Tigers and dragons are pretty common features of Asian visual arts, but chickens? That’s a bit more rare. Nutkai is an illustrator from Chiang Mai who frequently uses these animals as core features of his art. “Chicken” is even part of his name—it’s the English translation of “kai.” He got the nickname during high school and carried it on throughout his art career. “Maybe I used to look like a chicken,” he laughs.

The artwork of Nutkai, whose real name is Patipat Pintawana, is bright and bold, full of comedy and joy. He uses plentiful letter art as well, drawing on Cali skateboarding-style lettering in English and Thai mixed with comic-type Chinese characters. Although he doesn’t have any East Asian heritage (he calls himself “100 percent Thai North country boy”), he paints what he sees around him, repurposing it in his own style.

In addition to digital illustration and making prints, Nutkai also paints canvases and murals and creates sculptures. He’s made pieces out of Timberland boots, big tiger heads, and collectible art toys. Many of these physical pieces were shown at his solo show at the local SEUA gallery. Regardless of the medium, his work always revolves around the same energetic characters that have defined his style for over a decade now: “I’ll never stop doing this, there are endless possibilities.”