House of Shadows

The weather here is miserably cold so Christmas shopping will be delayed until the severe weather warning for our area is lifted.  I’m beginning to feel like I’m living in Victorian times.  We have been keeping one room in the house warm and turning the heat down in the rest of the house to conserve.  Our old house still has an oil furnace, not a good option since the war  started. But in the long-term, learning to do a better job of conserving is a good idea anyway.

This is an excellent time to focus my time on continuing work on The Immortal Pumpkin and preparing some skulls for molding. Like everything I do, I decided I wanted to explore options for painting the skulls once they are cast with foam.  It seems everyone has their own preference of materials and techniques. Some people use a combination of different colors of Minwax, others use acrylic paint.  The painting techniques below are adapted from  information posted on Grimvisions. As I discover other techniques that appeal to me, I will post them for your information.  I think it’s always good to study more than one technique before beginning a project.  You may end up using a process that is uniquely yours, but it’s good to know why you make certain decisions along the way.  The best way for me to learn is to dissect the work of others.  So here is one way to finish a foam skull:

Supply List:

• White Glue
• Brushes
• Black spray paint
• A foam skull
• Acrylic paint of various colors
• Matte sealer

Painting Process

1. Start with a 2 part urethane foam skull that you have cast, or purchase a quality foam skull
2. Coat the skull with white glue, thinned with a small amount of  water so it brushes easily onto the skull.
3. Make sure to apply a good; even coating and let it dry.  This helps seal the foam and gives it a better texture.
4. When the glue coat is thoroughly dry, spay paint with a layer of flat black paint
5. When the black paint is dry use a bone colored acrylic paint to paint the high areas of the skull randomly, you don’t want total coverage ( tip: one way to do this is use a sponge and if the coverage is too much quickly blot it off with a paper towel)
6. Be sure to leave some black showing in the deep recesses.  An airbrush can be used to apply this coat if you have one available.
7. After the bone colored layer dries, go back and highlight the lines and cracks with a watered down black. Then using a watered down burnt umber blot on some dirt-like spots here and there to add some antiquing near the eyes, jawline and mouth.
8. Let the paint dry thoroughly; at least one hour, then lightly dry brush the entire skull with original bone color paint.
9. Paint the teeth. Using watered down acrylics, or inks.
10. After the teeth are done, go back and very lightly dry brush the highest points of the skill with the base bone color mixed with a bit of titanium white (the brush should so dry that you can hardly detect any paint in it)
11. The final step is to spray the whole thing with a matte sealer to reduce the shine.

Thank you viewers and subscribers.  Your interest means a lot to me.

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?

I like to consider making things that are perhaps a bit non-traditional for a Halloween haunt.  Things that are creepy, and unexpected.  Visitors can usually count on finding ghosts, skeletons, skulls, and some form of ground breakers…but what about tucking a goth looking doll under the shadow of shrubs, or placed lovingly next to a gravestone.  What a delightfully chilling detail.

Clowns often make people uncomfortable. Imagine the clown in the picture above made into a large scale prop; displayed peering through a window with just the right light to give him the look of a maniacal creature that escaped from the local asylum.  If displayed at the right angle your visitors would be caught of guard by  this fear-causing apparition making their heart skip a beat. Or, he could even be made as a puppet and hung in a corner becoming a presence that makes you keep looking over your shoulder.  It gives me the chills just thinking about finding this guy in the dark.

Many people have fears about dolls, puppets, clowns, or ventriloquist dummies.  I can’t imagine why…but who knows what evil lurks in the darkness of night?  Beware my friends and always check under the bed before you turn out the lights! Until next time …

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.

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.

Not all Halloween enthusiasts have the time or interest in doing arts and crafts projects, but they do enjoy decorating for the holiday.  It’s always nice to be able to browse through shops and discover new things but I remember well the days when I was working long hours, and doing my best at being a wife, mother and caregiver for parents.  A luxury like shopping was not on the list.  Shopping was often done late at night on the Internet.  The good news about that is I discovered the value of being able to expand my options to find quality collectibles that fit my personal tastes.  Websites like the Halloween Artists http://www.halloweenartists.com/ can be a lifesaver when life gets too busy.  Browsing through the  hand crafted work of these artist’s can be a great escape, or valuable source of inspiration for the DIY Halloween crafter.  Either way, a visit to Halloween Artists is worth your time.

Until next time…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows

The creativity of Halloween hobbyists is something I genuinely admire.  Some enthusiasts spend hours, or even months building props that are displayed for only a few days, or in some cases a matter of hours each year.  And yet the detail and precision they put into their craft is often equal to that of a professional artist.  As I search for new ideas I have found many talented people who make unique items, ranging from whimsical to dark and eccentric.  Ideas come naturally to some people, but my thought process doesn’t really engage without exploration.  Once I see something that interests me it’s like an explosion of thoughts for how to build from that concept to make a project my own.

I recently discovered some truly creative work listed on the blog “The Art of Alex CF” http://alexcf.com/blog/ Alex describes himself as a professional cryptozoological psuedo-scientific assemblage artist and illustrator.  How’s that for creativity? Perhaps you will find his work imaginative, or some may view it as offensive.  Let your personal style guide your decisions but his site is definitely worth exploring.