:Art-tober:

As hinted elsewhere, October is shaping up to be a good month for me even before it starts, art-wise:

- artwork in the show "Trick or Treat" at Fool's Mansion in Salem, MA, Oct. 2 - 31, opening this Saturday night.

- spooky doll "Ostia" will be on display in the Inside Out Gallery, which is what they're calling that front window of CVS in Davis Square, Somerville, MA, Oct. 1 - 31.

- I will be showing and selling artwork at "Jaded" in Lowell, MA on Oct. 9th. Come see me at Ceremony this Monday night (when I'm not in the DJ booth, naturally), I have passes for $2 off admission.

- I also have two photos in an exhibit of employee art where I work, but I doubt any of you can see that unless you suddenly start working there.

:the process:

I recently completed new artwork for a Halloween show at Fool's Mansion, and kept track of the process (click on pictures for larger views).

I started by drawing in my sketchbooks, for some reason this woman with bloody hands and mouth came to mind. Don't ask me to explain why, I'm just glad that ANY images come out some days. I had originally planned to do it digitally, but the fastly-approaching deadline and lack of confidence with a digital tablet made me decide to do it in pencils, which I have not done in years, so it'd be interesitng to see if I still could.

 

First the basic outline in pencil, then shading in the flesh and hair. I use pencils the way I imagine I would use paint if I was any good with it, in layers, with H pencils first then getting darker with B pencils.

Then the clothes and starting in on the blood. I used some reference to make sure the blood looked "right," but I soon got a feel for it without depending on other pics for too long.

Then the bloody hands and clothes, and overall darkening, though I don't think you can see the subtle changes in these shots.

And the final result. At least I'm considering it such for now, I'm not sure of a background or even if it needs one. I'll decide after it comes home from the show after Halloween. I'm not sure of her story yet either, other than she's done something awful but can't quite recall what, which I hope I got across with her expression. Earlier ideas were less subtle, with spectres all around her or a victim beneath her. I'd like people to think up some ideas of their own, perhaps.

:now showing:

Just a quick note on two upcoming "events:"

I'll be taking part in this year's Windows Arts Malden, and will also be displaying and selling artwork at "Jaded" on October 9th.

Part of me is dismayed that neither of these will feature new artwork (although I still have time before the October one), but part of me is just trying to get my artwork SEEN; while none of it is new to me, there are plenty of people who have never seen it, so you never know...