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Airships and Tentacles – my new 140-Page Art Book

Over the past months I have been tapping away at keys, collecting scans of artworks old and new and even a lot of forgotten works, in order to make a very intensive book of my works to date.

At first, it was only going to be the Airships and Tentacles series, but I began to use “lost” artworks for section endings, and decided I should include old paintings from before the series, as well as all of those pieces I have worked on during the series as album covers, book covers, commissions, illustrations, or things I did during the series just to clear my head and work on something different. It even includes a few samplings from my-yet-to-be-published literary works, and some pieces I’ve done relating to the works of others (Voltaire, Clive Barker, Dexter Palmer, Bethalynne Bajema, and others), and collections of doodles and sketches to decorate text pages (such as the Table of Contents, Words from the Artist and other sections)

The book has a cover specially designed by Bethalynne Bajema from my existing artwork, and I *love* what she did with it. Click the image or link below to view as a PDF online, or right click (recommended) to download and view in 2-page side by side book format.

This book is available NOW as a preorder, shipping August 5th. Click here to buy.

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Doodles – Available Again December 25th and 26th

This is usually a Black Friday offer from me, but the Holiday shopping season was short, and online shopping was even shorter – as a result, I chose to stay out of it.

These are, however, available now and tomorrow.

How does it work? Your purchase is for a pen and ink of any creature you want, done in my style, in archival pigment inks, on acid-free heavyweight fine-art paper. Anything from robots to dragonflies… and yes, I now robots aren’t creatures – so I suppose that entire rule is right out.

I guess I’ll do airships and submarines and other things too – the only thing I won’t do is “characters”… not because I look down on such things: simply because such typically involves too much direction and not enough art.

If there is something you would like a drawing of from me – my prices are *way* reduced because I could really use the money – from $75 a drawing down to $45.

December 27th, this offer disappears. Not just the price, but the offer for my time altogether, as I’ll be very busy doing other work once the new year starts.

If you are interested: Follow this link: https://mykeamend.com/products-page/all-products/cyber-monday-pen-and-inks/

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Buttoneyes Birthday

> Buy prints here <

This piece, was inspired hugely by news of the upcoming Cabal Cut release of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed and news of a possible anniversary book; It was further inspired by Bethalynne Bajema’s profound love for all of Clive Barker’s works.

The painting was originally to be a part of “Featured Creatures”, a movie monsters art show at the Ice Cream Gallery, but at 24×36 inches, in acrylic, and with little time to work on it – I knew I could not give this piece the love and attention I wanted to, and ended up submitting a smaller and more free-formed painting of Henrietta from “Evil Dead”.

Over the past months, this is mostly what I have been working on when I sit down to paint, and I have very much been looking forward to finally being able to show it…

Anyway: you can tell I am excited that the movie is coming up on its 25th birthday, and the 25th birthday of the book is upon us now – as well as announcements from Clive Barker and others about this release being a real thing, to add to all of the excitement of last year’s announcement about a possible made for cable Nightbreed Series.

Anyway.. here are some closeup images of the piece:

> Buy prints here <

> Buy prints here <

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Comic Book, New Paintings

I did some live painting down at Ice Cream Gallery, and I did 4 new paintings in 2 days at Cinema Wasteland with a painting in my lap, a pallet balanced on my knee, and paint cup between my feet. Below are 3 of them.

I returned home inspired to reboot my old comic book, since I found that there was a good amount of enthusiasm for it at the horror convention, and because Bethalynne has always been trying to encourage me to get back on it.

I had abandoned the project a long time ago, not because I did not love doing it, but because it seemed the web didn’t like it much. It took no longer caring, for me to go and work on the site, and when I did I found that my “buy now” button had been broken since its very first launch… which makes it very hard to judge the enthusiasm of others on sales.

So, I updated very little… moved some boxes and bubbles around for better flow and easier reading… got rid of all the ads and extra credits inside the covers… prettied up the front cover just a touch, and everything else is pretty much the same. Crazy how ahead of its time it must have been that now it feels almost current.

Anyway, if you would like to read the comic, you can do so here: http://someghoulswanderbymistake.com/horrorcomic/

I have also added the new paintings to my store (page 9 has most of them, you can scroll back to see the others if you are interested).

Those links are here:

https://mykeamend.com/tagged/voodoo/

https://mykeamend.com/tagged/kitteh/

https://mykeamend.com/tagged/skerl/

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Freaky Tiki Lowbrow Luau

I’ll be at this one, with Bethalynne Bajema, and Anthony Carpenter, and with art from James B Hunt and Chad Savage, as well as a large assortment of the best lowbrow and pop surrealist artists in Grand Rapids.

The event page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/529928347047019 , but you can read the full description below. I still recommend adding yourself to the facebook event page to be in the know for new updates and additions.

Also, the pen and ink I did this flier from (and that I will be doing one of my paintings from, is available in my store, HERE.

