A Few Gothic Visions for Halloween

I have plenty of orange pumpkins and black cats available year-round for the Halloween aesthetic, but I am really into surreal grey images at the moment. Although not a conscious influence, I think that the Edward Gorey intro to "Mystery" in the 70s was one of those formative images in my life, and something that I connected with immediately. The black and white drawings of mystery clichés -- the garden walls, the statues and urns, the strange dark figures lurking in the background -- I can't even remember specifically what was in it, without rewatching it, but that kind of imagery formed a kind of blueprint in the back of my mind for All That Was Good.

The thought of a half-seen, shrouded figure; a ghost flitting through a topiary garden or past a cemetery gate; a broken fountain in an abandoned courtyard; a cracked urn overgrown with ivy -- they thrill and delight me like nothing else in the world. Even in the films I endlessly watch from the 60s and 70s - Italian gothics and giallos, Hammer horror, surreal French vampire films - carry this aesthetic. It's where I live, what can I say? Here are a couple of small paintings that pay tribute to those glimpses of haunted spaces.

 "The Hidden Window"

"Lost in the Garden"

While I'm at it, here are a few more typically Halloween images, but with a muted grey monochrome look to them -- highlighted by a single bright color of a ghoulish or ghastly image. I may add to these before long, but so far there are three.

 

"Besieged by Tentacles"

"Aflame"

"Traumatized"

Through Oct. 15, you can get 15% off anything in my Etsy shop with the coupon code AUTUMN14 to celebrate the season.  Use it as much as you like, pass it along...get yourself or a friend a little something for Halloween!

Haunted Spring

My friends in the Halloween Artist Bazaar group on Etsy have some items tagged for spring, so please check it out -- if you like weird, cute and gothic Halloweeny things but need a little something springish at this time of year.

I tagged a couple of items like my ghost wielding flowers in a haunted hallway:




Or my Alice in Wonderland in the garden print:

Please remember that in my shop only (Art by Sarada) the coupon code TAXDAY will get you 15% off through the end of the day April 15 (or whenever I remember to take it down).

Happy April and Happy Spring!

Loch Ness Monster and coupon code!

I did this painting several weeks ago and neglected to post about it!

"Legend of the Lost Loch" is an original 8 x 10 acrylic painting on flat canvas board - another loosely inspired by my gothic novel covers, but I had to add in a sea serpent because, well, I haven't painted one in awhile. Actually I can only think of one other sea serpent I've painted in this "looking out of the water" kind of way, and I never offered it for sale -- I painted it directly from a dream.


But the real meat of this post is that I have a 15% off coupon code good for more than the next month -- I'll leave it up until the end of the day April 15th (probably longer, I am a night person and I'm not going to be sitting at the computer at exactly midnight with my finger on a button). This helps me remember that tax day is coming (whee) and it helps you if you want a little discount when you're looking to spend your refund! :)