I was Jason Wheatley the artist in my last life time. People tend to project their own human attributes ontotheir pets. When animals become personified, the underlying humor provides a stage where the viewer is able to follow the story without becoming completely lost in the human drama. My work is constructed under this assumption and riddled in layers of parables, some idiosyncratic and hopefully some universal. By rendering the animals and objects in a realistic manner the underlying meaning of the work blurs into a realm of surreal fantasy. I am uninterested in painting things the way they are, I would rather gather the mundane bits of reality around me, dust them off and polish them until they shine fantastic. I believe everyone can learn how to contort the harsh reality of mere existence into a daily routine of meaningful and magical moments. As one continues down the path of fantastic realism, the mundane is slowly stripped away, until the only two left at the bargaining table are our own fantasies and a more reasonable reality that now has no other option other then to begin the negotiations.