Check out Monster Transmission channel 151!

Dear reader,
I recently discovered a new blog full of monster mania. The ever enthusiastic ambassador of all things monstrous, Madame Katie Rose (the monster master), has created a space for the celebration of the world of monsters. You are invited to submit your own creative monster vision with each category she presents. The latest category happens to be monsters from the world of Jim Henson's Muppets. The interpretation of that is left up to you.  If you're a writer you might even be able to submit literature about monsters, just ask her first. So tap into that old brain pan of yours and cut into at all that juicy creativity and help the great cavalcade of monstrous monsters grow.  Anyway, if you do feel so inclined here is the portal to teleport you there:  Monster Transmission channel 151

your friend,
christopher
P.S. I drew Big Mean Carl (above).

Creature Parade #6

Hello friends!  Here's another set of the creatures I've been imagining.

First up is a creature I'm calling serra phignia.  This is an aquatic mammal that relies on its fins (evolved from wings) to speed through the water, and also provide minimal gliding through the air as it walks on water in a similar fashion to the basilisk lizard.  It hunts with it's hook-like arms which are elongated forefingers.

Next, we have a palm fly.  This flying insect makes its nest among the leaves of palm trees (hence the name) and is roughly the size of a common honey bee.  I haven't decided whether it feeds on blood or nectar, but either way you understand the function of the mouth.  I meant for it's stomach to be decorative or contain pigmented cells that the creature can change at will.  I suppose this feature is found primarily in the males of the species and used as a decorative palette to attract a mate.

The next, rather large, creature I have named tonako archouix.  It's basically a mixture of a mammoth and a walrus which makes it's home in the plains.  A herbivore that lives in packs and also happens to be an excellent swimmer.

Here we have a much smaller creature known as a devil snail.  This snail 's body is more solid than it's slimy cousins and has a tendency to feed on small insects and animals more than plant life.  It will wrap up it's prey in the numerous toxic barbs that adorn the front portion of its foot.

The final creature for today is the fungi pangolin.  This animal has a body adorned with fungus of various species.  Another result of evolution, it uses this as camouflage among fallen leaves and decaying wood of a forest floor.  It feeds mainly on ants, termites and other small insects, sifting through leaves and breaking apart old wood with its claws and horns.
Perhaps I will create something with all this one day...a book of some shape?

Creature Parade #5

Here be some new creatures to ponderr!

 

Up first we have what I am calling a wooden soul for the time being.  I find it difficult to separate this creature from the Ents of J.R.R. Tolkiens's Middle-Earth or the transfigured and twisted human trees from Dante Alighieri's Wood of suicides but I am happy to express their inspiration.

 

Here we have a creature I call phrexis, and it's only about the size of one of the leaves on the wooden soul or smaller.  This creature acts much like an airborn jelly fish floating through the atmosphere gathering small animals, bacteria and other particles in its noodle-like tentacles.

The next creature I named hemiptera leontopithecus sol (hemiptera=order of insects that contain cicadas and leaf hoppers, leontopithecus=lion tamarins, sol=sun).  This creature spends most of its life up in trees, perched at the canopy, where it's head and tail end absorb energy from sunlight and turn it into food.  Much like a plant, this animal receives most of its nourishment in this manner through chloroplasts that adorn its cells in those areas.

 

Here is an ugi flunara.  The shape of this creatures body is used as camouflage and was a direct result of all of the hedge apples I have seen placed around my home.  This is a burrowing creature that feeds mainly on insects and grubs it finds in the earth.

 

Finally we have a thorny toad.  I meant for this creature to be a light mixture of a toad and a turtle with its beak mouth, clawed feet, and a mildly hardened back.  The antennae on its head are used to lure in prey and the horns or thorns which appear all over its body are a defensive measure, and while the thory toad is a docile creature it can produce a toxic sting.     

Comfy Grey Cloud

thinking about the rain and the wild colors of a rainbow. the waves of light set free; a mysterious road of color.

Creature Parade #4

creatures from left to right: humtenali, cephlapod arachnidae, polar imp, and a costal-sand whisp. I was thinking of a klipspringer while I was drawing humtenali and decided to give it a human head. While I drew the cephlapod arachnidae I was going through a fear of being bitten by a black widow or brown recluse, but I suppose that fear is more of the unknown than it is of spiders. I have a great respect for both arachnids and cephlapods. The creature is my vision of how a spider mixed with an octupus might appear. In regards to the polar imp I just wanted to create a creature from a cold environment. I was thinking about heavy winter coats when I drew it. The coastal-sand whisp is the third whisp I have drawn. A whisp is like a carrier pigeon that delivers messages. This whisp is a mix of a crab, dragon, and a clay pot. It buries itself in the sand so that only the clay pot is visible. Once a message is placed inside the pot the whisp wakes from slumber to take message out to sea or a short distance inland.