Join us Saturday Night, February 16th – At Ice Cream Gallery and Toys In Grand Rapids, Michigan for Valentine’s Day Weekend Tiki Party, hosting a broad sampling of American Pop Surrealists, Pop Artists, and Lowbrow artists.

From sculptors to engravers to illustrators to painters and more – drawing from many styles and many genres… dark and brooding to light and whimsical – making for a very unique and interesting Tiki-Themed show at one of Grand Rapid’s newest and most interesting art venues.

Refreshments, snacks, dancing, live music, and art will be served – visit our facebook page for updates and more info.

https://www.facebook.com/IceCreamGalleryAndToys

Artists:

James B Hunt (Visionary Lowbrow): http://nxoeed.tumblr.com/
Chad Savage (Dark Artist Extraordinaire): http://chadsavage.com/
Kirbi Fagan (Fine-art Illustrator): http://kirbiillustrations.com/
Myke Amend (Dreamscapes in Paint and Engraving): http://mykeamend.com/
Bethalynne Bajema (Spooky and Ethereal Cheesecake): http://www.bajema.com/
Anthony Carpenter (Retro Chic and Pulp Genius): http://carpenterart.tripod.com/
Roger Scholz (Wicked Illustration): http://www.facebook.com/illustrator.scholz
Liz Amend (Fantastic and Otherworldly Sculpture): http://www.lizamend.com/
Alexandra Johnson (Sugar-Sweet Oils and Watercolors): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Johnson-Art/309152012432262
Kate Jauw (Magickal and Spiritual Art): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Henriott/123488321123494
Kit Kat Von Bitch (extreme pin-striping, lowbrow, and signage): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kit-Kat-LOW-BROW-ART/115597481823253
Daniel Sarhad (Lowbrow Mad Scientist): http://www.facebook.com/MadScienceArtsGR

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Evolution

In the, wow, nearly 20 years of this site, 10 years at this domain, a lot has changed, and will continue to change.

I’ve been in the middle of another major site overhaul for starters, so you might see some things shift here or there even as you browse.

The store will continue to work as usual, and will continue to carry many, many art prints, art originals, and other things – but I am working hard to get the gallery filled with the 100-some images I have available, in order to make it much easier to see what types and sizes of prints are available for each artwork all in one place… because I realize it can be rather overwhelming to sift through 400 items and feel you are miking the best choice.

I’ve removed eyesores like the facebook feed and the twitter feed, because they took up a lot of space – and it was silly to have them, since you are already here, and most posts over there are about things that are available here.

I’ve also removed them because, well, I am going to use them both a lot less often. Twitter really just seems like a lot of people talking into the wind to imaginary friends, Tumblr and Pinterest seem to be the sport of sharing as many images as possible as quickly as possible, Livejournal is filled with Russian spambots where people once were, and Facebook, since they started promoted posts – well, for 800-some people I see a little “10 people saw this post” at the bottom “insights”, and it all seems pretty pointless.

… as does the internet in general, if all it is to be is a billion people slaving away at sharing things quickly, forgetting moments later for the next sharable thing… not visiting sites, or reading articles, just “liking” them and sharing.

… it isn’t exciting anymore; It isn’t even pleasurable or relaxing anymore – just mind-numbing addictive boredom and a day filled with forgettable moments… click – share – click – share – comment – click – share…

Though I spent a lot of time building up readership on facebook – as have many others with their pages: the best solution seems to be if everyone were to go and start that again elsewhere. I’ll only be there, in the sense that my posts from here will feed into my “fan page”… at least until they make that a paid service too.

On the up-side, this has forced me to get back to what I shouldn’t have stopped doing: updating right here – like I did years ago, finding a few things that well-worth blogging about and putting some effort into sharing as articles and reviews worth typing about, rather than all sorts of things “sort-of ” worth sharing at the click of a button.

I don’t have a mailing list in place yet, one of a hundred things on the slate for these next few days… but if you have a decent browser – there is an rss button at the top.

Please check back often; Aside from posting new artworks and books and such things here, and special offers, I plan to return to posting about music, the art of others, event reviews, and whatever else fits well in this space.

If you came here looking for special offers, well, there are many new prints being added in the process of building the gallery, and many products being marked down until the end of December.

If you would like to see those specials, you can now find many of the newest deals through the gallery.

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Exhibitions

These are just a handful of upcoming and past appearances.

I do have many more appearances in mind this coming year, to be announced – and my mind is so fuzzy on the older ones, so I’ll add them as they come to me.

I’ll also update a lot of this with proper links gradually over the coming weeks.

Current/Upcoming:

“The Low Life” at Ice Cream Gallery and Toys in Grand Rapids, MI. Ongoing.

Steampunk Symposium at the Crowne Plaza Cincinnati North in Cincinnati, OH. April 26th through 28th, 2013.

Past Appearances:

Urban Lights Holiday Market at Ice Cream Gallery and Toys in Grand Rapids, MI. December 8th 2012 from 12PM to 9PM.

