Velvet painting, a medium that in the recent past has been devoted to scenes of dogs playing poker, Jesus, Elvis Presley, Star Wars, and famous Republicans, actually has a long and distinguished history. In the 14th century, Marco Polo described seeing velvet paintings in the Kashmir, and Japanese artists of the Meiji Period experimented with velvet painting.

These days, velvet painting is undergoing something of a renaissance. Contemporary artists in the Lowbrow movement like Sandow Birk and Church of the Subgenius artist-in-residence, Paul Mavrides are producing striking new works in this cheesiest of mediums. In addition, Tiki and Lounge aficionados have resuscitated the subtle Polynesian cheesecake of Edgar Leeteg of Tahiti.