Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Robert Englund - A Nightmare On Elm Street, "Freddy Kruger"

Robert Englund: A Nightmare On Elm Street - Freddy Krueger

Portrait, 12 x 14.5 in.
Lead on Paper

Robert Englund here as the face that's haunted  my nightmares since I was six years old, Freddy Kruger!  From his first appearance in the original Last House On The Left, We Craven had big plans for Freddy, though I don't think even Craven himself foresaw just how popular the character would become.  With a 2010 sequel in the bag I was really excited, until I found out that they had recast the Freddy Kruger part after nine films.  This is my little way of saying thanks to Robert for all the great years and scares we've shared, long live Kruger!

Rob Zombie, "Hellbilly"

Rob Zombie - Hellbilly

Portrait, 14.5 x 10.5 in.
Lead on Paper

Years ago when Rob Zombie was first making his transition out of White Zombie there were a lot of people that weren't sure he was going to be able to make it on his own.  While Zombie is a talented lyricist he's always relied on the cadre of extremely talented musicians he surrounds himself with.  Any doubts were shattered when the ground breaking Hellbilly Deluxe album came out.  Dragula, Living Dead Girl and Demonoid Phenomenon invaded the radio waves and the deal was sealed.  His look has constantly evolved like his music but looking back, I will always fondly remember the Hellbilly Deluxe years as the ones that defined what he looked and sounded like to me.

Stephen Geoffreys, "Evil Ed"

Stephen Geoffreys - Evil Ed

Portrait, 8.5 x 11 in..
Lead on Paper

Until the recent talk of a remake the 1985 film, Fright Night has definitely flown under the radar for the most part, cementing it's role as a cult classic and fan favorite.  I am definitely one of those fans, watching both Fright Night and it's sequel nearly every Halloween for years now.  Roddy McDowell often steals the show for people as Peter Vincent but Stephen Geoffreys always caught my eye during a particularly charged seen that seems very out of place in the res of an otherwise camp and pretty badly acted film.  Geoffreys career has been a rough one, finding him doing pornographic films sometime after Fright Nights release.  I submit this piece in loving memory of the man who stole a scene from Roddy McDowell in one of the most awful films I've ever seen and ended up making me love it!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Lon Chaney Sr. - Phantom Of The Opera: "Phantom"

Lon Chaney Sr. - The Phantom Of The Opera

Portrait,15 1/2 x 10 /2 in.
Lead on Paper

Another piece in the ongoing series of Classic Universal Horror Monsters is in my opinion - the original Horror monster.  Before there was Lugosi there was Chaney, before there was sound there was Chancey, before there were make-up artists there was Chaney.  We still don't honestly know how he achieved the upturned nose make-up for The Phantom of The Opera to this day, though these days most people believe he used very thin wire to upturn his snout.  Seemingly impervious to pain in the service of achieving a realistic appearance on screen Chaney is considered by some to the first character actor.  Whatever your opinion on the man might be it's hard to argue that he is anything but a legend among horror fans.  Once he haunted the screen, they say he still haunts the opera set which is miraculously still standing today, but if you want he can always haunt your wall!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Bruce Campbell - Evil Dead: Ash, "Woods"

Bruce Campbell, "Woods"


Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

I guess it all depends on what circles you run in, but if you know anyone that I do then Bruce don't call me "Ash" Campbell has been one of the biggest names in and out of little Hollywood, and has been for nearly three decades!  Due to Campbell's working relationship with director Sam Raimi on their Evil Dead trilogy and cameos in such films as Spider-Man 1,2 and 3, as well as Dark Man he has become a house hold name.  In more recent memory he has been starring as Sam Axe on the television show, "Burn Notice" for some time now.  Despite all of that I will forever remember him as the star of Within The Woods.  A 30 minute short film version of Evil Dead that was shot on 8mm while Bruce was still on college to attract investors to the aforementioned film.

Holding his spattered chainsaw just out of frame you can almost feel the blood oozing off the page in this illustration.  If you grab a print of this one be careful, it looks like it might drip a little!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Gene Wilder - Young Frankenstein, "Fronkunschteen"

Gene Wilder - Young Frankenstein, "Fronkunschteen"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

The companion piece to Marty Feldman's Igor, Gene Wilder can be seen here in his role as Dr. Frankenstein, though he might prefer you not know that.  It's true Wilder was one of Mel Brooks' go to guys and it was no surprise to see him turn up in Young Frankenstein, but he seems much more suited for the role than some of his other Brooks films.  His looks lend themselves to the black and what color scheme of the film perfectly and the dark eye make-up commonly associated with those early films looks so natural on his face he might be able to pull them off in public, then again maybe not.  You can be sure you could pull this print off in public though, cast out of his castle and the town the doctor needs a place to sleep it off people, it's been a long day!

