Gothic horror for Halloween

"The Crypt of the Blue Woman," on ArtFire.

"Terror in the Crimson Castle" on etsy.

Normally at this time of year I'd be taking pictures of changing leaves at the parks that I frequent, and bundling up as the temperatures drop. This year however I am in Texas as Halloween approaches, though it has not changed my haunted Halloween feeling one bit! Instead of watching the geese fly south and the animals curl up for their winter naps, I have been watching armadillos amble about at night when I'm lucky enough to spy one -- and watching nutria gnash their orange teeth. The leaves aren't really turning, but there are palm trees, and I love the way they tower over everything -- I've always had a place in my heart for palm trees since they can't grow where I usually reside.

One thing I've been doing a lot of though this month is watching horror movies, and reading ghost stories. My devotion to these things (and a growing love for 1960s gothic mystery/romance book covers as I've detailed previously) has yielded quite a few new paintings. One of my newest, above, is on Etsy right now. I am also stocking my new Pro Artfire shop -- I've had a storefront there for awhile but as of this month I have a "pro" account. This means more to me than it does to you. For me it means lots of bells and whistles! For you it means I will hopefully have a more attractive and navigable shop full of neato things to peruse. And some original art not available anywhere else.

The first painting listed above, "The Crypt of the Blue Woman," is a 3 x 5 painting and ships for free. The second, "Terror in the Crimson Castle," ix 7 x 9 and is on Etsy. I like trying these different canvas sizes because they all suggest different angles and subject matter. I have a 6 x 12 I'm working on, and some square canvases as well. The art supply stores here are fantastic! I expect to be on the gothic horror thing for quite some time as I am in no danger of running out of inspirational material.