march nightmare

     Well, I tried to save the best for last.  This post at least has the highest number of artworks I've ever included in one post before.  Anyway, here goes:

     Back in March the wife and I had a very good Saturday.  We slept late, went out to eat, futzed around town, running a couple of errands, generally having a good time.  It all culminated that evening with us having a blast at dinner (appetizer dinner, one of our favorites!), consuming more than the usual amount of wine and watching one of our favorite movies, Evil Dead II.  We enjoyed it almost as much as the first time we saw it.  However, I often found myself (as I realized later) taking it a little too seriously at times, saying things like, "You know, someone actually going through something this extremely supernatural and horrific might APPEAR to be acting in an absurd or comical way.  From my experience, the OUTWARD appearance of your actions is often out of step with what you're actually feeling INSIDE."  In my mind I thought I was just having fun with my conjecture and my 'What if this was REALLY HAPPENING!?' thought exercise.  What I didn't know at the time is that I was planting the seeds of fear in my own impressionable, wine-marinated brain.  Not surprisingly, that night I had a nightmare.

     It opens in some strange house I've never been in before (as a lot of my unpleasant dreams do).  There's a zombie somewhere and it's all the fault of this douchebag son of some rich guy (apparently this is their house).  Not sure why I know all of this, it's just the given facts of the dream.

      Anyway, next thing I know I've opened a closet door somewhere in the house and find myself standing face to face with the aforementioned zombie.  He's not all, "Bleearrgh! Graaaarr! Brains!" or extremely gross looking or anything.  He's a middle-aged, balding man in a suit.  He has a blank stare and is filthy (as zombies are wont to be) but the expressionless face looking back at me from the shadows of the freshly opened closet is particularly unsettling.

       Jump cut to a side view of the the closet.  From the top shelf of the closet, the zombie suddenly shoots out head first, arms at his sides, entire body parallel to the floor and stops at the waist.  The room is lit with a sickly, bright (yet also dark) orange and the top half of the zombie is sticking out of the closet, stiff as a board like the top drawer of a dresser.  Suddenly, his arms shoot out, doubling his visible length.



     Next thing I see (not that I actually recall seeing it, it's more like my mind TOLD ME I was seeing it) is the zombie and the douchebag son wrestling on the floor in front of the closet.  The room is still lit in that sickly orange as they struggle, the zombie now in full, aggressive "Romero" mode.

     The scene changes again and I'm pretty sure I have the son safely behind me and the zombie is prone on the floor in front of me.  I'm jabbing at him with a transfer shovel trying to decapitate him.  We now seem to be in the living room.  Beyond the zombie I can see furniture, potted plants, windows and glass doors that lead outside to a back yard or patio.  It's night time and the room is now a dark, moonlit environment and I can see streaks of blood running down the zombie's face.  I jab again with the shovel, a little off target, and hit him in the face.  I don't see it but I clearly feel a splash of warm liquid hit my left cheek and eye.

     Everything becomes a little unclear at this point, although in the next moment I somehow know that I've killed the zombie.  Then I look up at the ceiling and I see the shadow of a thin, unclothed, headless figure.  It's arms are flailing wildly and shooting from it's neck are what seems to be both short lengths of hair and what looks like small moths but they have no bodies, just a pair of fluttering wings, much like heart-shaped pieces of paper folded down the middle...

 ...I'm terrified and I realize the ghost of the zombie is casting this shadow!  I panic and swing the shovel wildly at where I think the ghost is.  The force of the swing in my arm and shoulder as I hit nothing is the last thing I feel.

***



     I woke up, hungover and so dry my eyelids were almost making scratching noises every time I blinked.  I was still pretty creeped out and, even though I keep a pretty much nocturnal schedule and there was plenty of daylight in the house, I was still seriously keeping a wary eye on the hallway for any shambling zombies that might be coming my way.  After some liquids, pain killers and a light snack I was finally able to get back to sleep.

Lastly, here's another incarnation of the nightmare zombie:

     Well, I hope you enjoyed this.  I have to say this was the most vivid nightmare I've had in years.  My only regret is that I wish I could've done more artistic justice to it.  That's not to say I didn't produce a few decent images but I never really felt I completely captured the true vividness of the experience.  Oh well, I guess room for improvement is a good thing.

