I'm an artist living in Calgary. (He/Him)

Author of 'Cybernetic Mages': A cyberpunk/fantasy adventure novel about depression, drugs and fighting mega-corporations.
Available at: https://tinyurl.com/CyberneticM
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josh.aguayo.ca
A landscape I painted as a wedding gift. 40x60cm. Alkyd & Oil on cotton canvas.

#art #oilpainting
Mountain landscape painting featuring snow-capped peaks rising above a tranquil lake, with misty atmosphere in blue and gray tones, evergreen forest in the middle ground, and flowering shrubs with yellow blooms in the foreground; two birds fly in the upper right sky.
November 3, 2025 at 2:58 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
I wanted to try painting with CMYK and I tested out this "Alkyd Butter" I got from Kama Pigments for the texture.

It worked great, but I didn't read the 'alkyd' part. 😅 It makes paint dry much faster so it only really makes sense to use it in the base layer or wet on wet.

#art #oilpainting
"Winterhome" 40x30, Oil over Alkyd on Cotton Canvas. Oil painting of a misty mountain landscape with snow-capped jagged peaks, a prominent dark summit emitting smoke under a blue cloudy sky, and a green valley in the foreground.
October 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
Just in case you thought I'm a serious artist.

"Fuerte Hermosura", inspired by Squidward's art. Oil on Oak Wood, A4.

#art #oilpainting #spongebob
A minimalist oil painting depicts a simplified blue figure striding confidently against a pale yellow-green background. The figure, rendered in varying shades of turquoise and teal, features an elongated ovoid head, thin limbs, and an expressively upturned posture suggesting purposeful movement from left to right across the canvas. The brushwork is loose and gestural, with visible strokes creating texture throughout the composition. A subtle shadow beneath the figure grounds it spatially. The painting demonstrates economy of form through its reduction of recognizable character features to essential geometric shapes while maintaining dynamic energy through asymmetrical positioning and forward-leaning momentum. The artist's signature appears in white in the lower left corner.
October 24, 2025 at 8:26 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
An architectural sketch in ink for #inktober #art
Pen and ink architectural sketch showing a three-story residential building viewed from a neighboring rooftop. The foreground features a peaked roof with horizontal siding and vertical wooden fence panels. A street lamp rises between the structures. The background building has a textured, stippled facade suggesting brick or stucco, with multiple windows on each floor and vegetation growing at ground level. A tall, smooth-sided high-rise building appears partially on the right edge. The drawing uses line work and cross-hatching to create depth and texture in an urban residential setting.
October 23, 2025 at 10:27 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
I made some Rimworld fan art.

"Insufficient taming skill" 24x32cm, watercolor and ink on paper.

#art #watercolor #rimworld
“Insufficient taming skill” On this watercolor painting, a thrumbo stands on a plain near a distant treeline while a shuttle descends across the Jugust sky. In the lower right, the severed middle third of a colonist in normal cloth pants lie in a spreading pool of blood. The thrumbo placidly looks upwards. This image relates to Jay attempting to tame a wild thrumbo outside the colony of Blue Cat Den on the 6th of Jugust, 5503. The beast turned manhunter; Jay was separated from most of his limbs. The style is watery and impressionistic, and the composition forms a triangle between the legs, the thrumbo, and the shuttle. If you squint, the cloud resembles a sleeping muffalo.
October 13, 2025 at 6:47 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
Hi! I made this watercolor about the first time I tried to tame a thrumbo!
“Insufficient taming skill” On this piece, a colossal thrumbo stands on a flat plain near a distant treeline while a burning ship chunk streaks across the Jugust sky. In the lower right, the severed legs of a colonist in linen cloth pants lie in a spreading pool of blood. The thrumbo looks away, triumphant. This image relates to Jay attempting to tame a wild thrumbo outside the colony of Blue Cat Den on the 6th of Jugust, 5503. The beast turned manhunter; Hu turned into two problems. The style is watery and impressionistic, and the composition forms a triangle between the legs, the thrumbo, and the falling debris. If you squint, the cloud resembles a sleeping muffalo.
October 13, 2025 at 1:27 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
"Puchis and her claw", 30x40, oil paint on cotton canvas.

