Undeath from Above detail 1Undeath from Above detail 2Undeath from Above
The original was drawn in pen and ink on 11×14 inch Bristol Board, I did the coloring with my 4-year old Adesso drawing tablet so as to preserve the pen and ink original.
The Black and White version is the Cover for Gatehouse Gazette #14, my third cover for them.
I am making only 20 of these full-sized giclees. Total size with 1? border is about 13×16 inches. They are printed on cotton-weave fine art rag paper in archival pigment inks for the sort of superior clarity and color quality expected from a giclee print.
The giclees are available at a reduced price of $55, HERE
8×10 inch metallic prints are also available, and also at a reduced price ($15), HERE.
The box/dual frame: I labored hard for over a week on the box, which is a very sturdy hand-built, hand-stained, hand-varnished, hand-waxed chunk of quality hardwood (heartwood select pine base and birch sides). It not only serves as a box (if you would want to use it as such a thing), but as a self-contained double frame which requires no wall hanging. It is perfect for a coffee table, end table, mantle, dining table or most any flat surface you would like to display it on… and it is so sturdy in construction that you won’t be freaking out if people get near it.
Red Hand Assemblage Showing Both
The box has two decorative hinges with a decorative patina on the spine edge if it; The latching mechanism is self-made from another smaller version of these hinges, combined with three solid brass model cannons from a model ship. The latch holds the piece securely shut, but opens easily when you want it to with a slight squeeze of the box and an easy flip of the thumb.
Latching Mechanism detail
I spent hours and hours and hours buffing and buffing this piece. You may not see the glossiness of it in the picture, but it is pretty shiny.
Red hand Assemblage Box Frame closed (standing, latch side)Red Hand Assemblage Open, spider side showingRed Hand Assemblage Box Frame closed
Sometimes antiquing involves making something look beaten and ratty, sometimes it is a matter of making something look like something of quality kept new by an archivist or generations of enthusiastic caretakers – quality and new as the day it was made. For this particular look, I went with making it look like somewhat well-maintained antique… something once very expensive, polished periodically by its owners – well protected, but also well-used.
This sort of antiquing makes it much more involved than the other two. When I do this sort of antiquing on fresh and new untreated wood, making it look fashionably old is essentially a process of finishing and refinishing it to duplicate what time would do: Creating many stages of maintenance and multiple areas of color to create the look of something old… dark areas near crevices and hard to reach spaces, lighter areas where regular wear might occur.
Open Assemblage Box Frame on its side
The Art: To make these illustrations mesh well with the box, I made them in this dark-carnival, old Victorian occult ephemera style, with a lot of metaphysical flavor and a touch of campy horror propmaking. It not only made them work well with the box I envisioned, but made them fun for me and strikingly bold… a primitive and stark contrast to my normal reserved and detailed works and my muted color palettes.
Red Right Hand
Painting One: “Red Right Hand” this is one of two pieces done for a collaborative collection of China Miéville inspired illustrations and artworks, an effort assembled and coordinated by John Straun of SuperPunch. The Handlingers are mind-controlling creatures which look much like a human hand with a snake’s body. I decided on red for my colors because I wanted the hand to be red, and I might it a right hand just so I could name the piece “Red Right Hand”, because I am a huge Nick Cave fan.
Limited Edition Giclees (limited edition of 20) are available in my store
Red Right Hand detailWeaving Spiders Come Not Here
Painting Two: “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”: I often name images for all of the phrases that swim around in my head. I don’t know what it is about soliloquy, sayings, proverbs, historical quotes and other such things that causes them to remain so well-embedded. I start working on a piece, and once he concept is in place, I immediately think of some string of words that fits, though usually a twist thereof. Rarely does the phrase inspire the piece, but the piece typically inspires the title, and the title sometimes shapes the work… this title coming from Shakespeare, or the once-curious reliefs seen outside of Bohemian Clubs. “The Weaver” is a large sentient spider with hands on its forelimbs (I also put them on its Pedipalps), with a love for scissors. The Spider with scissors brought this phrase to mind, so rather than repeating the more circular designs from the previous painting, I made them weave like webs, being cut by the spider.
Limited Edition Giclees (limited edition of 20) are available in my store
Images from the World of Smog, via SuperPunch, wherein many more of the new figures from this utterly amazing and imaginative collection are featured HERE.
I’ve seen items from this collection many times in many art forums, and every time, I see something new and am beyond impressed. I only hope they are not too hard to find once I am able to start collecting them.
Golem by Allan CarrascoShaking Shawn by Thomas DavidKaine Finger by Allan Carrasco
Early Tuesday Morning, A Two-Spotted Octopus at the Santa Monica Aquarium managed to re-route sea-water into the offices of its land-based captors, in an attempt to make the Planet’s surface habitable for Sea-dwellers.
This first attempt at making tasty land walkers more accessible to Cephalopod kind was foiled by Brianne Emhiser who in her page, claims to dislike having enemies, even though her recent action has all but killed her approval rating amongst oceanic flora and fauna alike.
I Like Brom, I like pocketwatches, I like skulls – so of course I like this pocketwatch designed by Gerald Brom, which is was found at BUDK.com by a fellow steamfashion member (though I’d absolutely love it if it were fashioned of brass, steel, or copper)
The smooth nylon shrimp (Heterocarpus laevigatus) defends itself by spitting clouds of bioluminescent fluid, temporarily blinding its attacker. [Read The Rest At Pink Tentacle]
In nature, it is quite rare to encounter octopi with extra tentacles (or “arms,” for the purists), but a pair of aquariums in Japan’s Mie prefecture have some extraordinary specimens on hand.
The permanent display at the Shima Marineland Aquarium in the town of Shima includes a 96-tentacled Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that weighed 3.3 kilograms (about 7 lbs) and measured 90 centimeters (3 ft) long when it was captured in nearby Matoya Bay in December 1998. Before dying 5 months later, the creature laid eggs, making it the first known extra-tentacled octopus to do so in captivity. [Read The Rest At Pink Tentacle]
This is only slightly about the milk, and majorly about the press.
Though it may reflect views you have already embraced or rejected, either way I highly recommend you watch this piece, which is likely to strongly enforce or shatter your opinions on freedom and justice in the USA.