Marty Feldman, "Playboy"

Marty Feldman, "Playboy"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

I just can't get enough of that face!  Graves Disease was responsible for Marty's trademark bulging eyes but there was something else lurking beneath that disarming grin, responsible for his lasting legacy as a comedy genius.  It's not hard to picture him running amok on the BBC or teasing Frankenstein's monster - but there was a real guy behind all that, a man with some enormous mutton chops.  I tried to really conjure the essence of Feldman here, presenting him as seriously as I dared with out compromising the pictures integrity in some fashion.  I just got the fist prints of this back and I have to say I am more than impressed with them than I anticipated, and I had some high expectations - simply put, this is a hell of a print.

Marty Feldman - Young Frankenstein, "Abby Normal"

Marty Feldman - Igor, "Abby Normal"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

This Marty Feldman piece is the first in a series spotlighting the film, "Young Frankenstein" by Mel Brooks.  It's one of my favorite films and has to be one of the funniest films ever made, due in no small part to the mad genius that is Marty Feldman.  His face might look like a caricature but he had some serious skill to back up those boyish good looks.  Just watch Young Frankenstein and try to imagine any one else as Igor.  Feldman can be seen here procuring a brain from the morgue in one of the films most famous scenes as he break the fourth wall, looking directly into the camera.  With all the trouble up at the castle lately it looks like he might be looking for somewhere new to stay, care to help him out a little?

Jack Skellington - The Nightmate Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King, "Smile"

Jack Skellington - The Pumpkin King, "Smile"

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11in
Lead on Paper

Tim Burton has done some amazing work - and his designs are the largest part of many of his most memorable films. Edward Scissorhands and so many others started off in his sketch book and were brought to life through his vivid imagination.  A Nightmare Before Christmas might be his largest undertaking in this category though, as it was the first full length animated film he had designed from the ground up.  He did a great job of not buckling under the pressure in this case, resulting in some amazing designs.  Jack Skelligton is one of the coolest designs out there.  Sheik and cool, complex in his simplicity - it was a real pleasure to draw him.  I stuck him in the woods for a little background and plastered a silly smile on his face as that's how I remember him, though I must admit I'm a more than a little tempted to do a companion piece that's a little more ominous than this one. In the meantime, bring a little Halloween, or Christmas - whatever you like, home with you for the holiday seasons in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Vincent Price - The Bat: Malcolm Wells, "The Bat"

Vincent Price - The Bat

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

The unforgettable Vincent Price is swooping in this holiday season - again remembered here in a piece paying tribute to one of his earlier and oft over looked films, The Bat.  It also stays well within the Classic Horror series of the 1940's and 50's that we have been working on for the this Halloween season.  Price has been such a presence in so many ways from his films and narration as well as being a real personality and family man, that I felt he had earned a place amongst names like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.  II wanted to illustrate a younger more serious Price than many people are used to with this piece, when many people.considered him to be the up and coming, pretty boy actor of his time.  Notice how he doesn't look serious or snide though, somehow he always maintained a sense of majesty that time hasn't varnished.

Lon Chaney Jr. - The Wolfman,"The Wolfman" (1941)

Lon Chaney Jr. - The Wolfman

Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in
Lead on Paper

In another piece spotlighting the Classic Horror Films of the 40's and 50's for the Halloween season, Lon Chaney Jr. can be seen in the 1941 Universal Classic Horror film, The Wolfman, lurking in the mist while howling at the moon!  And why not this is a heck of picture, in so many ways...  Few of the monsters from the golden age of horror cinema were originals.  Most of the Universal Monsters were adaptations, Bela Lugosi's Dracula was a novel - and the film is actually an adaptation of the stage play that was adapted from the afore mentioned book, as well as the inimitable Frankenstein which was a novel by Mary Shelley.  The Wolfman and The Mummy however, were both originals and have found a welcome place in the dark corners of our imaginations and a loving place in our hearts.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Benicio Del Toro - The Wolfman, "The Wolfman" (2010)

Benicio Del Toro - The Wolfman


Portrait, 8 1/2 x 11 in. (Original piece)
Lead on Paper

Straight out of our ongoing series spotlighting Classic Universal Horror Monsters, Benicio Del Toro leaps howling from the page in his role as Lawrence Talbot in the 2010 "Wolfman" remake.  One of the few remakes that didn't fallen flat on it's face, much of the film's success is due to the delightfully grotesquely horrific make-up for the monster, of course Del Toro's undeniable acting abilities did't hurt the situation either; even though he was lurking beneath a sea of latex and one furry body suit!

Snag this snarling beast on prints in several convenient sizes and formats, starting in the notebook size and ranging all the way to posters and  sweaters / shirts!