It just happened out of nowhere. I was sitting at my desk working on a software problem when my mind started to wander. At first, I started thinking about movies. I drifted from the 21st century into the 1980s. One of my favorite characters to come out of that decade was Dr. Indiana Jones. I thought about the iconic scene at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know that scene right? Indiana and a hired guide are trekking through a dense jungle en route to recover a golden idol in a boobie-trapped temple. The first 10 minutes of the movie builds up to this moment where Indiana is on his knees, rubbing his chin, as he contemplates whether pulling the idol is a good idea or not. That’s when my mind started searching for replacement characters – for some reason.

I started wondering if there was a video game character that emulated Dr. Jones. The only one I could think of that might barely resemble Dr. Jones was Pitfall Harry. We never really found out what Harry’s occupation was, but we can at least relate to the treasure hunting in the jungle. My mind drifted off of Harry and into the more modern and recognizable world of Mario. Wait? Does Mario have anything to do with Indiana Jones and idols? If so, I better expand on that. If not, well, make up a story.

So, I made up a story. No, Mario is not a treasure hunter. He’s a perpetual rescuer of damsels because these ladies always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’s no archaeologist of course; he’s a plumber. He wears overalls and not a leather jacket. A baseball cap adorns his melon instead of a fedora. Well, I was convinced. There was absolutely nothing in common between these two characters. So naturally, I decided to mash them together. The result is Raiders of the Lost Coin.

I received a question online already about the name versus the subject matter. In my rendering, Mario is trying to get a mushroom and not a coin. What gives? If you’ve seen the Raiders film then you remember that this scene was not the Ark that is referenced in the title. I stayed with that theme and chose a 1-up mushroom instead. If this was an actual movie, then, later on, you would expect Mario to find the lost coin. Hopefully, that makes sense to you.

Toad can be seen in the background staying away from the danger. Of course, he’s the hired guide in the movie. The stones on the ground are at different levels to reproduce the triggered boobie trap in the film. I felt this was a great place for a question mark as seen in the Mario games. The danger element was kicked up with the addition of a couple of Petey Piranhas growing from the ceiling. After a couple of sketches, I had something working and frankly kind of funny.

There is no morality message here. There is no subliminal intent to get you to believe in anything other than parody makes for fun art. Now since there is no hidden message here, I won’t even bother telling you that this is where you can buy prints, t-shirts, phone covers, and more at:

So what’s next? Well, I’m thinking the movies are staying in my future. Stay tuned for more.

To all of those folks who bought a painting or print in 2018, thank you so much for your support.

Have a merry Christmas and happy new year art lovers!