Escapist Drawings of Technicolor Weirdos | Monday Insta Illustrator

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 12, 2016 at 9:39am PDT

While they vary in color palette, form, and themes, the gentle drawings of Matthew Houston have an overarching pleasantness that keeps you scrolling through his Instagram feed. Some drawings evoke Picasso's cubism, some Dalí's surrealist creatures, some look like fleshy characters on Adult Swim TV, while others are drawn in the texture of a cyberpunk anime. Thin, fat, round, flat, the Mesa, Arizona-based illustrator says that his largely improvised works are, "figures and symbols to express the longing for an unknown past and the pervading rootless confusion of the present." Check out his self-proclaimed "refuge from modernity in imagined shibboleths," in the Instagrams below.

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 10, 2016 at 9:40am PDT

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 22, 2016 at 8:49am PDT

big girls at the beach

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 15, 2016 at 10:52am PDT

frightened abuela

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 14, 2016 at 9:44am PDT

moon twins collecting fruit

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 13, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

get dunked on

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 11, 2016 at 9:12am PDT

landscaping

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 10, 2016 at 9:07am PDT

My pal and fellow artist @mysticgrandpa gave me a two-word combo to draw, the words were PINE WITCH - so here she blows (sap).

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 6, 2016 at 12:30pm PDT

Truth hole - another idea from @mysticgrandpa

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on May 7, 2016 at 11:21am PDT

the band

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 20, 2016 at 9:01am PDT

innards

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 15, 2016 at 9:29am PDT

Regia motociclo

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 12, 2016 at 8:49am PDT

meteor

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 7, 2016 at 9:44am PDT

in the lair of the cold flame

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 8, 2016 at 9:06am PDT

unlicensed lemonade stand

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Apr 6, 2016 at 9:12am PDT

Sammy

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Mar 28, 2016 at 10:37am PDT

sentry

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Mar 23, 2016 at 9:36am PDT

screaming

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Mar 21, 2016 at 8:40am PDT

papa

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Mar 20, 2016 at 11:45am PDT

drunkard

A photo posted by Matthew Houston (@matthew.houston) on Mar 12, 2016 at 10:44am PST

See more of Matthew Houston's work on Instagram. Find your next favorite artist on The Creators Project's Instagram feed here.

Related:

What If Pop Culture Icons Were Cubist Masterpieces?

Maren Karlson's Illustrations Are Like Comics from Hell

Dalí and Miró Meet Digital Art in Surreal 3D Illustrations