alice in wonderland | SteamPunk Art, Fantasy Paintings and Pop Surrealism Illustration by Myke Amend

Posted on May 12, 2011March 12, 2018 by Myke Amend — 2 Comments

Airships and Tentacles Coloring Book

In thinking of something really good, but inexpensive that I could put together as an added incentive to be a part of our kickstarter, and in staying up all night making a new engraving – it came to me…

This coloring book.

When I was a kid, Advanced Dungeons and Dragon’s Monster manual, and their Dieties and Demigods, had some rather awesome illustrations in them: All black and white. I loved those illustrations, but I loved them even more when I caught a Glimpse of my friend Brian’s book… which he had taken colored pencils to for each and every illustration. I thought it pretty amazing how with some simple color over the black and white of the pages, those illustrations really came to life. They were simple to color, because the shading was already there – which made for a basic coloring level, with lots of room for improvisation, and advanced looking results.

I thought to myself this AM, “Hey… all these engravings I’ve been doing would be perfect for this”,and so I set to gathering up pages for a coloring book… and with all the engraving that I do, I have a *lot* of them.

Here are the images that will be in this coloring book… which will for the time being, only be available through our kickstarter for an $11 donation (which includes Shipping and Handling). The coloring book is over 30 pages, and ready to color.

You’ll notice that some of the images below are colored, because I copied really quick from my gallery. These images will be uncolored in the coloring book version (see above).

If you would like to see a PDF of the actual book, CLICK HERE

If you would like to buy a copy of the book for $12, CLICK HERE

Posted on November 3, 2010March 12, 2018 by Myke Amend — 3 Comments

Full Steam Ahead

This piece was done earlier this year in pencil on bristol board; It was my intention to color all of these after the World Steam Expo, but one thing led to another and – well, I finally have this once all colored up.

The 11×14 black and white giclees of the original pencil drawing are still available (here), and there are only a handful of those left, but now available are 30 of these colored ones (here) – same size, printed in pigment inks on same high quality fine art rag paper. An open edition 8×10 metallic is also available (here)

MACH Turtle steampunk Alice in wonderland Alice through the looking glass panting by Myke Amend — MACH Turtle by Myke Amend

MACH Turtle Detail - steampunk alice in wonderland painting by Myke Amend — MACH Turtle Detail

Posted on June 30, 2010March 12, 2018 by Myke Amend — 2 Comments

Mach Turtle!

Limited Edition of only 20, printed in archival inks on fine art rag paper.

Printed on fine art rag paper at the exact size of the original pencil drawing – hand-signed, numbered and dated by Myke Amend.

Printed at 11×14 inches on an 18×15 sheet of 200-year archival fine art rag paper in archival pigment inks, each giclee is a long-lasting work of art in its own.

Only 20 prints of the original pencil drawing will be made, ever.

Alice rides a Mock Turtle at high speed along a peppermint lollipop shoreline, followed by the Mad Hatter in his own special-crafted craft.

These images are not made to be exact to the original story, or any movie, but rather to capture and portray the wonder that mythical and magical lands may hold within a child’s imagination.

The need to do my own version of turtle from this story was inspired by stories of turtles being burned at sea. It is sad to think that there are beautiful beaches children may never see, once-beautiful coastal towns no longer what they were, forests burning, parks being bulldozed to make way for sprawl… a beautiful Earth that may someday be nothing more than a story for our children and our children’s children.

I hope that maybe, if we can preserve the wonder and fascination, perhaps future generations will be inspired to dream for what was. And perhaps someday, the most fascinating new thing that a future generation could strive for and dream of, will not come from a Wal-Mart or the Apple Store… but in the restoration of all the beauty, wonder, and freedom we threw away.

Posted on August 26, 2009March 12, 2018 by Myke Amend

Clockwork Cheshire Cat and Mechanical Moon Men

I haven’t been updating much, you may have noticed – Web and print ad work for clients, as well as the last of the commissioned paintings have kept me busy.

The painting I am working on is a large one; and since I work in the same amount of detail whether working small or large, it is still going to be a while before I get that one finished.

Most of my client work is for a studio that works with Disney, hosting art events for Disney artists, and selling special edition Disney merchandise; I have a large portfolio of fliers, print ads, and web work relating to these things – and perhaps this is beginning to sink a bit into what I do in my free time – as I just had to do my own version of the Cheshire Cat to round out this last series of engravings (below top).

This recent series began with my needing to get the cover art for the Halloween issue of Gatehouse Gazette (below bottom), and since I buy these things in threes, and cannot resist a fresh plate to engrave on, I ended up using more time that I had scrawling out designs in tiny detail – and I’ll tell ya – my hands and eyes are hating me for it right now.

Well, at least I managed another black and white for my “Airships and Tentacles” series – a series I realized this week I have yet to get around to posting an actual premise for. Innsmouth Free Press will be getting that info first, as I have an upcoming interview with them, and they asked the question.

Speaking of interviews, if you have the time, take a look at my recent one with Dark Roasted Blend (which was also picked up by IO9)

Also, I am pleased to announce, that my painting “Sabicu” will be the cover image for the upcoming installment of the amazing fantasy magazine: Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Anyway… the art… below… BTW metallic prints and giclees of these are available in the Store

Cheshire Cat

Attack from Planet Moon (yes, it is a silly title for a silly picture)

I Have Special Plans for this World (Cover for Gatehouse Gazette October)