     Whew!  Has this been a crazy month or what?  I'm glad I took all the time off from work.  Three-day weekends all month has been SA-WEEET!  It's gotten me rested up and ye olde creative juices flowing as well!  I look forward to the holidays and you should too, as I have a stockpile of new artworks just itching to be posted : D  Thanks for stopping by, you crazy kids are the best!

OPG participants, wave 2

     Coming in just under the wire, we have two more Octoberween-Palooza-Ganza participants!  Check it:

==>  Camille over at Corpse Cafe shows us that even skellies need quality snugglin' time with their loved ones on Halloween.

==>  Hailing from KickinAssTakingNames, Katn gives us all some insight into how her brain works on the subject of horror through her list of films that have scared the holy bejeezus out of her in the past.

     Alrighty!  That makes for a total of three participants at present.  So, unless I get more than seven other people signed up with matching Horror/Halloween blog posts before midnight tonight, that means everyone is pretty much GUARANTEED to get their very own Fuzzy Skeletonian original artwork!

     Also also also, if the number of total participants remains low I may have some special changes to the giveaway rules so stay tuned campers!

bloody gore and insanity

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(clicka4bigga)

     Does this guy look insane or what?  Not as insane as Mr. Gable's Countdown To Insanity this month but still pretty insane.  This painting was done earlier this year and I must say I'm rather proud of the brain matter on this dude.  I had initially painted blood vessels and was going to lay the red on top of them and allow them to bleed through.  I was working rather wet and they not only bled through but they simply became dark swirls amidst the red paint.  This ended up being a pretty happy accident, as I was able to manipulate the swirls into what you see now.  Makes for a pretty gory effect and I couldn't be more pleased!  I'll have to do this on purpose in the future when I want more bloody bloody gore gore.

     Well the month is winding to a close and so far I have only one person officially eligible for the giveaway.  I know it's been a busy this month for everyone but you still have time to complete your entry into the giveaway.  As long as your blog post is dated no later than October 31st it qualifies, and I'm not going to be a Nazi about the quality of your content.  You can just post a picture of candy corn and type "Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me a free Fuzzy Skeletonian and Vincent's an asshole for making me do this!"  Seriously, folks.  It's that easy.

     Tune in tomorrow and I will share a nightmare with you.

little brother

     This is thick wet lines little brother.   He's not quite as epic but he has his appeal I think.  Eh, not much else to say, I'm a little tired.  It's been a long week but I've gots me a three day weekend so I'll be rested up here in a day or two.  Peace.

red mouth

     This past weekend I had myself the previously mentioned Paint-a-Palooza and, while I said I was going to sit on those paintings for a while and revisit them at a later date, I just couldn't keep this one to myself!  This one (like most of the rest) started out as a random background I made with six sheets of paper and various paint slatherings all sandwiched together.  After they all dried I had the fun of deciding what to do with all the backgrounds.  I think this one came together pretty well, if I do say so myself.  Man, am I lovin' the red and black lately : D

neck-splosion

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     Not sure why I'm killing so many of my fuzzy skellies lately.  It raises the question as to whether or not you can kill undead abominations.  Also raises the question as to whether or not my fuzzy skeletonians are, in fact, undead.

bleeding heart

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(clicka for bigga)

     When I unleash my army of Fuzzy Skeletonian soldiers on the world this is what you can expect to see!  I imagine this guy to be a member of my elite troops.  He's efficient, brutal and confident, already pointing at his next victim even before he's done with his current kill!

meat brain

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     This is the final piece I completed from this series of three.  While I think breakthrough was the most dramatic, I think this guy ended up the most interesting.  Even though I deliberately tried to be disgusting with hairy blood drip, I think this guy succeeded much more in that regard.  I think it's his bloody vagina nose hole and the fuzzy, bloody attachments of the intruding bones into his cheeks.

