Artstagram: Star Wars, Gremlins characters + thrift store paintings = internet gold

Name: Dave Pollot

Handle: @davepollotart

The art you find in thrift stores doesn't usually get people excited, but for Dave Pollot, all it takes to change that is the simple addition of a time-travelling DeLorean or Luke Skywalker riding a tauntaun. Pollot is a software engineer by day, but in his spare time he paints classic nerd references — characters from Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Super Mario Bros. and the like — onto dusty, forgotten art pieces procured from thrift stores and garage sales. What started as a jokey pastime has become a hit: Pollot's Instagram page is approaching 30,000 followers.

Here, a winter pastoral scene is made noticeably more frigid with the presence of a ringwraith:

And a generic beach sunset is transformed into a thing of glory as the USS Enterprise soars past.

Is there a still-life in existence that couldn't be improved by including Gizmo, the fuzzy-wuzzy mogwai from Gremlins? Probably not.

"This art should make you laugh," the Rochester-based painter writes on his Etsy page. "That's what it's meant for, and I hope that it does."

It's also worth mentioning that Pollot doesn't paint over just anything he finds — he makes sure it's either mass-produced or a print, so if he accidentally stumbles across a Jackson Pollock or something, it'll (hopefully) be safe.  

For a breakdown of his painting process, check out this step-by-step photo gallery.

Social media can be so much more than selfies and viral videos — it's increasingly becoming a scratch pad for emerging artists and other creative minds to show off their latest work. Artstagram curates the best visual talent on Instagram, helping bring a little more art into your daily feed.​