I usually do the whiskers by scratching on the panel with a knife. I usually paint on wood...
😮‍💨

#art #pet #cat #oilpainting
Oil painting of a fluffy white calico cat, a Persian with tan and gray patches and a pink collar, lit by cool blue light and staring forward with a stern expression. Her name is Pu his. She stands on a brown floor against a very dark blue-black background; a rich purple curtain hangs on the right, leaving most of the scene in shadow.
September 26, 2025 at 8:21 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
The surface is glossy, and I still haven't figured out how to minimize the reflections for the picture.

"Bunnisattva", 40x30cm, oil on cotton canvas.

#art #oilpainting
Oil painting of a nocturnal scene. A blue-violet rabbit at lower left gazes toward a small tree near center whose trunk glows warm gold with a horrified grimace, casting a pale halo on the ground. The canopy is teal-blue with scattered pink fruits, while the surrounding sky and landscape recede into deep indigo, creating a quiet, magical atmosphere with soft, painterly brushstrokes.
September 23, 2025 at 12:41 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
Really interesting paper on *How people use ChatGPT*.

Turns out the use-cases that you hear the most buzz about: Images, fiction, 'creative ideation', coding... are some of its least common uses. This is the paper by OpenAI, and Ars Technica has a great breakdown too!

www.nber.org/system/files...
Screen capture of a table: A breakdown of use cases pulled from OpenAI's recent paper on 'How people use ChatGPT'. Of note, Fiction writing is 1.6% of cases, image generation is 4.2%. It is as if the drama around these specific topics were a guerrilla marketing scheme meant to over-hype products so that venture capital investors will put down more money.
September 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
A study of light with Gengar. A4, Acrylics on Paper.

#pokemon #art
Acrylic painting of the Pokémon Gengar emerging from a dark, moonlit night. The purple, spiky ghost grins with sharp red-orange eyes, one arm flinging out a small pink ghostly flame. A pale lilac oval of light pools on the green ground beneath, with misty shadows and a thin crescent moon in the upper-right corner.
September 18, 2025 at 6:25 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
I paint pokemon when I'm not feeling great.

"Umbreon is lost" Acrylic on paper, A4

#pokemon #art
An oil painting depicting the Pokémon Umbreon in a nocturnal setting. The creature is shown in profile, its dark, sleek body rendered with visible, energetic brushstrokes in shades of black and deep blue. Stark contrast is created by the character's signature features: bright yellow rings on its forehead, ears, legs, and tail, and two piercing red eyes. The ground is a lighter, cool-toned surface, and the overall style is expressive and textured, emphasizing mood and form over fine detail.
September 17, 2025 at 12:49 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
Final sketch probably! The last two had the correct fur pattern too. She's a Persian with a calico pattern.

#art #sketch #animal
Fluffy persian cat in front of a window and a curtain.
September 2, 2025 at 12:21 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
Another attempt, miscalculated the size.

#art #sketch #cat
Charcoal sketch of a fluffy persian cat, in front of a window.
September 2, 2025 at 12:18 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
I'm planning a bigger painting, so I'm trying some sketches for the composition.

#art #sketch #pet
Charcoal sketch of a front‑facing, fluffy persian cat with a bow tie and long curled whiskers, seated on floorboards; diagonal hatched background and a tall curtain-like shape at right.
September 1, 2025 at 12:56 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
Somewhat painted from life. This one is called:

"I'm normal" 8x8in, oil on canvas on wood.

#art #oilpainting
This oil painting depicts a two-story suburban house rendered in a style with visible brushstrokes and simplified forms. The composition features a cream or beige-colored house with a dark gray roof set against a vibrant blue sky. The building includes multiple blue-framed windows arranged vertically on the main facade. The architectural structure demonstrates a mixed composition, incorporating both the main two-story section and a smaller single-story addition or porch area with its own triangular roof element on the right side. The foreground presents a green ground plane suggesting lawn or landscaping, while the background maintains the consistent blue tonality of the sky. The color palette remains limited, utilizing primarily blues, earth tones, and greens to create a cohesive domestic scene. Did you know some projective tests ask you to draw a house as a means to gain additional information about your personality? Contrary to popular belief. These projective tests are actually validated just like regular objective testing: by comparing the results to other batteries of objective tests that measure the same thing. After numberless iterations you can confirm or deny of they are measuring the same thing or not, and therefore validate a test!
August 29, 2025 at 12:46 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
This is a miniature my mom sent me. I painted it. The original is from the 18th Century, a Mary that is winged and dancing, symbol of the City of Quito: *La Inmaculada de Legarda*

I'll tell you about the symbolism in the alt text.

