Collage with hand-cut letters, bead and gel ink embellishments
11″ x 8.5″
Why?
Because Halloween is a fun idea with a finite deadline. The timeline was very short in the midst of other “life stuff”.
The collage for the “intro” of the project is freehand cut and paste because I like the organic, imperfections of “by hand” rather than by technology.
Charcoal and chalk/pastel were chosen for the skull and (what is that sharp blade called? I call it an ax). The ax couldn’t be placed where I wanted it in the setup, so I did what artists do and put it elsewhere in my composition.
Pumpkins inspired an oil painting where I challenged myself to not use white paint and to use a limited palette
I used new-to-me products. I discovered acrylic glitter paint and dragon coating and layered in glitter glue to form sparkling night skies/backgrounds to go with mixed media pieces. Slight tweaks produced similar but different results so each sky would be a little different. We have accumulated various little Halloween trinkets that I used for embellishing some of the experimental mixed media pieces.
The other new-to-me medium is paper clay which I made from shredded paper and other ingredients to form the cat sculptures: simple and kind of funny.
For the sake of nostalgia I wrote a little story.
Meet Pumpkinhead; The End
The other part of this project is the technology side: taking the photos, downloading, editing, uploading, etc. and all things website related. The finite deadline is really pushing and challenging me. What little I used to know about these processes…let’s say I am a techno dinosaur at the moment.
Charcoal and pastel chalks on toned paper, 24” x 18”
Worked from still life setup
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Oil on canvas, 12” x 12”
Worked from still life setup
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Acrylic paints, 7” x 5”
Work from imagination/no setup
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Acrylic paints with collage and embellishments, 10” x 8”
Work from imagination/no setup
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Acrylic paints, glitter glue, paper and plastic embellishments, 9” x 3”
Work from imagination/no setup
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Cat sculptures: handmade paper clay, paint, flat marbles
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Halloween Nights From a By-gone Era
I don’t remember all of the masks or costumes I wore trick or treating. The little plastic mask with an elastic band that were hard to breathe through—oh how I couldn’t wait to wear my mask and go trick or treating! To collect our treats we used a paper sack. Later I upgraded to a sturdy plastic bag with drawstrings that was a promo from my grandmother’s bank.
I had great fun “costuming” with items my aunt gave me:
a gray “fake” wig that was rather wretched looking, but so fun;
a white tube of fake “Vampire Blood” written in a red scary font reserved for horror movies;
and a plastic finger that fit over my finger (I don’t recall its “gore factor” but it would be lame and tame these days).
Those items along with a worn out flannel housecoat that my mom let me salvage before it went to the trash were my “costume collection”. The housecoat was white with a green and dark blue floral print and snapped in the front. Certainly not Halloweenish, but I was thrilled to have it as a prized costume piece.
Getting a pumpkin and carving simple eyes, nose, and mouth with the kitchen butcher knife and lighting it with a candle was a big treat. The flickering flame was mesmerizing and a great backdrop for making up ghost stories and scary tales.
Aside from the nostalgia and simplicity, imagination could soar and fun was guaranteed.
The Halloween carnival at the school was always a blast—great games and treats like candy apples and popcorn balls. There was always a cake walk, bobbing for apples, and a fishing game among others. A classroom was transformed into a haunted house where we squealed at scary surprises and costumed characters. You knew someone or something was going to startle the daylights out of you. Boo! Happy Halloween!
By Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
Meet Pumpkin head
Digital photo by Kathy at cardinalcreststudio.com
My husband gave me Pumpkinhead years ago. We can’t not smile when we see his cheery face, so we keep him visible all year long.
Word has it he is quite the singer and a rock star.
The End {on a Happy Note!}
The new artwork looks great! Good to try new materials, a challenge but fun in the end.
Thank you Susan! For a couple of days there it seemed like the cardinal was not going to fly in time, but she did! Woo-hoo!