House of Shadows

Painted Cats?

From my younger days , I remember the  antiquated saying my grandmother used, “Seeing Is Believing”.  That was in the generation before easy access to photo editing software.

It seems the picture of the painted cat I found posted on Photobucket last night  was just one example of creative art intended to be published as a coffee table book for the enjoyment of its readers.  The work was taken seriously and raised much controversy instead.  Links to more information are posted below for anyone interested in reading the passionate comments of both cat lovers and lovers of creative art.  Regardless of where your opinions may fall one thing is for certain…we can’t always believe what we see.

Snopes.com www.snopes.com

Why Paint Cat’s Hotline why.paintcats.com

It just doesn’t get any better than this …

Now who gets to wash it off?

I found this amazing picture on Photobucket tonight and was impressed by the detail of the painting.  It leaves me wondering who the talented artist is and how they purrrsuaded (sorry, it was too tempting) persuaded the cat to hold still for the process.  I’m an avid pet lover with mixed feelings about subjecting pets to our ritual of wearing costumes on Halloween.  Sometimes I see pictures of pets in costumes and they look totally miserable, you know they are not having a good time.  But some pets look like they love showing off their Halloween attire.  I think all in all it comes down to the animals temperament and relationship it’s owner.  What works with one pet may not be accepted by another.  Our Schnauzer loved to wear a scarf and ribbons.  It made her feel special and it was such a joy to watch her prance around when she came home from the groomer.  She would accept wearing costumes.  However, our Jack Russell Terrier has no use for being messed with.  Putting him in a costume would be a humiliating, uncomfortable experience.  Halloween can be a stressful time for pets.  I think we need to understand and respect our pets unique personalities, consider their needs, and above all the safety of both the pet and trick-or-treaters who knock at your door. What are your thoughts about pet costumes?

Born of the Night

The Gothic Fantasy Artwork of Joseph Vargo

The powerful and captivating artwork of Joseph Vargo opens a gateway to the darkside and dares the viewer to venture within. While his work is dominated by an immense and memorable array of ominous and often nightmarish entities, his timeless images are also permeated with tremendous beauty, grace and symmetry. His art has achieved a resonance and popularity partially because of this ability to shed light on the inner demons that lurk in the shadows of the mind, while also not forgetting the sometimes majestic grandeur that resides there as well.

This extensive collection features over 100 of Vargo’s most popular works of gothic fantasy, as well as some rare paintings, drawings and sketches published here for the first time. With an introduction and text by Joseph Iorillo, and additional commentaries by the artist, this volume offers comprehensive insights into Vargo’s gothic domain.  184 pages; 100 color plates; 40 black & white insets Average customer review:

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Joseph Vargo is an internationally acclaimed fantasy artist, writer and composer. He is the featured cover artist for Dark Realms Magazine, and the creator and illustrator of The Gothic Tarot. Joseph has produced and directed several highly successful music CDs used in Halloween theme parks nationwide and is the founding member of the band Nox Arcana, renown for their sinister soundtracks, Darklore Manor and Necronomicon. His haunting images were also the inspiration for the gothic anthology, Tales from the Dark Tower.

Customer Reviews

A monumental work 
Without a doubt Born of the Night is Joseph Vargos most impressive work to date. A longtime fan of his art I feel in love with the visions in his mind, richly detailed in every stone and swirl of fog, one could get lost in his world and never want to leave.

Corvis Nocturnum, author of Embracing the Darkness; Understanding Dark Subcultures

Amazing
This book has the most stunning artwork - some are hauntingly beautiful, others are down right ghoulish - as you would expect I guess. I would love to be able to make some of the gowns that are featured - they are fabulous!

Waiting to see…
Being aware of the work of Vargo as musician - Nox Arcana - I felt curious about his production as visual artist. After going through the book - text and pictures - I was left with mixed feelings. Not being an art critic I nevertheless sensed there was a unbalance in his art production. His depictions of the human figure are weaker than his backgrounds and monsters. I know he didn’t go to an art school and that’s perhaps what’s missing in his drawing of the human figure: depth, proportion, reality. Now his monsters are something else. His gargoyles are magnificent,and he masters the drawing and painting of stone as very rarely seen. So the latter seem much more alive than the human figures.All in all it is a good choice to get introduced to Joseph Vargo artwork. And it made me willing to wait and see the following publications of the kind.

Born of Night: The Gothic Artwork of Joseph Vargo and the music of Nox Arcana are listed in the House of Shadows Store; just click the tab at the top of the page for more information.

I needed something to bring a smile to my face today so I’m posting this cute little guy for the Rest In Peace section of my Blog. You can’t stop yourself from smiling when you look at him. Of course, it’s the kind of picture that would make my sons groan and tell me how cruel it is to put clothes on poor little dogs.

It’s A Dog’s Life At My House!

When the boys were young and I took our Schnauzer to the groomer, she would come home smelling phoofy and wearing the typical little floral scarf. My sons thought it was all too sissy for their dog. So I searched and searched for a “Harley” scarf and made four scarves for her, bought her a leather jacket and wrapped them up for Christmas. She loved her new wardrobe. It still didn’t make her look tough but at least the boys were satisfied. She lived a long and happy life; the memories of her prancing around in her Harley scarf will be with us forever.

We have had almost five inches of rain in the past 24 hours; the skies are gray and towns are flooding all around us in Southwest Washington and Oregon. The weather is supposed to break today…but I’m skeptical about the accuracy of the weather report. The good news is that I’m just going to close myself up in my studio and get some work done on my Halloween projects for 2009.

I hope this day is a good one for you. And if it’s not and you need an extra smile…. just keep coming back to this page for another look at this little pirate. He was born to make you smile and steal your heart.

Thank you for visiting House of Shadows.net!