52 Fridays - Dark Mask

 

UPDATE- This a "Pende Mask" from the Congo region of Africa. Thanks to "gaetan_antic" from Instagram for the added information.

I know nothing about the origin of this mask other then it is from Africa. Unfortunately, "gaetan_antic" on IG didn't provide any background info, but I have a query into them, so will update this if they provide some details. It's important to credit the artist always. 

Halloween is done, so I'll return to tribal masks for the last seven drawings of the year. I choose this one because I like the shape of the eyes and mouth. There's also some interesting textures and reflections that are interesting. When I started the drawing, I was a bit timid and everything quickly became muddy, but then I stepped into the dark areas and pushed the contrast and it came alive. I find that if I get too precious with whatever art I am making, it has no life, but if I am willing to take a risk, even risk destroying the piece by going deeper into the dark areas, the unknown, then it lives. The lesson, let go of the illusion of control and just let the unknown flow.

Happy Friday!

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52 Fridays - The Devil You Know

 

Happy Halloween! For this week's drawing, I pulled from the archive this demonic selfie from a Halloween some twenty years ago, so this is also a self-portrait. My passion for art and sculpture was born from a love of monster movies. I grew up dreaming that I'd be the next Rick Baker or Ray Harryhausen or Dick Smith, so I learned to draw and sculpt and do make-up. I'll always be a "monster kid".

The Devil You Know... and what devils are loose in the land? It seems like these days, all the demons are running wild. Good opportunity to push back with some love and light and maybe a little of your own dark power.

Wishing you some scary good fun this weekend!

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Yes, I am wearing Chewbacca slippers

52 Fridays - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

 

This week's Halloween edition of the 52 Fridays drawing project is from the 1920 German Expressionist masterpiece "The Cabinet of Caligari". This wide-eyed zombie slave was the face that launched a thousand Goth garage bands. I'm thinking particularly of Peter Murphy and the British band Bauhaus. German Expressionism has certainly influenced my art, because it, like primitive art, touches on darkness and raw primordial power. My drawing emphasizes the eyes and feels more fearful than the source image. He looks more like a child. I used half an ink pen trying to get those deep blacks, which ironically enough, are shiny and always reflect light, so it's difficult to get a good photo of it. I'd like to try this one again using pencil or maybe even paint it.

Have a scary weekend!

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52 Fridays - Invasion of the Saucer-Men

 

Happy Friday! This week's drawing is from the 1957 sci-fi/horror classic "Invasion of the Saucer-Men" and features the archetypical alien 1950s alien design of a little "green" (it's a b&w movie, so we'll just have to take the character's word for it) man with a massive, exposed brain and big bug-eyes to match. These particular creatures also have eyeballs on their hands and needles that come out of their fingertips that inject alcohol! I rewatched it other night, the full movie is easy to find online, and really enjoyed this campy tale of teenagers fighting against the threat from outer space.

I'm not thrilled with my drawing, was in a bit of a hurry this week. The rightsize eye is just wrong and I could have taken more care with the detail, but it still gets the flavor of that creepy visitor.

Happy Halloween!

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52 Fridays - I Was A Teenage Frankenstein

 

Happy Horror Friday! Here's my second Halloween-themed drawing for October, this one from that 1957 B-movie classic, well maybe it's not quite a "classic", but a damn memorable title and creature, "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein"! I have never seen this movie, but have always loved the crazy creature design ever since I first saw it in the pages of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine all those years ago. Growing up as a geeky, outsider kid with really bad acne, I related to monsters, felt like this guy some bad days in junior high. (sidebar - sometimes when I'm a bit down I remind myself, "At least I'm not in Junior High School anymore!" and that always lifts my spirits!) Besides the extreme, twisted damage to his face, I also like his crazy, shock hairdo. 

Stay weird!

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52 Fridays - IT! Terror From Beyond Space

 

Happy Friday! First day of October, which means the kick-off for the Halloween season. I grew up in the 70s and 80s (actually, I haven't really grown up fully, still working on it) happily neck deep in a classic era of horror and sci-fi movies, so Halloween is a special time of the year for me. With that in mind, I will be drawing from those old, beautiful creature features for my drawing references this month. First up is the lovable, pig-like lizard alien from the 1958 pulpy standard, "IT! The Terror From Beyond Space". This man-in-a-suit-on-a-rampage potboiler was one of the acknowledged inspirations for the first "Alien" (1979 - Ridley Scott).   There's something dark and primal in this rough, low budget rubber monster that connects my brain to the tribal mask art that I normally draw from and also gave me a flavor of a Francis Bacon painting. That connective thread between so-called "high-art" and "low-art" is tight and I get a similar experience from both, but then isn't all art but a mirror? You can't help but to filter what you experience through yourself. Besides, it's just fun to draw monsters.

Happy Halloween!

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