Halloween Offerings, Number Seven

Today's piece was never intended for this series; strictly speaking, it isn't even about Halloween.

It's one of those "happy accidents" that I love so much about art.

I was working from a photo I took of a dead tree in my mother's yard. I wasn't thinking about it much...I truly enjoy the spontaneous creativity that can emerge when I "just go with the flow", so to speak.

I wasn't even in a particularly "Halloween-y" mood.

But as I worked, I began to think "Are there...faces in there, among the branches? Some laughing, some crying for release?"

Yes.

Yes, I believe there are...

The Soul Tree

Thanks again for joining me today, and I'll see you on Saturday!

And remember, leave me a comment--love it, hate it, give it a "meh"--and you'll get your name into a drawing for the print of your choice.

Thanks,
Brad

Halloween Offerings, Number Six...

Hello, and welcome back to Second Star to the Right!  Thank you for joining me for number six in my Halloween Offerings, which I present without further ado:

This is one of those instances where I sat down with no idea of where I wanted to go with the materials in front of me, and just let the picture take form as my hand was moving across it.

Admittedly not my best, but I still think it turned out well, and it was really fun just letting go with the creative process.

Thanks again, and I hope you'll join me for Number Seven on Thursday!

Brad

Halloween Offerings, Number Five...

Thanks for joining me for number five in my Halloween Offerings! I appreciate everyone who's commented so far, and for those who haven't, I still appreciate you taking a look!

The 1931 James Whale Frankenstein stands as my favorite monster movie of all time. I discovered this film in my childhood through late-night monster-fests like Memories of Monsters, and I fell in love with it on first viewing. While not what we'd consider "scary" (not by today's standard, at any rate) Whale's moody and atmospheric direction, along with Jack Pierce's incredible make-up and prosthetic designs, and especially Boris Karloff's nothing-short-of-brilliant performance set the standard and made this movie unforgettable, while making Karloff's face an iconic image.

I soon sought out the book, and despite the differences, it has become my all-time favorite novel. I re-read it periodically, and it remains as crisp and thrilling (and full of gothic melodrama) as it was when I first read it in my childhood.

That being said, it's Karloff's Frankenstein Monster that visits us here:

I had originally planned on including something dramatic, such as bolts of lightning, in the space to the left, but this picture told me when it was finished, and I'm glad I listened.

Also, I'd never tried working with oil pastels before this pic, but after playing around with them, I can't imagine why. I'm hooked.

Thanks again for joining me today, and I hope you'll check back on Tuesday!

Brad

Halloween Offerings, Number Four

Welcome back!  I'm glad you could join me again today for this, the fourth entry into my Halloween Offerings blog series.

Without further ado, please allow me to present Pumpkin Face:

I couldn't think of what else to call it...

I hope you've enjoyed the four pieces I've offered so far, and that you'll join me on Sunday for number five, and maybe bring a friend or two with you...

Thanks,
Brad

Halloween Offerings, Number Three...

Thanks for joining me again today!

One of my favorite movies--not just Halloween movies, but one of my favorite movies, period--is The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Not only am I a huge Tim Burton fan, but this movie in particular entranced me with its stunning design, dark strangeness, and a sense of magic that reminds me of those wonderful, pleasantly disturbing stop-motion Christmas specials from my childhood.

That being said, this is the first time I've even attempted to draw Jack Skellington, but I think it turned out pretty well:

 

He IS the Pumpkin King...

I hope you enjoy it; please let me know what you think, and I'll see you on Friday!

Thanks,

Brad

Halloween Offerings, Number Two...

I apologize for the lateness of the post, but this Monday has been one of the longest weeks I've ever had. And since the internet is open 24 hours, I'm still on time.

One of the things I love about drawing is how something can turn out completely different than what you plan in your head; I love the organic flow as a picture tells you what it wants to be. When I put my pencil down to paper, sometimes I get exactly what I visualize, other times, it's a surprise even to me.

That's what happened here; this started out as a scarecrow, but ended up as everyone's favorite king of the vampires (the non-sparkly kind, thank you very much--that's for you, Nik ;)), Dracula:

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did drawing it. That's what it comes down to, ultimately--I love creating, and I love sharing those creations.

It's getting late, and I've been sitting at my mother's computer for over an hour now (I told you this thing is slow), so I'll sign off and hopefully see you on Wednesday!

Thanks,

Brad

Halloween Offerings: Day 1...

Welcome to my Halloween Offerings blog-a-thon!

This is my favorite season, with Halloween being one of my favorite nights of the year, and my imagination spends quite a bit of time there, so every other day for the next month, I'll be sharing my imaginings with you (I'll post more often if I can, but with my computer issues right now, every second day seems like a pretty safe bet).

For Day 1, I'd like to share with you a piece I call "Wake-up Call":

Four different friends mentioned the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence in Disney's Fantasia when I showed this to them, which is exactly what was in my mind while I was painting it, so I count this one as a success.

I'm pleased with how this one turned out, and I hope you'll enjoy it as well.

To make things more interesting and fun, I've decided to run a contest this month as well: anyone who posts a comment here at Second Star during October will be entered into a random drawing to win the print of their choice from my Halloween Offerings. Multiple comments do not increase your chances; just comment once, and you're in--of course, if you want to comment every day, please do; I thrive on the feedback.

Barring technological issues (if my mother's computer goes down, I'm sunk), I'll see you on Monday.

Thanks for joining me!

Brad