2012 World Steam Expo in Dearborne MI (Vending)

2012 Steampunk Symposium in Cincinnati, Ohio (Guest, Exhibitor, Vendor, and Panelist)

“Steampunk Soiree” at the Revolving Museum in Lowell, MA Feb 7th through March 3rd 2012

Mobilus in Mobili at Wooster Social Club in Soho NY (Exhibitor : filming of steampunk NY Ink Episode)

Artprize 2011 – (Guest and Exhibitor) at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids MI.

Maker Faire 2011 Detroit (Guest and Exhibitor)

2011 World Steam Expo (Guest, Exhibitor, Panelist)

Steampunk Form and Function at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, MA (Exhibitor)

Artprize 2010 (Exhibitor)

Lift Off! at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra CA, January 9, 2010 – February 1, 2010 (Exhibitor)

Horrorfind Weekend 2006 (Exhibitor)

Pittsburgh Comicon 2006 (Vendor/Artist)

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Spirit Boards By Bethalynne Bajema and Myke Amend

Temptation Spirit Board

Bethalynne is still in the hospital – misscarriage/ectopic pregnancy… and we’re hoping she won’t need surgery; Two days of hospital so far, and the drugs don’t yet seem to be doing their trick, but we’re hopeful.

Of course this happened on the day before we were to launch these, so I do not have access to her photographic skills for these boards. Also, we are trying to sell some of these, or some of anything in order to cover prescription and aftercare costs once she is released – as well as to keep me in gas and road food for hospital visits.

Anyway, about the boards:

These boards are designed by Bethalynne Bajema, with woodwork by Myke Amend (me).

The boards measure 15×18?, are made of thick 3/4 inch oak, stained a deep red cherry, and are coated in varnish and then waxed for an easy gliding of the planchette.

Edges are ornately routed for an added decorative touch, and some of these have gold leafed edges as well.

There are only 6 available in each edition – each are sealed to the buyer’s specifications, and can be decorated with added touches. Each are also hand-signed, numbered, and dated on the back by both artists.

Each planchette (optional) is uniquely made by Myke Amend, cut from oak, and stained deep red cherry, accented with hand-shaped brass, and gold leaf – no two planchettes are alike. I am letting the saw guide me for each one, and I also have to pick and shape pieces of brass from my found brass box – so each planchette will be designed to fit the buyer and/or the board (if a board is purchased with the planchettes… planchettes can be bought on their own).

All of these are available here: https://mykeamend.com/products-page/?ptag=planchette

I realize that not everyone has money for boards of these quality on short notice – so of course these are not the only things I am raising funds with. Anything bought from my store will help us out.

Dead Teddy Bear Picnic limited edition Spirit Board
Dead Teddy Bear Picnic limited edition Spirit Board
Grandville Spirit Board
Grandville Spirit Board
Temptation Spirit Board
Temptation Spirit Board
Hand-Made Planchette by Myke Amend
Hand-Made Planchette by Myke Amend

All of these are available here: https://mykeamend.com/products-page/?ptag=planchette

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Doodly Doodles and Halloween Grab Bags

These are drawings I did on the back of the post cards I made available for a brief time a few weeks ago. Since I am filling another coloring book and using these characters elsewhere, I figured this was a good way to make original art available cheapish while somewhat covering my hours of work.

Now I am adding these drawings to the grab bags (Available Here) for Halloween, which will ship October 22nd, and will only be available until October 10th. They are a great way to get an assortment of prints along with these pigment ink drawings, for really cheap considering all that comes in them.

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The Edge of Dreams

I did this as a drawing a while back for my free coloring pages I offered here, which is a coloring page not in my for-sale coloring book, and decided that I really wanted to do a color version myself… even though its fitting well into the series would even further-delay the release of my Airships and Tentacles art book, still in the works until the last two commissions are done.

The image is one of a little girl drawing out her surroundings with a magickal piece of chalk… floating fish, airships, men riding sharks, and geometric stars like snowflakes are some of the major scene elements, but like always: there are lots of things hidden within ice formations and other elements.

Though it is incredibly cartoony (from a cartoony sketch that is no surprise), and way more colorful than I tend to do things, I rather like it… enough so that I wish I could better communicate the look online, but you know how web graphics go: never nearly as much can be seen or felt as looking at the original painting, or at least the prints which look dead-on the original painting thanks to giclee printing technology.

And, because of the vivid coloring in this one, and because of my love for metallic prints, especially where blues and reds are concerned, I decided that I wanted to offer something more than just giclees and the original painting on my site. In addition, I am offering 25 metallic full-size (18″ x 12″) printings of this, hand signed and dated.

You can view all of these items in my store, and here is a page that shows only prints of this image.

A view of the painting and details of the painting below.

Edge of Dreams Steampunk Surreal Airship Childrens Painting
Edge Of Dreams Painting and Details