Balls Trippin

Pencil Sketches

Balls Trippin marks the moment Matte first let his fifth‑dimensional visions run completely feral. These drawings sit at the crossroads of absurdity, subconscious logic, and meticulous draftsmanship — a place where atomic worms erupt from scorched earth, cockroaches moonlight as snipers, goats sail storm‑torn oceans, and hybrid creatures stumble through apocalyptic dreamscapes.

This was the playground where Matte began testing the boundaries of cartoon realism, depth‑of‑field illusion, and narrative chaos. The cockroach and the gimp became recurring trickster spirits, drifting from piece to piece like unreliable guides through the subconscious. Some works evolved into full‑colour pastel drawings, revealing early flashes of the surreal vibrancy that would later define the Oddlings series.

What began as experimentation became a catalogue of internal mythologies — playful, grotesque, symbolic, and unmistakably Matte.

Atomic Worm - colour

Atomic Worm Original Colour Drawing - Pastel pencils on paper - 860mm x 610mm - copyright 2025

Rendered in pastel pencil, this surreal work depicts a grotesque jack-in-the-box worm erupting from the earth against a landscape of mushroom clouds and scorched skies. A strand of mucus hangs from the worm’s nose as birds feed upon it, introducing dark humour into an otherwise apocalyptic scene. The playful absurdity of the imagery contrasts with the devastation in the background, exploring themes of innocence corrupted, psychological unrest, and the uneasy coexistence of whimsy and catastrophe.

Below is rendered in graphite pencils.

Atomic Worm - black and white

Atomic Worm Original Drawing - graphite on card -530mm x 370mm

Bat her up Bum nut - colour

Bat her up, bum nut Original Colour Drawing - Pastel pencils on paper - 860mm x 610mm - copyright 2025

Drawn with pastel pencil, this surreal composition stages a chaotic and absurd narrative in which a frog rides rodeo atop an egg being hurled like a baseball, while a cockroach sniper takes aim from the sidelines. In the distance, an airship drifts into gathering storm clouds, amplifying the scene’s sense of looming tension and impending disorder. Blending dark humour with exaggerated cartoon grotesquery, the work transforms playful imagery into a scene of tension and instability. Through its theatrical absurdity, the piece explores themes of precarious balance, conflict, and the irrational logic of the subconscious.

The below piece is rendered in graphite pencil

Bat her up Bum nut

Bat her up bum nut Original Drawing - graphite on card - 480mm x 370mm - copyright 2023

Caterpillar Balls Trip

Caterpillar Balls Trip Original Drawing - graphite on card -580mm x 455mm - copyright 2023

Rendered in graphite on card, this surreal composition presents a bizarre dreamscape where hybrid insect-like figures, floating symbols, and anthropomorphic forms gather atop a towering mushroom structure. Balancing dark humour with meticulous draftsmanship, the work constructs an irrational narrative that feels both playful and psychologically charged. Through its layered symbolism and grotesque whimsy, the drawing explores the subconscious as a theatre of mutation, memory, and internal myth-making

Goat in a boat

Goat In a boat Original Drawing - graphite on card - 580mm x 455mm - copyright 2023

A surreal graphite drawing depicts a goat sailing across a restless ocean in a small weathered boat, its fur rendered in meticulous graphite detail against the dark, shifting water. Perched on the goat’s back, a monkey lifts a lantern to light the way through the waves, turning the strange voyage into a dreamlike allegory of guidance, instinct, and the subconscious journey with friends through uncertain waters.

Elephant whip trick

Elephant whip trick Original Drawing - graphite on card - 600mm x 580mm - copyright 2023

A meticulously rendered graphite drawing presents a surreal, circus-like scene where a hybrid elephant creature balances precariously on a ball, its elongated trunk whipping through space as it interacts with strange, animated figures. Surrounding elements—floating forms, insect-like characters, and a distant tent—create a dreamlike narrative that blurs performance and subconscious symbolism, inviting the viewer into a world of tension, absurdity, and control.

Bjortus the Tortoise

Bjortus the tortoise Original Drawing - graphite on card - 580mm x 610mm - copyright 2023

A highly detailed graphite drawing depicts a surreal, hybrid tortoise whose shell transforms into a miniature landscape, supporting a cluster of pine trees and small, animated figures that suggest a world within a world. Its distorted, organic features and surrounding floating forms create a dreamlike tension between nature and mutation, evoking themes of internal ecosystems, resilience, and the subconscious shaping of reality.

