If you have ever been to a thrift store, yard sale, or restaurant who cheaped out on their decorations you will have seen some paintings that have clearly just been rushed, which lack inspiration and tend to not really draw any admiration. One artist has made it his mission to bring new life to these dreary works of art in a very unique way as part of the ‘ReDirected Art’ movement.

Chris McMahon describes his work as “involuntary collaborations” and goes on to very plainly state that he buys “other people’s landscape paintings at yard sales and Goodwill and put[s] monsters in them.”.

McMahon’s gallery goes all the way back to 2009 and since then he has only grown in popularity. He has even been the center of his own exhibition entitled “Homes For Wayward Monsters” in Iowa.

These monster portraits range from the adorable to the downright ominous, as McMahon depicts a wide range of fantasy creatures across a number of different scenarios and locations.

You will often see McMahon place his signature directly below or next to the original artist’s mark, to add to the thought that these are in fact collaborative efforts, despite the original artist creating a standard standalone piece.

The cookie monster

Vicious horses

Redirecting art has been popular for a number of years, with creators often adding pop culture references to old thrift store paintings that they have acquired, and you will be able to buy them on most art sites like Etsy, but McMahon was one of the first to add completely new creatures into the mix.

If you want to see more of these monstrous creations you can head over to McMahon’s Deviant Art page to check out his gallery and show him some support or if you would like to get your hands on your very own Mcmahon original, you can check out his website and shop!

All image credits: Deviant Art/ Christopher McMahon