Happy Halloween

Halloween 2011 W.I.P.

And you were worried about the wolves....

I love Halloween! Sharing this year's spooky doodle. The shading still needs a little work, but I'm pretty happy overall. Click the image for a closer look.

Many thanks to these talent Deviant Art stock photo providers:

sd-stock

Tassastock

AshenSorrow

Happy Halloween!

Illustration Friday - Scary

Halloween 2011 WIP

A belated entry for Illustration Friday's new prompt - Scary. This creepy nature-girl is cropped from a piece I am playing with for tomorrow's post.

Special thanks to these stock providers for the inspiration:
http://ashensorrow.deviantart.com
http://tasastock.deviantart.com

Pop back later tomorrow to catch the whole piece. Unfortunately my computer is acting up tonight so I'm calling this day done. Best wishes to you all for a fantastic week!

By the way, visit Illustration Friday for more Scary stuff this week.  Be sure to add your own interpretation if you are feeling inspired.

NOTE: Click here for final piece, added 10/31

Illustration Friday - Obsession

Dark Obsession

The creative habit is like a drug. 

The particular obsession changes, 

but the excitement, the thrill of your creation lasts.
- Henry Moore

I am soooo loving IllustrationFriday's new prompt, Obsession. No time to play today, so I dug up this oldie from 20 years ago - yikes, has it been that long? 

I admit, obsession drives much my life and art. I'm one of those people who really falls for an author or topic and immediately reads every book in the series.  I'll do the same with a new technique or quirky idea.

Cure for an obsession: get another one. - Mason Cooley 

Subjects also simmer in the background, resurfacing long after I thought I'd gone beyond them.  The creepy fellow above popped up a few years ago in this cut paper ACEO. It is mounted on a base of red reflective paper.

Dark Obsession ACEO at ArtSnark.etsy.com

What is your latest obsession? Post a doodle online & link it over at IllustrationFriday.com - while you are there, click around & see what everyone else is fixating on this week.

Halloween digital doodle

Stay out of the woods on Halloween night - WIP

Funny to be thinking about Halloween in the heat of summer. I've signed up for some spooky swaps & promotions on etsy, so it is time to start thinking about my favorite holiday. Just playing around a bit before bed. Think I'd rather draw this one... hmm.... & maybe print on metallic paper to pop the background? What do you think?

Images adapted from this great stock-
Model: Stock 179 Dark Fae by Jaymasee
Background: AshenSorrow premade background 1277

Happy Halloween

Just got back into town & tossing together some Halloween color while Little Dude assembles his costume. Solarized a 25 yr old watercolor sketch in P. Elements. Quick & dirty but it may have some future potential as a layer.

Have fun. Be safe. 

(and try not to get eaten by anything)

If You Go Down To The Woods Today....

Haze by HyennaMarket.etsy.com

Halloween Bash is the Musical Monday theme over at BlogginWithAmanda this week.  

Vintage Ephemera Shabby Chic Necklace - Percy & Harry from tasherajean.etsy.com

This children's song has always given me the willies..

Blue Night from janeheller.etsy.com

If you go down to the woods today 

Horace Behr pattern  MrFox.etsy.com

You're sure of a big surprise. 

Lone Tree Wall Art from coffincrafts.etsy.com

 If you go down to the woods today 

Purple Zombie Halloween Teddy Bear Doll from CreepyDolls.etsy.com

You'd better go in disguise.

bare bear mask holga print from Frankenkitty.etsy.com

Click the captions for more on these fun finds. Have a spooky tune to share? Post to your blog & then visit BlogginWithAmanda to add your link. If you are feeling extra-linky, pop over to  RunDMT  & TheNewXmasDolly  as well. They're also sharing the tunes today.

Braaaainnnnss.....

Zombies Chasing Victims Refrigerator Magnets from zedszombieramch.etsy.com

The Zombie Wall Jumbo Print from MATTY8080.etsy.com

Antique Doll Head from OldeTymeNotions.etsy.com

-Satchel Paige

Click the captions for details on these fun finds. 

 

Vintage Playing Cards, ZOMBIES from 30one.etsy.com

Cold Night For Alligators font by Junkohanhero can be found at dafont.com.

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Dark Sprite

Dark Sprite - Digital Collage

Many thanks to Gail & Digital Whisper for inspiring me to pick up with digital stuff again. Today I'm feeling Halloween-ish.