Little filly in fluffy cloud land

Little filly in fluffy cloud land Original Drawing - graphite on card - 480mm x 345mm - copyright 2023

A finely rendered graphite drawing depicts a surreal carousel-like horse suspended within a dense, clouded void, its exaggerated features and markings evoking both playfulness and unease. Above it, a distorted figure hangs inverted from a striped pole while a small imp-like character interferes, creating a disorienting narrative that explores control, vulnerability, and the fractured logic of the subconscious

Skinwalker pig sty

skinwalker pig sty Original Drawing - graphite on card - 400mm x 345mm - copyright 2023

A finely rendered graphite drawing situates a surreal pig within a pigsty on Skinwalker Ranch, its form disrupted by a cockroach swinging from a tether attached to its head while a scuba diver moves through the mud with an eerie, ritualistic calm. Above, a cow is suspended within a ring of circular clouds, evoking abduction and paranormal folklore, as the composition merges dark humour with uncanny symbolism to explore control, transformation, and fractured perception.

Owl Howl

Owl Howl Original Drawing - graphite on card - 450mm x 360mm - copyright 2023

A finely rendered graphite drawing captures an owl gripping its prey with sharp intensity, its feathers intricately detailed as a nearby cockroach appears to observe the scene with an unsettling, almost human-like laughter. In the background, a luminous full moon casts a cold glow over distant wolves howling from a cliff edge, creating a haunting atmosphere that merges natural predation with dark, surreal undertones.

High as a kite

High as a Kite Original Drawing - graphite on card - 450mm x 360mm - copyright 2023

A finely rendered graphite drawing depicts a teenager riding a flat-tyred trike, their head opened into a hollow space where a peanut-like form suggests diminished thought and a vacant, drug-induced expression of hopelessness. Within this internal void, a small masked figure stands and flies a kite, introducing a surreal and unsettling contrast that reflects themes of escapism, control, and fractured identity.

Rhino Pufftules

Rhino Pufftules Original Drawing - graphite on card - 600mm x 400mm - copyright 2023

A graphite drawing depicts a masked figure riding a rhinoceros, steering it with heavy chains as three bones tied to its horn, while the animal exhales thick smoke that blows a cockroach violently through the air. In the distance, asteroids descend toward Earth, amplifying the scene’s apocalyptic tension and merging dark humour with themes of control, chaos, and impending collapse.

Lord Gimperton the Third

Lord Gimperton the Third Original Drawing - graphite on card - 470mm x 360mm - copyright 2023

This pencil drawing presents a surreal, throne‑seated character with exaggerated cartoon features, wearing only underwear and bound by chains held by oversized cockroaches, all rendered with meticulous shading. The composition blends ornate architectural details, skeletal companions, and bold humorous text to create a bizarre, darkly playful fantasy portrait.

Llama

This detailed pencil drawing depicts a fantastical “mangy‑legged llama” with exaggerated features, intricate textural patterns, and surreal companions including a snail-like creature and tiny humanoid figures wielding instruments and weapons. The composition blends whimsy and the grotesque, creating a richly imaginative scene that feels both playful and otherworldly.

Bubblefly

This pencil drawing depicts a surreal hybrid “bubblefly” creature blowing floating orbs into the sky, while a mechanical humanoid figure tethered to its tail interacts with the drifting bubbles. Below, a desert‑like landscape with cacti, scattered rocks, and a rocket blasting off adds a sense of chaotic motion, enhanced by another small insect‑humanoid tending a bowl or grill as part of the scene’s whimsical, dreamlike narrative.

Yowie

This pencil drawing portrays a whimsical yet unsettling forest scene featuring a yowie acting as a chef, roasting a tiny humanoid figure over a campfire and letting out a comic “Burrrp.” Surrounding creatures—including a smaller yowie peeking from behind a tree, an expressive beetle on a log, and a figure emerging from a dome-like shelter—add layers of surreal humor and narrative to the composition.

Dudeybug

This surreal pencil drawing features a laid‑back “dudeybug” smoking a pollen blunt atop a distorted sunflower whose twisting stalk has ensnared a gimp-like figure disappearing into the ground. A cheerful insect‑humanoid waving nearby and a tiny house being torn apart by a cyclone—intensify the drawing’s dreamlike, chaotic, and darkly humorous atmosphere.

Outback Shitta

Outback Shitta Original Drawing - graphite on card - 510mm x 360mm - copyright 2023

This pencil drawing depicts a dilapidated outback outhouse where a distressed man inside cries “AAAGHH,” while oversized cartoon‑like insects gather around the scene with exaggerated personality. Twisting details like the extended toilet‑paper arm, cobweb‑laden structure, and expressive spider and beetle create a whimsical yet gritty blend of Australiana and surreal humour.

matte black art