Midnight Garden – 24″ x 36″ – Watercolor on Canvas – J Edward Neill
Thursday Art Assault – Midnight Garden
Tag: Watercolors
Thursday Art Assault – Dark & Drippy
Strange and Shadowy 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:
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Thanks for viewing!
Interested in acquiring some of my art? Check out these links here and here.
Love,
Painting with Darkness – Part V
As summer’s warmth fades and the days die earlier than before, I find myself in the studio for long stretches of time.
Some might say locking myself indoors with brooding soundtracks playing in the background and a crispy cold glass of scotch on the table is a swift road to being utterly alone.
My point exactly…
My latest painting: All Hallows
I started at the bottom with water-diluted oranges and worked my way up. With every inch gained toward the top, I added drops of red and black. Watercolors became solids. Lights became darks. The striking colors satisfied me. And the hard blacks on the bottom were fun to paint (and easy!)
Now came the time-consuming part. At first, I worked on the trees with a 1/4″ wedge brush. Then, as the branches thinned, I used the sharpest-point brush in my arsenal. The tops of the trees began to look like claws. It was exactly the eerie look I wanted.
Completing the trees was a full-day task. I used my daggerlike brush to add sharpness and realism to every branch. As is always my theme, I made the trees curl toward the center of the painting…as if reaching for something unseen. I considering adding more to make this a full-blown Halloween-ish work, but decided to keep it simple. Blacks on color. Nothing cheesy. Stick to the plan of painting with darkness.
All in all, this canvas was fun and simple. In other words, my favorite kind.
The same night I finished All Hallows, I began work prep work on a huge 36″ x 48″ canvas, my hugest ever:
This’ll be called ‘Ocean of Knives’. The canvas is 3′ x 4′. It’ll take weeks to finish, for sure. Gonna need a lot of wine…
Recently, I used one of my grimmest works for the cover of Let the Bodies, my latest short story:
Painting your own cover art…fun!
And previously in the ‘Painting with Darkness’ series:
The Last Tower, Pale Swamp, Four Swords, Grave Rain
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See you next time. Painting with Darkness, Part VI will feature the finished version of ‘Ocean of Knives.’