Wednesday, October 30, 2013

:eve:

The night before Halloween ( Isn't that Devil's night? Well, if the Red Sox win or lose tonight, that's what we'll get in Boston probably. ), which is still my favorite holiday, even if I don't get too dressed up for it like I used to. I still dream of creating some elaborate costume, but then I think of what it'd be like wearing it the whole night. I had a monkey mask as part of a costume on Monday night, and that was difficult enough as it is, what with no peripheral vision, and difficulty in getting a straw in so I could drink, heh. It was fun getting away with certain things while people didn't know who I was, though. Sometimes a blank stare alone was a prize.

Nothing new to show this week, as I gear up for a new month and hopefully new projects. I attempted to take more photos of the new Homunculus doll, who is officially named Ximena now, but thus far the original photographs were better. So I don't mind showing you her again.


Actually I was supposed to go on a photoshoot this past Sunday, but the model became ill, so hopefully this Sunday then, if it's not too cold, since it's an outdoor shoot. If so, then we'll have to pray for an early Spring. Sigh. I so hate the cold, more so with each passing year. Though I am not unwilling to try a shoot in the snow at some point.

A few more days of the Halloween pic free downloads on deviantArt, then I'll tally up how many were downloaded and see which one was the most popular, though I already have a hunch. Maybe it'll point me in a creative direction, although I still would rather follow my own than whatever's "trendy." I do get surprised by what people choose as favorites, they are rarely the same as mine. Interesting to see that point of view.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

:dollhouse:

I believe that the latest Homunculus doll is finished, I will take better pictures of her in the daylight hours. All that remains now is a name, I'm torn between Estrella and Ximena, what do you think? This definitely was a case of less is more with me this time, the dress that came with her was too nice for me to going messing with and too many skulls would've been...too many. I have plenty left over for future projects now. I also found a lot of lobster parts by the sea this past weekend.

 

Yes, a part of Halloween is still free free free!!

I thought I was done with the photos from my last photoshoot for a bit, but the model asked recently, "What about the ones with the skull?" So...one more for now. I posted it on Facebook today and it's gotten more likes than anything else I've put up so far! And I don't even think it's the best shot in the series. Shows you what I know.


There's the slight pause between projects now, which as I've stated before I have plenty of on the back burner and not enough time for them all. I've had an idea about an Edward Gorey-inspired piece, and I actually managed to track down the owners of his estate and artwork to ask them permission, at first the answer was no, but I explained my idea further and they seem open to a smaller version of what I had in mind. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

:dolorosa:

More progress on the latest Homunculus doll. I do believe that I am done working on her face, so now for the rest of her. I will probably leave the dress that came with her pretty much intact, it's too nice to cut up or burn, truly. So it's time to figure out what accoutrements she will have. I went through all the bones and such that I have, found quite a bit that I forgot I had, including a complete dead baby bird skeleton. I had watched it slowly decay over the summer of 2012 on the ground where I ate lunch outside while at work and finally took it home. I'm not adding that to her, just thought I'd mention it. Can you see why I'm still single?

I still need to think of a name for her. The skull necklace is giving her a bit of a Kali-esque look, which was not the original intention. I've said it before, after awhile they sometimes seem to create themselves.

Yes, the free Halloween picture downloads are still available.

I recently read an article in Time magazine ( the Sept. 23rd issue to be exact ) which was about creativity assisting in longevity. Most of it seemed to be about people doing this after retiring, which doesn't help me now, and there were some statements of the obvious ( "Multiple studies over the decades have shown that happiness contributes to longer life." In other news, water is wet. ), but it was encouraging to read something like this after my previous reading about other artists who had died in their 40s.



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

:masque:

Today is the last day for voting in the RAW artists semi-finals, so one last time I bug thee:



I've been working on a new Homunculus ( I used to just call them Spooky ) doll, hopefully to be done before Halloween, as it progresses you'll see why. For now I've just been working on painting the face, using the crackle finish I love so much, even though the results are unpredictable:

 

After it was dry enough, I went back in and touched it up some more:


I've been starting to gather other materials to be used later on in its creation. Who knows how much of this will be part of it, too soon to tell:


The free Halloween pics are still available for download at deviantArt. I'll remove the free download feature next month, and tally up how many there were. So far this is the front-runner, can't say I'm surprised:


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

:vote:

Too much non-art stuff in the past week, so not much progress with the new homunculus doll, at least not enough to show here. But! In related news, one of the other dolls, Ostia, will be on display ( and for sale, if you're so inclined ) at Witch Dr. in Salem, MA for the month of October. I confess that I really didn't know what sort of place it was before I dropped off the doll - turns out it's a store that sells smoker paraphernelia, you know, for tobacco use only. But they have a lot of space for artwork, and they create much of their glass products in-store, you can watch through a window in back as they make some of them.


And yes, this being October, this is your weekly reminder of the Halloween is My Xmas illustrations available free for download on deviantArt, or, if you want to support the arts, in particular MY arts, on sale at Etsy.



You may recall that this past March I participated in one of the monthly RAW art showcases that they have here and in many other cities. Right now they're having open voting for the best artists of the year, who will go onto the semi-finals in NYC. I know full well that this is more about the number of votes received than actual talent, but that doesn't mean I won't give it a go! So if you would be so kind, please vote through the link below, and you can do so once a day until next Wednesday, Oct. 9th. Surprise me!