     Wow, can you believe we're on the final seven days of October!?  Where does the time go?  I guess this is a good time to remind anyone interested in the Fuzzy Skeletonian Insane Mega-Giveaway to get signed up and figure out what you're going to post by the end of the month.

branchy skully

     As promised, here's more of my recent brush work featuring more open, unconnected lines.  I'm really liking this style of painting.  It's quick, fun and I don't get bogged down with details.  Also, it's a good way to practice technique.

     Last night I had myself a little Painta-Palooza and knocked out about six of these.  Those added to what I've already done this month add up to more than I can keep track of which is a very very good thing!  I love being able to just knock a bunch of shit out and come back to it all later to reflect and observe.  Hopefully that will mean some good blog posts in the not too distant future.

happy accidents and goofy skellies

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     These two ended up being an awkward pair of companion pieces when one of my wet/dry sandwiches went awry.  The face didn't transfer over to the other side, as I had used up all of my first batch of chunky, Crayola slurry prior to starting on this venture.  While I think the face side turned out pretty well, the other side ended up being more of a background than a finished work so I took the hint and painted my goofy, bad-day skellie on top of it.  Ended up being a learning experience and the first time I created a background before the main subject of the work.

magma injection

     Some marker from earlier this year.  I like this guy 'cause he looks like he's being injected with some sort of magma or liquid fire.  That's all I've got I guess.  My interests are really trending more towards painting lately.  In fact, that's what I'm itching to do right now.

     Oh yeah, I know this blog isn't a big draw for bad movie lovers but if you happen to need something fun to do tonight, check this out!  I'll be there, yucking it up with the rest of the crew.

red eyes

     If this guy looks familiar, there's a reason.  He used to look like this before I Herman Munstered him up with all the green.  Also, that chunky looking red in the eyes is plain old Crayola watercolor.  Yes, the dry ovals of pigment that you can buy in the school supplies section of any grocery store.  I know, right?  They've become a staple for my paintings of late, as the chunkiness works really well for my wet/dry sandwich paintings, but I digress.

     At first I had reservations at the thought of changing the simple thick, dark lines of the original brush work but I just couldn't resist the urge to fill in those eyes with red and pull some of the black around them into the center to create the effect you see now.  I really love manipulating the swirls in wet paint!  All in all, I think I developed this guy into something more than he was before.

brain loss

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     Here's the second fuzzy fella I am retaining exclusive custody of.  He's already made an appearance on one of my OPG banners but here he is in his full, fly aparty, gory glory.  Don't know what or who is kicking his ass but they seem to be doing a damned good job.

branching out

     Here's an example of what my brush work has been evolving into lately.  I'm really diggin' on this tree branchy look and I find myself leaving more and more lines open and unconnected.  In fact, I just completed a couple of more simliar works just the other night that I'll be posting later in the month.  Stay tuned.

taz face

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     This guy's face ended up reminding me of the Looney Tunes Tazmanian Devil, although it took me a few minutes to finally zero in on it.  This guy is also the tenth and final Fuzzy Skeletonian up for adoption in the giveaway!  Wooo!  (sign-up sheet here)

squinty eye

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     This guy's givin' you the squinty stink eye 'cause he wants to eat your fucking liver and swallow your blood, all the while keeping you alive with his cheek apendage until you're drained.  Dead blood is no good to him.  (sign-up sheet here)

blot faces 3 of 3, book of the dead

     Okay, folks.  Here's the final blot faces from the initial run of the first three I ever completed.  As you may recall, I had a little trouble getting the right amount of paint transfer time correct with the first two.  It was either too little or too much, resulting in only one of the sides turning out decently.  I guess what they say about the third time being the charm has more than a little truth to it.  Check out the dry side:
     Not too bad, eh?  At first, I thought I had simply repeated what I had accomplished with this one but then I looked at the wet side:
     Dang!  Now doesn't that remind you A LOT of ye olde Necronomicon!?  I know that's the first thing that jumped to mind when I saw it.  A quick Google search revealed that mine looks a tad happier than most but you have to admit the resemblance is undeniable.  The blood vessel effect from the sandwiching worked particularly well with this color to achieve that nasty human skin/leather texture.  In short, I am just tickled to death about this one : D

