acrylic on canvas – Tessera Guild

Thursday Art Assault – Midnight Garden

Midnight Garden – 24″ x 36″ – Watercolor on Canvas – J Edward Neill

Painting with Darkness – Part XV

As I publish more and more books, I find myself wanting to create my own cover art.

It’s risky business, I know. If I paint something that looks too homemade or ‘arts and crafty,’ I could repel audiences with subpar art.

I’ll probably still keep reaching out to my favorite artist, Amanda Makepeace, for all of my major novels.

But for other, stranger, darker releases, I might keep trying my own brand of shadowy art.

And so…

On Christmas Eve 2016 I found myself sketching a scary hand. It grasped for a magical (and of course, evil) orb of power. This little concept was born days earlier when I dreamed up my next series of novellas, currently titled Ashes of Everything. The pencil I used is the same pencil I used in high school more than 20 years ago. No kidding. The hand….is based on mine.

Painting fire is fun! I mixed up soft watercolor reds and added depth as I reached the canvas’s edge. The pencil-sketched hand is still under there, just barely visible enough for me to fill it in with blacks after the flames were complete.

Ah, the claws, the grasping fingers! Those who’ve read my Tyrants of the Dead series might remember whose hand that is. Those who haven’t, well…what are you waiting for? But seriously, texturing hands (especially demonic ones) is no easy thing. I spent countless hours shading, darkening, and highlighting each finger.

The more I toiled, the darker the painting became. The flames deepened. Black prison bars appeared in the background, representing the demon creature’s imprisoned state. This is the final pre-varnish image. I was very pleased with how it turned out. It’ll most likely make the cut as a book cover in the next few months.

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If you liked this Painting with Darkness entry, check out the other fourteen: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII. XIII, XIV.

To dive into the series that inspired this piece, click this.

Until next time…

J Edward Neill

Strange and Shadowy Art

By J Edward Neill art

Hi there everyone.

While it’s true most of my creative time is dedicated to writing fantasy, sci-fi, and philosophy books, in recent months I’ve found myself wanting to paint. As in a lot. As in almost every night. It’s something I do to relax at the end of a brutal day of word-battling. And it’s also something I can do with my young son, the G Man, who can’t watch me paint without wanting to wield a brush of his own.

As the days have passed, I’ve found my walls, closets, and nooks increasingly stuffed with the art I’ve dreamed up. Most of it portrays dark cities, twisted trees, deep space, and eerie landscapes. It’s these things that fascinate me.

Always have.

Likely always will.

So today I’m sharing some of my favorite canvasses. If you like dark art, or if you’re just curious, please browse and enjoy. If you particularly appreciate a piece or two, feel free to say so in the comments section below.

I typically name (but never sign) all my art. But today, just to keep it messy, I’m leaving the names off. 🙂

Here we go: