Graham Chapman

This painting is of Graham Chapman. I’ve loved Monty Python since I was a kid. My sister and I used to act out the sketches all the time. My dad was the one who got us into it, and I think once we really got obsessed, it gave him a way to connect with us that felt easy and fun. 

Later on, I remember the first time my own kids laughed at Monty Python, and I had this quiet thought like, okay, I must be doing something right.

I chose to paint him because his characters are always so big and ridiculous and completely silly in the best way. I wanted the painting to feel like that too, not serious, just kind of joyfully absurd.