Model is from MizzD's fabulous stock over at DeviantArt. Bone pile is adapted from a public domain photo I came across eons ago (sorry, forgot where from. will credit if I can find it)

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Before I forget, it is your last chance to enter the random draw for one of CreativeEtching's brass rulers with custom etched text. You have until 1 a.m. (EST) 9/23 to leave a comment to enter. Click here for details & photos.

Saturday Studio Tour #11 - Harry Boardman & friends

1 - Monster Art by Harry

Got Monsters?

Harry Boardman does! 1 year ago Harry started an ambitious project - to create a monster a day "from Halloween to Halloween" and post them on his blog 365monsters.blogspot.com and etsy shop 365monsters.etsy.com. His creatures are created out of a variety of material and have a quite a mix of personalities. Each also has a brief bio in the listings.

128 Original Monster Art by Harry

Lucky for us, Harry has stopped by to share a bit about his creations and to give us a tour of his studio space:

HB: A little more than a year ago I wanted to challenge myself and exercise my creative muscle. The point was to put myself on edge and take on the sort of task that normal sane people wouldn’t attempt. Aside from doing all of that, this project looked simple as a whole but became difficult fast.

75 - Original Monster Art By Harry

HB: The first week was hard. It wasn’t easy to get into a routine, produce consistently good work, and to be creative each and every day. It seems strange now that monster # 25 was a big milestone for me.

25 - Original Monster Art By Harry

HB: This has been an amazing yearlong project. I’ve posted monsters while traveling around the world, produced a large body of work that I’m happy with, included friends & family in my work, and found new avenues of business like custom monster portraits starting at $65.

Custom Monster Project by Harry

Last Friday, Harry had a live-action drawing gig over at Estetiks in Doylestown, PA where he finished off his year of monsters with these critters and the advice to "know your footwear":

365 - Original Monster Art by Harry

Now on with the Studio Tour!

HB: Welcome to the studio of Harry Boardman. Artist, monster fan, and recovering packrat. Although not a frontiersman, I live in the woods with my wonderful wife Heather (a lampwork glass artist and jewelry designer) with our 2 cats and dog-boy Morty. Even though my studio is in a subterranean situation with one small window, it’s really great. The space is large enough to continuously find new equipment to squeeze in and it’s always good to be down here. Besides, when the zombies attack it’ll be safer down here underground.

HB: This is what you see as you come into the door. It’s a lot to take in at once. I feel like this space is jam-packed with organized chaos. Good things are packed in here for inspiration, cool projects, and lots of choices when the right tool or medium calls.

HB: When my wife and I bought this house my current studio was a small woodshop with long wide short cabinets in it. Most of those cabinets were moved to an undisclosed location but one remained as a place to store and mix oil paints. I do most of my painting on this easel and large pieces go on an open wall behind this area

HB: Another piece of heavy duty industrial metal furniture, the drafting table is a super spot to sketch, layout portraits and paintings on boards, all of the monsters are inked on this table. This shot also shows my white board of insanity covered in color-coded thoughts, my wonderful Epson printer for reproducing my artwork, and extra storage that came as a gift from beyond the grave (the story is way too long).

HB: I keep all of my reference pics in the computer and do a ton of research on it. It’s handy for doing research, marketing, making excellent and timely playlists, and managing my etsy stores.

HB: The cutting/matting/assembly/layout desk is the most recent work space addition to the studio. I’m glad I have it every time I use it.

Be sure to stop by Harry's blog where he celebrated finishing the monster project by creating .... another monster!

Hooray for 365 Monsters! by Harry

He also talks about his next big project 52 Farms. Here's a sneak peek of Harry's artistic plans for the coming year

HB: My next blog project called 52 Farms will start in Spring or Summer of 2010. This one will feature weekly pieces that are larger and more ambitious than the monster pieces. I’ll be creating artwork based on 52 different working farms within an hour or so drive time from my studio in Montgomery county, PA.

HB: When not involved in a blog project, I take commissions for portraits of people, pets, and houses. Oil paintings and mixed media pieces of local landscapes, nature scenes, wildlife, plants, and animals are the majority of my other work.

Want to see some of Harry's non- monster art? Check out his 2nd etsy shop HarryBoardman.etsy.com as well as these other online locations:
http://www.portraitsbyharry.com/
http://www.harryboardman.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harry-Boardman/9012343994

Want to win a piece of Harry's art? Simply leave a comment on this blog before noon (EST) on Nov. 5 to enter the random drawing for the 8 x 10 matted print Sunset Parking Lot

Sunset Parking Lot by Harry Boardman

To read about the creation of this piece & visit a few more monsters, CLICK HERE for last Thursday Giveaway/ Artist Feature. Thanks for your patience with this belated post. And for stopping by today. And Extra Special Thanks to Harry for sharing his menagerie & creative space with us today!

