The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Born in 1969 in Texas, he came from humble roots. During his twenties he relocated to Hollywood and worked in the animation field, developing characters at some of the most renowned production studios in the country and has worked on television cartoon series such as Tiny Toons and SpongeBob SquarePants.

During this period Todd started to forge his artistic style by experimenting with style and concept, eventually arriving at a process which guides him through every piece. The impact is apparent in his paintings; Todd’s rat-pack-meets-Picasso style results, in part, from his desire to reveal his characters’ innermost thoughts and emotions on their faces. Todd likens his portraits to his favorite episode of the “Twilight Zone” in which people wore masks that later became their faces and revealed who they truly were. He eventually arrived at the working method that now guides him through every piece. He always names his pieces first, visualizes faces and personalities, then develops each person’s story. In fact, he doesn’t paint at all until he can conceptually see that story in his head. And he always tells it as directly as possible – what isn’t necessary to the story doesn’t go on the canvas.

He’s a compulsive observer of detail, always studying and absorbing figures, faces and features. Subconsciously, he spends his life people-watching – scribbling down sketches whatever the situation (often on napkins, even tablecloths) to record an idea for his next work.

His paintings captivate people. They often invoke laughter and demand repeated viewings. By revealing his subjects’ innermost feelings he creates timeless scenes of attraction and intimacy. Beneath the exaggerated features and textured skin of his characters there is truth. He captures restaurant, night and Hollywood scenes with contrasting colors that serve up coffee, cigarettes, cigars, martinis and sex. Todd’s subjects come from the everyday world, but his perspective is so unusual that he alters the way we perceive people and the roles we play around each other. He studies body language, using its nuances to capture the subtleties of what people show and hide.

In 2009, Todd was invited by Warner Bros. to contribute to a major design exhibition celebrating the 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. Todd collaborated with Coca Cola in 2010 to produce limited edition bottles and cans. His unique box signature appears right on the product, which is the first time Coca-Cola has given credit to a fine artist in this manner. In 2011 Todd was awarded one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious accolades in the shape of the Diana Princess of Wales Gold Medal, after donating his portrait of the Princess to the Diana Awards charity. Only 11 people to date, Todd now included as the only American, have been honoured with the Award. Todd flew to London to officially receive the award.

Edits:
Apr 2018, Cautionary tales collection.
Sept 2018, Drop dead gorgeous collection.
Nov 2018, “Best Boyfriend I’ve Ever Had”
Jan 2019, “Wanna see a trick?” and “Take me with you when you go”
Mar 2019, “Always room for dessert”, “Never meant to last”, “when it rains it pours” and unnamed ice cream series
Apr 2019, “Sweet Dreams”
May 2019, “Kiss the devil”
July 2019,”Halos or Horns”
Aug 2019, “Nine pieces of vinyl”
Feb 2020, “Flying over the poppies” and “Nine pieces of vinyl – deluxe”
Mar 2020, “Vampire for your love”
Apr 2020, “Social Distancing”
June 2020, “Pain killer” and “I love morning coffee”
Dec 2020, “Sugar shack” and “Chasing foxes
Sep 2022, “To dance among the living”, “Dead can dance”, “Butterfly effect”, “Confessions”, “Love me like you’ll lose me”, “The little things”, “Bad for your health”, “Never never land”, “Better that you don’t know”, “Spirit state”, “Coming up roses”, “What voodoo that you do”, “Wine over love”, “Strawberry kisses”, “The bosses choice”, “Turtle dove”, “Royal inclination”, “Inamorata”
Jun 2023, “Beach blankets”, “White orchid”, “Thousand little cut”, “Set my world on fire”
Sep 2023, “The heights of your halos”, “All bets are off”, “Been caught cheatn”, “For the girls”, “nasty habits”, “Make me smile”,
“Toast worthy”, “You wanna bet”, “The good bottle”, “Sugar rush”, “Ski bum”, “Jokers wild”
Apr 2024, “screwoffs”
May 2024, “No strings attached”, *hello, operator?”
Jun 2024, “Demure”
Oct 2024, “Attracting insects”, “Devils on the wine”
Jan 2025, “come to me”, “pillow talk”