Painter Kelsey Brookes invites Computerlove into his beach side studio in San Diego.

By Matthew Newton, Senior Editor

Kelsey Brookes used to be a scientist. Before settling into life as a prolific painter whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, he worked tracking viruses for the U.S. government. In fact, Brookes jokingly blames his raw, anxious form of art on America's university system which, as he puts it, "refuses to teach its scientists how to draw."

According to Brookes, his figurative paintings draw influence from Hindu and Buddhist deities, exotic animals, sex, and rustic American quilts. And in sublime bursts of color, the 31-year-old artist uses his figurative style to capture the ghostly nuances of the natural ...