#art #miniature #painting
A small polychromatic sculpture of the Virgen de Quito positioned on a work surface surrounded by art supplies. The figure depicts a winged Virgin Mary with large spread wings, wearing blue and red robes, standing atop a crescent moon base. Beneath her feet lies a defeated serpent or demon figure with chains. The Virgin has a serene facial expression and wears a radiating crown or halo. The sculpture shows signs of paint application or restoration work, with visible color variations and textures throughout the piece. This representation exemplifies the religious syncretism of colonial Ecuador, where indigenous Andean cosmology merged with Spanish Catholic theology. The prominent wings reference both the apocalyptic woman of Revelation 12 and the Andean condor, which serves as a celestial messenger connecting earthly and divine realms. The defeated serpent beneath represents the biblical triumph over evil while potentially incorporating indigenous concepts of Pachamama and the Incan underworld. The crescent moon base symbolizes Marian purity within Catholic tradition while acknowledging the central role of lunar cycles in pre-Columbian Andean agricultural and religious practices. The blue and red garments follow traditional Marian color symbolism while echoing pre-Columbian textile traditions. This iconography emerged from the Quito School of colonial art, where indigenous and mestizo craftsmen developed techniques allowing subtle incorporation of native symbolic systems within Catholic imagery, creating devotional art that functioned as a bridge between spiritual traditions.
August 22, 2025 at 2:54 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
I got bit by a few mosquitoes while taking these pictures. They don't listen, drunk on the arrogance of summer.
A panoramic landscape view showing a multi-layered urban-to-rural transition under a dramatic evening sky. In the foreground, residential houses with varied architectural styles are nestled among dense green trees and foliage. The middle portion features an expansive forest canopy extending across rolling hills. On the distant horizon, several high-rise apartment or office buildings emerge from the treeline, creating a stark contrast between natural and urban environments. Above, a spectacular cloud formation dominates the pale blue sky, with cumulus clouds illuminated in soft pink and orange hues, suggesting golden hour lighting. The composition emphasizes the relationship between residential, natural, and urban spaces within what appears to be a metropolitan area's suburban fringe. An elevated cityscape photograph showcasing a major metropolitan downtown skyline viewed from a suburban vantage point during golden hour. The background features a dense cluster of high-rise buildings and skyscrapers of varying heights, architectural styles, and materials, creating a substantial urban core silhouetted against a pale evening sky with scattered wispy clouds. The middle ground reveals an extensive residential area characterized by mature tree canopy that nearly obscures the underlying neighborhood structures, punctuated by a prominent concrete retaining wall or sound barrier running horizontally across the frame. The immediate foreground displays lush green vegetation, including tall grasses and shrubs, suggesting the photograph was taken from a hillside or elevated park area. The lighting conditions create a soft, atmospheric quality typical of late afternoon or early evening photography, with the urban skyline appearing in muted tones against the lighter sky.
August 21, 2025 at 3:13 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
I forgot I bought salmon last time I went shopping and I have nothing else. So I've been eating salmon every other day this week, and I think I finally got the timing down for a great fluffy yet crispy salmon.
August 8, 2025 at 7:54 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
A study from life. This little cutting lost all its leaves at some point: I put it in dirt too soon and too suddenly.

But I managed to nurse it back to health! I thought painting it would be fun and a good apology.

'Cutting', A4, Oil on Oak Wood

#art #oilpainting
A realistic oil painting depicts a glass jar of water sitting on a dark surface against a soft, light blue-gray background. Three green leaves that join to form a single stem, a cutting, emerge from the jar, their forms slightly drooping. The jar is rendered with transparent and reflective qualities, showing subtle highlights and distortions from the water inside. The leaves display gentle shading and vein details, while the entire composition is calm and minimalistic, with visible brushstrokes and a soft, diffused light.
July 28, 2025 at 11:20 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
Guide: So in these columns here at the Art Commons building they used a special type of limestone. If you look closely, there are fossils in it!
Me: I'm sorry what?
Guide: Fossils.
Me: What do you—

There are Fossils in it! I think it's so weird. It's my first time seeing fossils outside a museum.
There are fossils in the wall.
July 25, 2025 at 8:55 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
This is a monochrome self-portrait.

