Jason Godeke, an assistant professor of art at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, creates paintings that brilliantly balance fantastical subjects and classical style. Included in his visually realistic paintings are toy figurines taking part in imaginative, tension-filled scenes. Giving insight into his intrigue with these models, Godeke says "a toy figure allows us to project our own psyche onto its blank expression in making a painting of a plastic statuette, I aim to give that machine-made copy a hand-made uniqueness.' Some images are so engrossing that gallery visitors are forewarned that viewing may lead to a desire to regress back to childhood, overwhelmed by urges to play within the scene, moving figures and creating a story. Godeke was raised in Northern California, earned a BA in studio art from Yale, and an MFA from SUNY Stony Brook.