LA CIENEGA AREA

Georgia-born artist Mike Howard once described his paintings as being about “the realization of a 40-year-old man that it’s OK to have a good time,” but it may be time for him to reassess his work. There seems more than that going on in the paintings in this, his first L.A. show, and not all of it as light-hearted as Howard’s appraisal would indicate. Sure, his work looks reasonably cheerful--he works in a bright, fake folk-art style that alternately alludes to James Rosenquist and Looney Tunes cartoons--but the characters in his pictures tend to be mired in unpleasant predicaments.

Incorporating the hyperbolic vernacular of Madison Avenue and the tabloid press, his paintings read like comic strips (those by L.A. Weekly cartoonist Lynda Barry, to be specific) and usually involve people in the throes of a communication breakdown. We see bored, pouting women fed up with their mates who are depicted innocently mowing the lawn or training a pet parrot, oblivious to the psychological storm about to erupt. We also see a shipwreck, a landscape with hurricane, a sendup of self-help cults, studies of lovers kissing and a series of small works listing some dos and don’ts conducive to a happy life. “Don’t be cruel to animals” and “Do call your friends and talk,” we’re advised.

Obviously, Howard’s work is all over the map and his sensibility has yet to distill itself to a strong central theme. In the meantime, his paintings are fun to look at, frequently funny and his heart seems in the right place. (Eilat Gordin Gallery, 644 N. Robertson Blvd., to Aug. 6.)