Will Cotton is a New York City painter known for his surreal candy landscapes. His most recognizable work is his collaboration in Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” music video, in which Perry frolics in Candyfornia, a paradise of cupcakes and lollipops.

Cotton’s work speaks of addiction and temptation, and an adult hedonism that no amount of sugar coating can mask. “Candy,” he says, “is the most universal metaphor for all pleasure-seeking.”

Cotton is currently an artist in residence at UCF’s Flying Horse Editions.

For more about the artist, visit www.willcotton.com.