Some characters are funny because they are loud, chaotic, or endlessly cheerful. Squidward Quincy Tentacles became iconic for almost the exact opposite reason. To much of the internet, he is the exhausted, dramatic, over-it artist who simply wants peace, taste, and five minutes away from everyone else’s nonsense. That mix of cartoon grumpiness and strangely relatable melancholy makes him a surprisingly perfect subject for fine art and a character with whom many people easily relate.
Artist Thalia Lemon, also known as Thalia Tomlinson, takes that idea even further through oil and acrylic paintings that place Squidward into the poses, moods, and visual language of classical paintings. The result is both absurd and oddly convincing: a familiar cartoon character suddenly becomes a tragic muse, a Renaissance noble, an anxious modernist figure, or the star of a dramatic museum-worthy scene. Her work blends genuine painting skill with internet culture in a way that feels funny at first glance, but also strangely fitting the longer you look.
Scroll down to see Thalia’s wonderfully strange Squidward paintings, and don’t forget to vote for the ones you’d hang in your own very serious gallery.
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Image source: Thalia Lemon
Thalia’s background in animation helps explain the sharp character work behind these paintings. She has worked as a storyboard artist, animator, and director across a range of animated productions, including projects connected to Netflix, DreamWorks, Disney, and well-known series such as My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Cleopatra in Space, and Devil May Care. In this series, that storytelling experience meets classical art references and meme-era humor, turning Squidward into the dramatic art icon the internet always seemed to know he could be.
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