'Lets spend the night together.......'

New post entitled Deity .Now casual observers may note a likeness to a certain Mick Jagger .Although unintended it's an interesting point ,although  the starting point for this one was a photo of Syd Barret and an idea of creating another 'Red Room' picture .

I went for an expressive approach  ,letting the colour dictate .A different technique entirely from the one used for Underwood returns. This has been posted to my paintingsilove page where you can find other Mike Bennett inspired artwork as well as my other 'Stuff'. As ever feel free to share ,print or comment .

The Unsearchable way

A big thank you goes to Mike and Will from A Podcast to the Curious ,the podcast dedicated to The stories of M.R.James,for using the image below on their site for their coverage of 'An Evenings Entertainment'.
Thanks also for the mention on the podcast and the link to this site .

The Unsearchable Way (A Warning to the curious)

The podcast is a wonderful source of information for anybody interested in James ,and the readings are very well done .I have been a big fan of this podcast since the 'Lost Hearts' episode 2 (if memory serves).
The background information on each story is always very informative,and Mike and Will manage to dissect the stories without 'Over doing it '. So if you haven't yet discovered the podcast or aren't familiar with M.R James ,why not pop over to their site to see what you've been missing at http://www.mrjamespodcast.com/.
I am currently in the process of making some small changes to this site,because i have noticed that this is the one that people seem to find .This site started off as a showcase for Artwork influenced by Mike Bennett's excellent stories ,and although the vast majority of the Work on the site is still influenced by Mike ,this work  accounts for a fraction of my output ,so it may be time to use the site to show some of my other stuff .So slight changes to the header  ,little tweaks here and there and some different images showing up in the Future .There, that wasn't so bad was it ............

UY1-01 Underwood Returns !

Well,well,well here we go again !
A new season of U&F and after just one episode , Mike has already left us wanting more ! Our only consolation is the promise of Monthly episodes !. The new format for season 3 of the U&F chronicles is the story told through a series of recorded interviews with The 'Late' lord Underwood  ,recordings made by David's Father, Arthur Flinch ,recorded on Tape and later converted to MP3 by John Flinch .
This provided the  inspiration for the image below ,an illustration created using Tinted charcoal and pastels on a dark paper ,the same technique i used for 'The Guardians' .

The recent U&F artwork uses an Automatic technique ,where no sketches or roughs are used .I tend to have an idea for the image ,which i let fester in my mind for a while and then let it 'grow' on the paper ,faces tend to appear from out of the dark background .Not a perfect system but one that tends to throw up interesting results .I've also posted this to my paintingsilove page so if you'd like to find more of my art go to http://www.paintingsilove.com/artist/paulwarren
As always any questions regarding my artwork ....you know where i am ....

The innsmouth look

After months of internet problems ,the Mike Bennett influenced blog is back !!!!
Word to the wise never,i repeat NEVER !! use an ISP that rhymes with WALK WALK !!....i mention no names .
Output since my last post has been of an Abstract nature but i did produce an Image based on Mike's reading of H.P.Lovecraft's Shadow over Innsmouth .
And this is what we have today.

Mike's treatment of the Lovecraft tale was wonderful and full of atmosphere ,you could virtually smell the fish !
Inspired ,in part by the Work of  Hieronymus Bosch,this tries to capture the Dark humour contained in the story,which Mike's reading captured so brilliantly.The image was produced using pastels on dark grey paper.
The approach was very 'Automatic' in nature with no sketches allowing the faces to emerge from the Dark Background .
Any questions or comments regarding my Artwork or who my favourite member of The Saturdays is ....you know where i am .!
Congratulations to Mike for his recent Parsec Awards  ,richly deserved for both the  U&F and Innsmouth   podcast.
And now off to prepare for the next installment of U&F !

A disjointed phase

In an attempt to keep the blog active while i wait for more MBP based inspiration ,i've decided to post some of my more recent artwork .It seems that i'm experiencing another disjointed /experimental phase.It happens every now and then ,usually when i start to consider  more commercial avenues for more my work .
I have spent the previous six months or so experimenting with different ideas and mediums .I find it's best just to work through these ideas and see what is produced at the end.

Transmission /Crosses

Towards  Flight

Cardiograph Horizon

Truth Revealed (The Charlatans Touch)

Germinate

The recent stuff is more abstract with text creeping in to the artwork.i have also been working with Artbars which can be used with water and scratched and scraped to create stunning visual effects.
So sadly no Vampires this time but another example of What i do .As always any comments etc

Mike Bennett Award Winner

Congratulations to Mike ,for he has won a Parsec Award ! Finally getting the recognition his brilliant U&F deserves.Underwood and Flinch has always been gripping well written stuff ,but i also feel that the Acting and the production of this podcast has been of a higher standard than many of Mike's contemporary's .

So 'All Hail!' Mike ....Parsec winner !

Underwood ,Lifeblood

Underwood,Lifeblood

Inspired by the events in Episode 44 ,This is an illustration that uses Tinted charcoal ,a medium i've been using a lot of late.The image of Underwood is loosely based on a photo of Herbert Huncke  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Huncke an image that has fascinated me since i first saw it many years ago .(See Below )

Herbert Huncke

In Underwood lifeblood i have tried to recreate the moment that Miguel's blood starts to take effect ,the touch of red around the eyes and mouth allude to something stirring ,a life force if you like, something Fragile yet all powerful ,stirring from within the near corpse like Underwood .Driven by Mike's  Remarkable writing he creates a real sense of tension in this episode as we are driven along to the fast approaching climax to Underwood and Flinch. Underwood,lifeblood is available as a free High res. Download from my DeviantArt Page .Just click on the link at the top of the page .