I’m very excited to finally share my latest book cover illustration!
Coming February 12th from Jazz House Publications, Twisted Love is an anthology of 12 gothic romance stories guaranteed to chill your bones, just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Go on over to their website, see what they do and pick up some of their books. I’m very grateful to be working with them.
Hey everybody!
I only have one piece of art to share with you this week, but it’s kind of a doozy.
I wanted to create an epic, science fiction/fantasy style illustration. You know the kind, it’s usually set in a desert landscape, there’s a giant monolith or mystical crystal floating in the center while human figures scurry about in fear or awe.
I inserted a Rubik’s Cube in lieu of an alien spaceship or a cyclopean monolith.
I’m not sure why. Maybe because the solving of this puzzle eludes me. Maybe because it’s a great Hungarian invention and that fills me with pride as a Hungarian-American. Maybe it was just a random thought. That’s probably it.
Take a look below at the finishing touches I put on this digital oil painting.
I’ve also added the above piece and a bunch of other things to my Redbubble shop, see below if you’re interested in prints, magnets, stickers, mugs or various other products.
I think that’s about it for now. I have a few new exciting commissions I am working on and I can hardly wait to share them with you!
Until next time!!
Finally, I can share some new art with you!
I started this project early in 2020, just before the…unpleasantness, but it feels like three years ago at this point. It’s been difficult for me to keep this under wraps for so long, I just wanted to burst!
I was tasked with creating the cover artwork for a holiday horror anthology to be released by Jazz House Publications.
Krampus Tales: A Killer Anthology will feature various talented authors and is scheduled for release on November 24th, so mark your calendars.
I am holding out hope that everything will turn around in October. I know that it’s the season of cold and death and decay, but it leaves me feeling quite optimistic.
Maybe everyone will stay at home and watch horror movies all month. Or they will order candy apples in the mail and have cider delivered to their door. Maybe everyone would just wear a mask for once.
I have two different Halloween costumes planned, even though I doubt there will be a place to wear them outside of my own living room. Maybe this year we’ll have a Zoomoween.
I’ve said it before, at least Halloween won’t be canceled in my cold, dead heart.
Like usual, I have a handful of cool projects on the horizon that I can’t share with you just yet, but believe me, they’re going to be a lot of fun. Stay tuned.
I’m preparing a short story to publish on the blog next week that I’m hoping will get the goosebumps expanding and the blood pumping faster than usual.
In the meantime, did you know that I started a YouTube channel? There are some weird, new T-shirt designs over in my store. I also hang around on Twitter sometimes, stop by and say howdy.
A cool breeze tickles
The eyeball mustache bristles
And summer is done
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the coffee shop…
I’ve been mulling this one over for a few years now and I’m very happy to finally bring this creepy guy to life while it’s still a viable flavor profile. I had some trouble settling on a tagline for this imaginary horror movie.
“Revenge is a dish best served spiced!”
“In spice, no one can hear you scream.”
You guys have any suggestions?
As a creative person, I think I have a problem with certain types of social media. I don’t have a healthy relationship with things like Instagram and Facebook. I admit that now. It’s good to get it out.
I get into these phases in which I begin posting quite often, maybe giving updates on a certain project, and I become addicted to the likes, to the attention. I check obsessively to see if there are any new followers. I’m a genius right? Shouldn’t I have thousands of adoring fans? Like so-and-so over there?
I begin comparing myself to those others who don’t seem to offer the same quality work that I provide. Or I begin questioning why seventeen thousand people would follow such an account. What do they know? Are they even real people?
I begin thinking up strategies on how to draw these followers to my side. I begin churning out junk that I think could be popular with certain crowds. It usually ends up being sub par and rushed.
I ignore the one person’s opinion that really matters in the end, my own.
It’s like Kurt Vonnegut says: “Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.”
So, what do I intend to do about it?
I need to step back and have some quiet time, some “me” time, to reflect on the art and story ideas that really excite me.
That’s what I did this past week. I’ve chewed on the subject of this post for days. I also sat down with my sketchbook and thought about social media, these accompanying doodles are the result.
I should not invest so much time and energy in social media apps. I will try to connect with real people on the internet, only when I have a free moment here or there. I’ve joined the community at AbsoluteWrite and I hope to make some new friends, have some good conversations, and learn some things too.
I need to remind myself that Instagram is a tool that I can utilize periodically, like a hammer or a toothbrush. I don’t need to obsessively use it every day.
Somewhere deep in the back of my mind palace, at the end of a quiet corridor, through a small hole in a wall, lives this little fellow, hiding from the world and hoarding his treasures.
This illustration is a combination of ink, watercolor paint and watercolor pencils.
M. R. KESSELL 