     Okay, okay.  I'll stop gushing over my own artwork and let you enjoy it for yourself.  If you'd like to see all of my blot faces together just follow the "wet/dry sandwich" tag below.  Thanks for stopping by.

running away

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     I got all fancy with this one and decided to use a landscape orientation.  Not sure if I made it landscape to accomodate him running away or whether I drew him running away because the orientation lent itself to it.  Whatever the case, it makes you wonder what (or who) he's running away from.  (sign-up sheet here)

blot faces 2 of 3

     Here's the second installment of my blot faces.  Obviously, I allowed too much time for the paint transfer on this one but there's still some interest here I think.  Kind of a smeary, swampy, blurry, nightmarish quality to the whole thing.  The face is fairly recognizable but still pretty obliterated, especially on the wet/bottom side.

     Stay tuned, I'll have the third and final blot face here in a day or two.

blood fist

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     This is one of three fuzzy skellies I originally completed for the giveaway that I simply couldn't bear to part with.  This guy really came together as a fairly focused composition.  Plus there's just something so compelling about a bloody fist.

     I'll get back to my Blot Faces series with my next post.  Things have been a little crazy today so I opted for something short and simple.

red handed

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.

     Got another hunchback for ya.  Do these guys have great jaws or what?  I absolutely love anybody with a robust skull or jaw bone.  I'm always like, "I want their skull when they die!"  I'm sure Bruce Campbell and Robert Zdar would love to know that about me.  (sign-up sheet here)

blot faces 1 of 3

     This was among the first three wet/dry sandwich paintings I did.  I call them my "blot faces" because that what I did after I laid the dry side on top of the wet.  I took a crumpled paper towel and blotted the back side, applying pressure here and there and everywhere to transfer the paint.  I used the least amount of pressure and blotting on this one and, while the face didn't transfer very clearly onto the wet side, I really love how the dry side turned out.  That mud spattered, bloody look really sells it for me!

     Well, I hope my OPG efforts have been worth your time so far.  As always, thanks for taking an interest.

but he's got a GREAT personality!

     This was completed during the same session as this guy and, while this one isn't as pretty to look at, I think he makes up for it with a whole lotta character and pointy pointy teeth!

propped up

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     This was one of the first giveaway skellies, completed shortly after (if not immediately after) blood drool.  This guy seems more contemplative, leaning back with his head propped up, perhaps thinking about why he has only hair for teeth.  (sign-up sheet here)

blood puke

     Here I go with the puking again.  Not sure what it represents, aside from the fact that society and human behavior DOES make me pretty damned nauseous most of the time.  Or maybe this is what happens after you've nommed on this guy's juicy little brain for a while.

     I did have a little technical trouble getting the two halves of this to go together properly.  That obvious line about mid-eyeball is pretty noticeable but I think works as sort of a line of sight thing.  Like, "Oh Jesus Christ!  That guy just fell off the building and splattered on the pavement!  I think I'm gonna....  HUUUAAARRRRGGG!!!"

one-eyed hunchy

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     Another familiar face from earlier this year but here he is in detail, not constantly building himself up and tearing himself down.  If he ends up among the adopted I'll do a couple of small touch-ups on him before sending him off to his new home.  (sign-up sheet here)

wild skull hair and a developing painter

     I'm getting more comfortable with painting.  More than that, I'm starting to develop a taste for it.  This was completed back in August and I feel it really shows my increasing level of comfort with the medium.  I have this continually changing, dark slurry of colors in the center of my paint tray.  When I started on this guy's hair, I just squirted a little yellow and a little blue into the slurry and just started painting, mixing the colors as I went.  The brush looked great, all swirled with yellow, blue and the almost blackness of the slurry base.  I just let the colors mix themselves on the watercolor paper with each brush stroke.  Fun fun stuff.

