Artist R.T. Pece enjoys having viewers puzzle over his whimsical, colorful paintings

Is the brown and orange image called “Brown Wingy Thingy” representing Bullwinkle’s head and antlers? Or is it a pair of fins sticking up as a seal dives into the ocean? Artist Bob Pece says he doesn’t know for certain, but that’s his point.

Pece, who goes by the artist name R.T. Pece, is showing about 30 of his works at the Golden West College art gallery through Jan. 15. And he wants the viewers to come up with their own interpretations of them.

“I like to hear when people tell me they see something in my art,” said the 65-year-old San Juan Capistrano resident. “Everything is all based off shapes and colors. I’ve heard my work looks like pigs with their feet up or aliens. It’s all up to the viewer.”

The only thing the artist and his viewers can agree upon are the obvious similarities to cartoon characters, which Pece said inspired him.

“I just saw a lot of them when I was a kid,” said Pece, who earned a master of fine arts degree from UC Irvine in the mid-1970s. “I’m talking about the time when Mickey Mouse first came out, when there were just basic, simple shapes.”

His paintings in the show, which is titled “Multiples and Peekers,” all feature simple shapes and bold colors.

They started as doodles in a small notepad before they were re-created on canvas using thin slices of masking tape to create the clean lines. At least six coats of paint are used with each to get that extra-bright look.

He said he used to take colors straight out of the tube, which he noted wasn’t a typical practice in the art world, but has since begun mixing paints to get more unique hues.

The pieces’ geometric shapes all come together to form what Pece calls characters. Depending on the characters, the pieces may fall into one of two categories: facers, which Pece described as two identical objects facing one another, and peekers, which are shapes similar to eyes appearing to look over a bar or other object.

Many of his works also have a 3D-like feel to them, making it seem that other objects could be placed inside the characters.

“I like having it look like you’re looking inside of something,” he said. “These aren’t just characters. Some of them you can look straight through, but a lot of them it looks like there’s something inside.”

Pece said the techniques of using basic shapes and bright colors puts him in the pop abstraction category with artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Still, he says his work is different — based on concepts that are anything but obvious.

A piece called “Curvy-Top Wall” could be interpreted as two 3D alien-like creatures, but Pece said he sees it as a group of odd-looking plants.

“It’s just different,” he said. “I’m an artist, and artists usually pride themselves on being different and doing something that’s unique. I think I’ve filled that to a certain extent. There’s nothing quite like this. I just have this pioneering spirit.”

Ed Fosmire, curator for the exhibit, said he decided to bring Pece’s work to Golden West because he is a fan of Pece’s art.

“I’ve known Bob for about 20 years,” Fosmire said. “In fact, one of his paintings has hung over my daughter’s bed for 11 years. I loved Bob’s work, but I had never seen so many of his pieces in one location. He was more than willing to gather some work and bring them over. It creates this beautiful and interesting show.”