Brainmaze

Then it comes to art, abstract is the key.

Richard “Rick” Cole of JRock Adventure, project consultant of Sky Extreme Adventure atop Crown Regency Hotel, said that he loves art that is not standard or ordinary.

“My favorite artist is M.C. Escher. I have been drawing and creating things my whole life, but the most fun challenging work began in 1985 when I invented something called Brainmaze,” Cole shared. He is referring to Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) or Marius Cornelius Escher who was born in Holland and became one of the world’s famous graphic artists. During his lifetime, Escher made 448 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings and over 2,000 drawings and sketches.

According to Cole, Brainmaze is truly a maze and it looks a little like the brain on the page.

“I incorporate mazes into all the artwork I draw. It is all freehand and takes from 20 minutes to 149 hours to draw each picture maze depending on the size and intricacy of the drawing,” he explained.

“I started out drawing them just for fun and to give people the chance to try to solve the maze, as it seems everyone likes mazes. From that point, it became a passion of creation to do each one bigger or better or more complicated; keeps me interested that way too.”

Cole also said that “as more and more people began to see the work, the “art” part of the drawings started to be recognized and people started ordering custom drawings because of how unique it was to have a piece of art that also includes a maze inside or around the picture.”

Most of Cole’s works are on art boards that are 30” x 40” and take about 120 hours on average to complete. “No, that is not 120 hours straight! I will draw a picture in about two to three weeks usually when ordered. Normally I will sell just prints in a choice of several sizes and keep the original for my collection,” he pointed out. Custom orders are welcome. Just email the artist at [email protected].

Cole further shared that the largest Brainmaze he has created to date was three feet tall and seven feet long, but that he hopes to someday do an entire room floor included. “Just have to wait for the right place and people interested in having that kind of work done,” he added.

He said he tries not to limit life and that is why the “art” part of his company is best represented by the catchphrase: “What Can You Imagine”.

“Where most people see a picture, I like to see all the layers that it takes to make that picture - what it is and what it can be.”

When asked on what do his artworks speak about him, Cole answered: “As the sign in my office reads, “Life was not meant to be a journey to the grave in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broad sided, thoroughly used up, totally worn out loudly proclaiming Wow, what a ride.”