Red was the last color of the set. I was trying to use them all since this set was water-mixable and I didn't want to mix it with the rest of my regular paints.

'Cyclothymia', 8x10in, oil on canvas on wood

#art #oilpainting
An oil painting portrait of a person with short, tousled hair wearing large, dark sunglasses and a dark jacket over a high-collared shirt. The entire painting is executed in shades of red, with the background, face, and clothing all blending together through expressive, textured brushstrokes. The sunglasses and hair are rendered in deeper, almost blackish reds, while the face is lighter but still predominantly red. The figure’s features are suggested more than precisely defined, giving the painting a bold, stylized, and somewhat abstract quality. The brushwork is loose and energetic, especially in the hair and clothing, while the background is a flat, solid red.
July 24, 2025 at 2:40 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
"Overwhelming" 8x8in, Oil on canvas on wood

#art #oilpainting
A rectangular oil painting features a vivid, textured red background that fills the entire canvas. At the center, a roughly human figure emerges, rendered in smeared whites, grays, and blacks, with distinct horizontal brush strokes and areas of scraped paint. The figure appears to be raising one arm above its head and extending the other outward. The figure’s edges are blurred and indistinct, blending into the red background, creating a ghostly, almost ethereal effect. The painting’s surface shows visible brush marks and variations in the thickness of the paint, emphasizing the tactile quality of the medium.
July 23, 2025 at 9:59 PM
josh.aguayo.ca
A quick study of one of my homemade candles. I wasn't super sure about these little prepared panels when I got them, but they feel great to paint on and don't soak in the oil!

They were on sale too, so it was a great deal all things considered.

'Beeswax', 8x8, oil on canvas on wood.

#art
An oil painting depicts a single candle in a glass holder, its flame softly glowing at the center of the composition. Loose, expressive brushstrokes in muted yellows, greens, and ochres suggest the flickering light and the gentle illumination of its surroundings. The background is dark, rendered in layered strokes of deep grey and black, contrasting with the candle’s pale, creamy tones. Hints of yellow and pink near the flame evoke the warmth and movement of candlelight.
July 18, 2025 at 12:21 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
This is a study from life (the tree) using a limited palette of only Lemon Yellow, Vermillion Hue, Ivory Black (Instead of Blue) and White.

'The page of swords' 20x20cm (8² in). Oil on canvas, on wood.

I really like that tree. I call it Jerry. I've see it change colors over the seasons.

#art
This oil painting depicts a solitary tree with thick, textured yellow-green foliage standing on the edge of a rocky cliff. The brushstrokes are expressive and impasto, particularly in the leaves, giving a sense of movement and depth. The background is rendered in soft, muted earth tones with a hazy, pastel sky that transitions from light pink near the horizon to grayish-green above. The cliff descends steeply toward a pale, setting Sun.
July 15, 2025 at 2:23 AM
josh.aguayo.ca
It was tricky to get you a clear picture of this one because of the glare. But I have a larger painting in mind and it includes snakes! So I wanted to paint one, particularly because I'm not sure how to paint the scales yet.

"Crossroads". A4, Oil on Oak Wood Panel

#oilpainting #fantasy #art
Oil painting depicting a dramatic, dark cavern scene. On the left, a massive, serpentine snake with mottled green-grey scales and a striking green eye looms, its head lowered menacingly toward the foreground. Its tongue flicks out in the direction of a small, hooded human figure on the right, who holds a bright torch that casts a warm, golden glow against the snake’s face and the surrounding shadows. The background is murky and indistinct, evoking a sense of depth and foreboding within the cave. A smaller snake can be seen moving towards a glowing pool of water in the background. The brushwork is expressive, with visible texture adding to the atmosphere of tension and mystery.
July 12, 2025 at 9:45 PM