Some art that found a new home

The artwork here all became a gift one way or another. The first two were mixtape covers I created for two of my friends, Rachel and Gina, along with the mixtapes inside. The third and fourth pieces were covers for birthday cards I made for my parents, who I have to thank for giving me life and the chance to pursue art. And finally is the cover to a birthday gift I decorated for my friend Laura, who I shared a train throughout Europe (along with my friends Alex and Ian) over 8 years ago - one of the highlights of my life so far.

"Outdoor Families" certificate design

A little while ago my friend Emily asked me to design a certificate for an event she had been organizing. An event where kids get the chance to do different activities involving nature with their families. The certificate above would be given to each child upon completion of all the activities, along with a stamp of completion that would go into the empty square at the bottom right. That is about the extent that I know about the event. It was a fun challenge and I'm happy that Emily considered me for this creative endeavor.

With Love and Blades

Old collage notebook

These collage pieces are from a collage notebook I started a few years back. I stopped after about a week because it became irritating, and I never returned. Regardless, I believe this excursion into stitching images together was a lesson in developing a better understanding of composition and color relationships, and it must have helped me in some way because I've kept the notebook. Of all the artwork I've thrown away over the years, this notebook (which I can only take credit for the pasting) has remained. I suppose it has a relationship to printmaking, and I can see how this experiment could have developed my interest in chine colle. But in the end I think it was just another way to defeat artist's block.

burning roses and a broken rainbow

Oh sketchbook, you are such a great pal! A large THANK YOU to all the sketchbooks of the world, and those beyond the world. You provide solace for uncountable imaginations, and with each image we bring you life. So to all sketchbooks and their equivalent, we thank you. Take a bow!

The monotype

These are some monotypes I created in college. The monotype, or monoprint, is a printmaking process where only one print can result (hence the name) in contrast to an edition which is possible with other printmaking mediums. The reason for this is that you are essentially creating a painting on a surface (with ink, or watercolor) that will be trasferred to a piece of paper. Once the image has been printed, a "ghost" image is left behind on the surface the artist painted on. This is a faint impression of the original image. The artist can then print the ghost image, alter it by adding or subtracting to the image, or simply paint the image again using the ghost image as a guide. No matter what, the image will almost never be the same twice (I say almost because anything's possible). It's also fun to combine printmaking techniques, like in "Knife Stab" where I used chine colle (a printmaking process where the artist glues paper to paper. not as easy as it sounds) in addition to monotype.

Creature Parade #3

From left to right: geeblish, squid boy, tumble teeth, treaz-tranoria, mollusk tick, and occuli bog mouth. Try tapping on the glass because it makes them grow. I don't know what to tell you next, just enjoy!

Creature Parade #2

Here is another collection of fine specimens. From left to right we have: whisp, lunar weevil, bison diptera, and a carpet angler.

Once Upon A Dark, Regurgitating Forest

I need to get back into a printmaking studio. I need to find a place to print. Maybe soon, maybe soon. It has been a nagging beast. So, for now, I will continue to post older printmaking work that represents my skill so far. Here are 5 more etchings from my undergraduate thesis. Some of you have seen them before and I apologize for being redundant, but at least this time you can view the prints at 2 different scales. So I suppose there is something new.

Creature Parade

I guess there isn't much else to say except this is certainly one of many "creature parades" you will see on this blog. From left to right here we have a satyr, humanoid anemone, face-arms, and clevox. Some names are boring and I will have to come up with more interesting (perhaps scientific-esque) names later on. Be careful, some of them bite.

To Mr. Maurice Sendak

Here is a drawing. A Character from Where the Wild Things Are, created by Maurice Sendak. His work has inspired me as it has many children and adults around the world for a couple generations now. I think his work affected me more than I knew. I see the inspiration coming through in my creatures, and some of the people that I draw. Maybe you do too, or with another childrens book illustrator. Whenever I look back at Where the Wild Things Are, I am reminded that I never really let go of that precious childhood imagination. That is a comforting thought and perhaps one of the only ones I have left.

a couple pencil drawings

Not to give a false impression, but these pencil drawings were darkened using photoshop (just a change in the levels). The original drawings came out too light as scans. Here it looks as though I was using a softer pencil than I actually was. Just being honest. Regardless, I'm happy with the result.

At Dawn A Reoccuring Dream

This old grotesquerie again! Prints from my thesis return from their portfolio graves. At last I am no longer tired of looking at them. I felt they deserved a voice in my artistic advertisement on this blog. I worked long and hard for hours and hours to create the 30 separate images representing my undergraduate thesis. Here are 5 of those 30 images. All of the images are intaglio prints, and I used various facets of that medium for each print. One subject or motivation behind this series is an attempt to connect with the collective unconscious through a meditative relationship with a small copper plate. Marking, scratching , and experimenting for hours. I have my own interpretations of each image, but I leave it up to my audience to discover their own.