Food shortages

I have this recurring dream, well nightmare really, that the world has been hit by a zombie apocalypse. Few humans remain and those that do live under the radar of the predatory flesh eaters.

In my dreams I am pursued by hordes of these repulsive creatures, shambling towards me like a never-ending tidal wave of rotten flesh. Vacant eyes stare as they are propelled by just a primeval instinct to feed.

And how they feed – ripping into limbs, gorging without taste, smell, or indeed any other sensory pleasure. It’s pure savagery, like the proverbial fox among the chickens.

As creatures from horror go, they lack and little need any form of sophistication, intelligence or cunning. It’s all about the power of the pack, a very large and greedy pack. There’s no thrill in the chase, no sense of victory when you capture your quarry. It’s just mindless feeding for seemingly no purpose, after all it’s never really explained why the zombie must eat flesh. Will they all die when they run out of living creatures to provide their three meals a day?  Is it just an unnecessary compulsion? What's the point of zombies anyway?

And then there’s the issue of them destroying what few humans remain on the planet - that’s where I have a real issue. You see, I'm not particularly concerned about being eaten by the vile creatures myself… it’s more that I worry about what they’re doing to my food supply....

;)

Seriously, nobody ever thinks about how the poor vampires will manage during a zombie apocalypse do they?

[For the uninitiated, this devilishly handsome fellow above is the rather delicious Damon Salvatore. Mean n moody, but ever-so-sexy blood sucker from the Vampire Diaries. Obviously he shouldn't be confused with flesh-eating rotting Doris at the top of the page. She lurched her way out of my imagination and dragged herself onto the page dripping pus... nice....].


Vanessa, from A Fanciful Twist is having a Halloween Party. I like to pen a few words of fiction on these occasions. This is a little on the short side this year, but what it lacks in substance I hope it makes up for in drool-ability. And, if you have any zombie nightmares, here's hoping Damon Salvatore will be on hand to rescue you!

Don't be scared...

And keep scrolling... the painting gets (marginally) better I promise...

But... before I start... may I just say how THRILLED I am to be the featured artist on Paint Party Friday this week! Huge thanks to Kristin and Eva for pouring the champagne week after week (sometimes I struggle to get my Muse out of there....).

Where was I?

I'm learning so much from my mess!

Take the other evening. I was all set to create a beautiful whimsical girl. Soft flowing tresses, delicate English-Rose skin and a sweet smile. I dropped in the first layer of skin tone and then... from nowhere, came a little Imp intent on mischief.

The rascal put shocking pink paint in my hand and bade me colour her hair, then of all things begged me to splatter her now glowing locks with blue paint - in several shades - whatever next?

Well, it got worse as we sprayed with water, twisted and dripped, then when the deep pools of paint weren't keen on drying, we spoldged into them with rubber stamps with no care or thought. A few drops of alcohol ink and she was transformed. My beauty was now a zombie. Poor lass.

What could be done? Well, nothing until she'd dried out that was for sure... Then I very nervously (and carefully) brought her in for an examination. You know what... there were actually some bits I really liked...

I saw the beauty within and coaxed it back out of her...

(Zombie version was a photograph. This one was scanned and keeps the true colours)

OK, I admit that she still retains an element of the creepy supernatural. Nobody said bringing anyone back from a zombie-fied state would ever be easy - look how long it took Will Smith. The point of the exercise was to find wonder in the destruction; to find pattern and linkage; to see 'with my eyes closed'.

I made mental notes of how much I loved the mix of colour and florals on her cheek and will almost certainly be using the techniques again in future.

We don't just have to do this in art. The right side of the brain is set up for finding pattern and crafting what you might think unrelated ideas into original thinking. Have you tried painting to music? I don't mean just listening in the background, but really letting the music conduct your brush?

And what about playing with your words? Listen to a great piece of music and let the notes and movements dictate you the story. It's all there if you only listen hard enough and open your senses...

I'm getting all this from my Messy Book Group. I might not be growing cress again in my forthcoming artwork, but do expect to see more drips and free stamping!