     Heh, I just finished scanning the last of my works for the OPG and it seems that I went JUST A LITTLE heavy on skeletons and skulls this year : P  And speaking of skeletons or (more specifically) skeletonians, be sure to get yourself signed up for the giveaway if you'd like a very good chance of getting some original artwork from yours truly.  They're a bunch of fun packed into a small package but don't take my word for it.

bloody oedipus

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     Man, look at that ooey-gooey, Gummi bear brain!  You could just pop it in your mouth and om nom nom.  What do you imagine the flavor to be, cherry, strawberry or just thick and musky bloody blood?  (sign-up sheet here)

OPG participants, wave 1

     Well, it's not exactly a WAVE, per se, but I do have my very first participant in this year's Octoberween-Palooza-Ganza:

==>  Mr. Gable shares his perspective on what looks to be a pretty decent slasher film starring the ever-interesting Steve Railsback.  This was merely Day 4 of the all month Countdown to Insanity over at The Reality.  Head on over and watch with anticipation as he drives himself closer and closer to the breaking point!

     Well, that's it for now.  Stay tuned, as I hope for more participants later in the month.

wild hand

     Check it out, peeps!  It's my most recent entry into the Sharpie craze.  I drew this guy quickly and fiercely, as I may have been under the influence of a frappuccino.  Not sure whether the title refers to my hand or his.

hey man nice shot

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     I'm proud of the teeth on this guy.  And the chin.  Maybe this is Bruce Campbell in an alternate reality where some necromancer has cast one too many drain life level spells on him.  Whatever the case, here's the latest giveaway item. (sign-up sheet here)

sandwich painting and bloody skulls

     I can't tell you how much fun I've had with this technique!  It all begins with something like this, where I lay down some thick wet lines and let it dry completely.  Next, I slather on a buncho paint on another blank sheet of watercolor paper.  Then, BLAMO, I put the dry on top of the wet and apply pressure.  With these two, I applied A LOT of pressure, squeezing as much of the excess paint out from between them as I could.  I made a big mess but it was TOTALLY worth it!  Not to mention pretty damn exciting as well : D

     You know, in a lot of ways I like being a mostly untrained artist.  I mean, discovering things like this on my own makes it all the more special to me.  Enjoy!

hairy blood drip

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     Thought I'd step up the pace of this lazy start of the month with TWO artworks in one day!  I know, I'm a rebel.  This is one of two companion pieces I completed to go with breakthrough from earlier this year.  I didn't end up sticking with this method, as I think it was more of an experimental learning thing that aided me in getting more comfortable with painting.

     As for content, I tried to get all nasty and disgusting with bits of hair in the dripping blood.  'Course, that's all part of what nose bleed is about, now init?

armpit cock

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     Next up in the giveaway is, well... this guy.  Not sure where this one came from but I'm guessing you can't get much more original than this.  I mean, who has a huge cock coming out of their armpit?  Nobody, that's who! (sign-up sheet here)

lamp skellie

     Here's a familiar face you may recall from last year.  He's my continual companion/specter/muse at my art table.  For a good part of the year he decided to perch himself atop my trusty banker's lamp to supervise my work.  He looked so good I decided to take a picture.  After futzing around with the image a bit this is what I ended up with.

blood drool

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Actual size 5.5" x 7.5" on 90lb. watercolor paper and more detailed than what the scan shows.  Click for larger image.
     Here's the very first Fuzzy Skeletonian up for giveaway.  You know him, you love him, he's Blood Drool Skellie!  Come on and give Daddy a big hug!! (sign-up sheet here)

Fuzzy Skeletonian Giveaway Sign-up Sheet

     Okay, first things first.  Slight change in the giveaway rules.  I decided I was being a tad presumptuous by having all OPG participants being AUTOMATICALLY entering into the Fuzzy Skeletonian giveaway.  After all, there are some who may not appreciate the content and style of my furry little fellas.

     Therefore, this post will serve as the official OPG Fuzzy Skeletonian Insane Mega-Giveaway sign-up sheet.  If you'd like to be entered into the giveaway please leave a comment here.  And once you've blogged about Halloween and/or Horror and submitted the link to your post to me before the end of October your entry into the giveaway will be official.  To sum up, the two things you need to do are:

     1.  Leave a comment here.
     2.  Blog about Halloween and/or Horror and submit the link to your post to me before the end of the month.

     Alrighty, let's get this show on the road!