RTT or Random Tuesday Terrors ... EEEK!

Clean Your Room!

Nah, it's not that scary - just messing with you....

Also not THAT random - when I flushed my brain today all that came out was some cobwebs & lots of Halloween stuff. And since there's no way I'm cramming it all back in, here you go. For More info click the pics:

Blood Is The New Black by Barbara Moustafa

I've been a huge fan of Barbara M. for a couple of years now. She has a great sense of dark whimsy in many of her pieces. You can view more of Barbara's art in her DeviantArt Gallery & etsy shop.

Pop on by the Dark Artists Guild. They've got creepy stuff to share all year long.

Dracula Bot by BoltsandBots

Ok, not so scary but I couldn't resist. You want scary? Maybe you should go with the Borat Bot.

Count Dracula by M.S.Corley

I've found a new fave on etsy - M.S. Corley Illustration & Design. There's a whole section called Horrors of Literature! What's not to love?!

Gothic Rose has been in my bookmarks forever. Looks like a fun place to visit

GoodNite Goon by Michael Rex

Back to the theme of Not So Scary - here's what Little Dude & I were reading tonight.

Free Vintage Poison Labels from Spookshows.com

A couple of my faves for you DIY types. Click thru for more free images

free vintage Halloween cards from VintageHolidayCrafts.com

Twilight inspired art by Deborah Bohm

Ok Ok it's Twilight inspired. I think this one fits for Halloween too. If you're a fan, Deborah Bohm has Twilight Art over at her blog Deborah Dare Art. She belongs to the The Outsider Artist blog & they have a bunch of the movie inspired creations posted right now. If you're not a Twilighter ...just play nice, go visit The Un Mom - Goddess of Tuesday Chaos (also not an Edward fan) & wait for the sun to come up....

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Want to see more of my Halloween Faves? Click Here for the Oct 13 post which features lots of etsy finds for All Hallows Eve

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By the way have you entered this week's random drawings? If not click for details & pics of prizes.

I'm hosting:
StormOne's Hand Dyed Scarf Giveaway - ends 10/29
Uprinting.com's 100 custom printed postcards Giveaway - ends 10/29

Also I'm sponsoring a giveaway over at Poppy's Place. Enter to win my Original Drawing Waiting for Spring - ends 10/30

RTT- Random Halloween Thoughts

Monster Mash Shadow Puppet Set by orangemoontoys.etsy.com

I know it's Random Tuesday but I've got Halloween on the brain.

Brains by angelofodd.etsy.com

So between rambling here are some goodies I've unearthed. Click on any image for more info.

Handsome Devil by WinonaCookie.etsy.com

When I was a kid Halloween was my absolute favorite holiday. Not for the sweets (though I certainly devoured more than my share) but for the projects & spooky stuff.

Click Button for some fun projects

Plus it was the one time of year my morbid tendencies were socially acceptable.

Youngblood I by Canace.etsy.com

I've always loved making things & I would start prepping for Halloween when school started each September. My mom was really crafty & we'd make tons of decorations. I used to spend hours coming up with new ideas each year.

Bat Queen Altered Art Paper Doll Kit by IndigoChyld.etsy.com

Life really was much simpler then. I remember being so proud of my giant black squid made out of hefty bags & tinfoil.

Watery Grave 1682 by AzureGrackle.etsy.com

Or how much fun it was to hide behind the woodpile at twilight with a sheet covered umbrella. When my little sister would come outside to get the kindling, I'd make spooky noises while opening & closing the umbrella, making my "Ghost" flutter.

167 Original Monster Art by Harry of 365monsters.etsy.com

Poor kid - I used to scare the willies out of her every chance I got. ( She tells me it is my fault she can't watch scary movies even now)

Blue Widow by rustymermaiddolls.etsy.com

Think she'll forgive me if I sent her one of these cool cards from The Mental Kavity?

Jack O' Lantern Stalks His Prey In The Night by MassacreMike

Doubt It!

I'm The Evil Twin Pendant Necklace by UrsulaandOlive.etsy.com

Hmmm.... I have no idea why the italics won't turn off. Oh well. For some truly random treats today, click the purple button & visit The Un Mom, High Priestess of Tuesday Chaos.