Archive for November 2012

Big news!! I'm excited to announce a new hardbound art book containing ALL of my paintings, including some charcoal drawings. It's got all my work up to date, and I'm proud of how it turned out. Tom Sullivan (Special Effects artist on THE EVIL DEAD, painter, prop maker, etc.!) was kind enough to write a wonderful introduction, and talented musician and author Count Lyle Blackburn (Ghoultown) wrote the foreword. I am very grateful to Tom and Lyle for their contributions and support to help make this first book happen. These are two very talented guys whom I really admire.

Quantities are limited, so I'm currently taking pre-orders. They all come signed, priced at $40 each. If you'd like a drawing on the inside front page, or the “flyleaf” to get technical, there is an option for this in the items listing. The first 10 sold will contain a FREE, numbered ink drawing inside. The rest of the flyleaf drawings ordered with the book will be in pencil and cost $10 extra. This is it. Everything I've done up until now is in this book! Get ’em while they're hot! The book will be available through this site. Here is the link:

http://www.horrorartist.com/shop/in-vivid-red-horror-art-by-chris-kuchta/

Thanks for your support!

Here's the trailer for the book! Spread the word!

I have some cool news! The November issue of Rue Morgue contains an interview with yours truly! The very talented horror artist, Ghoulish Gary Pullin, interviewed me for his “Fright Gallery” column, and I feel extremely honored. The piece is titled, “The Cult of Chris Kuchta.” This magazine is one of the best out there, and this is really exciting for me. It happened at a perfect time. Check out Gary's work here: ghoulishgary.com

Hope you guys get a chance to check it out!

I've been doing a lot of charcoal sketches lately as raffle art prizes at the conventions I've been set up at this fall. It really helps when you have a set deadline. I know that I've got to get it done by the next show, which has been pretty much every weekend for a few months now. ALMOST every weekend. So, I've got a lot of these! I'm going to talk a bit about the process while posting images along the way. Hope you enjoy.

Charcoal drawings are an exercise in the study of form in light. If you're learning how to paint, it may help to practice drawing a few charcoal sketches to get the hang of it. I like the medium a lot because the classic monsters I draw are already filmed in black and white, so it just feels right. It also makes the modern characters like Leatherface look creepy.

First, I sketch the contours and general shaping of my subject, then I focus on lighting and texture. I use a technique ,called reductive drawing, which matches my under-painting technique. I just pre-tone the board then erase the highlights and strengthen the darks. It's really pretty simple once you get the hang of it. You can switch up your charcoals between hard and soft, and between using pencils, sticks or vines. Vine charcoal is very soft and works wonders when you want clothing or fabric to appear believable.

Working in charcoal is great because of all the variation in tone you can get. You have such a high range of tones that the whole spectrum is there at your fingertips. I use both kneaded erasers and a makeup applicator, or even white charcoal pencil once in a while for adding highlights. To finish your piece, spray it with a fixative to prevent smudging.

There are a handful of ways to use charcoal effectively, so in this case, everything isn't always black and white!