I'm a crazy girl in love with pattern, texture and colour!

Coming to get you...

Well this is a charming picture is it not? I'm hoping it doesn't prompt my recurring zombie dream tonight. Haven't had that one for a month or two, so we must be due. Last night was just a psychopath with a Hitler 'tash and werewolves chasing me - all set to a jaunty musical soundtrack written by Gary Barlow. Even in the depths of unconscious I did question myself whether this was the most appropriate musical accompaniment to that particular night-time adventure.

Amy is hosting a zombie vs unicorns party on her blog, so I thought I would join in (and multitask with a bit of Sunday Sketches). The living dead are far easier to draw than mythical horned beasts so I went team Rotting Flesh.  I think we're gonna win... After all, a zombie gorged by a unicorn horn is still a zombie... it just has an additional horse-shaped accessory attached. You can't see said beast in this picture - mainly because I didn't draw it, but I can assure you it's there.

It's quite a refreshing change to draw ugly (on purpose!) too.

Did anybody watch that TV series The Walking Dead? So, I ask you, if the world was overtaken by starving flesh-eating zombies, would you set up a camp on the edge of a forest and live in a tent? No?... I thought not.

My favourite news story this year had to be when some bright spark wrote to Leicester City Council asking what plans they had in place to combat a zombie attack. When it came out that they were not prepared for such disaster, the following happened....

PS - If I don't get round all the sketchers, zombies and unicorns today, I'm on my way. Broadband keeps breaking...

Total Wipeout

I was not a pretty sight this morning. 14 hours in my bed and most of those spent asleep and feverish has that effect on a girl's hair and the brightness of her eyes.
I am afraid the lurgy got me - you know - the kind that drives steamrollers and carries hammer-drills, then turns your muscles to mush and makes your clothes hurt.

Fear not, I am on the road to recovery - and amazingly a kilo lighter too. As I have signed up to Art Every Day and Blog Posts Every day Month, and am not one to shy away from such commitments. Here I am having dragged myself out of my sick bed to create something...

Well, OK, I do feel a lot better and can highly recommend a 14 hour sojourn under a duvet if you can get it. The sofa is calling me now though and promises a bit of trash TV. The question is - are we going for some Zombie watching with The Walking Dead or shall we see what bargains Kirstie Allsopp turns into chic decorations in her home made home? Decisions decisions.

My artistic contribution today was how I looked this morning - hair in a tangle and decidedly green around the gills. Although, thinking about it, I actually seem to resemble an extra in the cast of the aforementioned zombie drama... That's it. Decision made. I'm watching Kirstie!

When the moon howls

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with scary, spooky, haunted, or forbidden in the title." Shaggy, close friend of Scooby Doo.

Well said my lanky friend, well said. Perhaps I should have heeded such wise words before partaking of a hundred or more Halloween parties yesterday as I rampaged around blogland hotly pursued by ghouls, ghosts and goblins.

If you missed the party of the season at a Fanciful Twist and have a stomach for such things then do hop upon your broomstick and zoom over to follow the cobweb trails and tales... But a word of caution... do so after dark at your own risk...

It seemed perfectly natural that my Sunday sketching this week would be inspired by such gruesome imagery. This was helped along by the Illustration Friday theme 'spooky' and watching my boyfriend playing some zombie shoot 'em up game on the pc sitting next to me. It's a wonder I have managed to remain sane!

This illustration was an experiment. How can you turn a simple sketch of a girl into something far more sinister? Well, you could cast spells and rub her with newt's entrails, but I preferred the contents of my paint box. I oozed, dripped and splodged and sprayed with a ghoulish mist. Rather effective I think? She started out as quite a pretty little thing and now she looks like she's had a run in with the special effects department at Hammer House of Horror.

I always used to think that painting should be such an exact science, but now I've learnt that half the fun can be in the experimentation. When you drip ink over an eye then tilt the paper you lose control, the art makes itself and the story unfolds before you.

"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle