Favorite Movies of 2012
The year 2012 was a great one in many ways, be it movies, art, or events. Art-wise, I had some interviews go to print, most notably with an awesome piece written by fellow artist Ghoulish Gary Pullin for Rue Morgue Magazine. I just released a debut book that is a complete portfolio of all my work, titled In Vivid Red: Horror Art By Chris Kuchta. I also did some concept art for a few projects that can't yet be discussed in case they end up happening! My career flourished as I pushed myself to be on the ball as much as possible. It wasn't easy, but I hit a good twenty or so conventions to display and sell my work, which required busting serious ass to get a new painting ready for each show. I like to offer something new each time. It was hard and stressful in many ways, but totally worth it. I cannot stress enough that hard work ALWAYS pays off. Between all the travel and nights in my studio, teaching, and whatnot, free time was sparse. But when I had it, you can bet your ass I spent it watching movies!!
I enjoyed a lot of the films I caught last year, so I'll list off a few that really knocked it out of the park for me.
THE AVENGERS - What else is there to say besides HELL, YEAH! Everything about it was phenomenal. It was everything I expected to see and more. I liked all the individual Marvel films leading up to this epic battle of all battles, but this just blew me away.
PROMETHEUS - I personally thought Ridley Scott did a great job on this, even if the first half was a bit on the slow side. It was amazing to see in the theater.
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS - Possibly the best horror movie to come out in 2012. It was designed so perfectly. I loved the literal destruction of stereotypes and challenge for others to come up with something new. The creatures making havoc all over the damn place was unbelievably cool.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK - This was a great take on the story and didn't harm the memory of the original film in any way. The gothic scenery and costumes were spot on, and it was damn creepy!
THE DEAD - I thought this was great. It had an old school quality to it, which was probably the lack of CGI regarding the zombies. It reminded me of Fulci's stuff and it had that distinct bleak feel to it. Check it out!
THE RAID - This was just plain AWESOME. The martial arts are unbelievable. It's got a really simple plot, but it doesn't need any more than that, due to the unparalleled explosion of action! The cinematography should win awards. The cameraman literally injects pure kung fu right into your eye sockets!
EXIT HUMANITY - I really enjoyed this, especially for the inclusion of art within the film as used for telling the story. I did a blog post on this HERE.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Just a stellar movie all around. Great way to finalize things.
THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 - Oh, come on. This was so wild, you gotta love it!
V/H/S - Most of this was pretty good. I think it's the only found footage anthology that exists.
FATHER'S DAY - Oh, yeah! As wild as it gets. I love this stuff. It reminded me of Hobo With a Shotgun a lot.
DEAR GOD NO! - Another crazy exploitation horror movie that has to be seen to be believed! Most of the guys in this are not actors, but real bikers!
DEAD WEIGHT - A friend co-directed this Wisconsin-shot, independent film, and I seriously recommend it! It's about survival and the evil of man above all things. That even a zombie apocalypse can be the least of your worries sometimes.
SINISTER - Not extremely original, but it was simply done very well. Creepy!
TUCKER AND DALE - How hilarious was this? I caught this at a festival and was glad I did.
Those were the standouts! I also enjoyed The Moth Diaries, The Innkeepers, The Hole, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, and The Divide. Movies I REGRET watching are: Apollo 18, Red Riding Hood, Monster Brawl, The Devil Inside, Incubus, Underworld: Awakening, the new Resident Evil, and TCM3D royally sucked! These all really missed the mark on so many levels. I try to be pretty open-minded when it comes to movies, but these were just total messes.
2013 films I look forward to: Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim, Mama, Carrie, Lords of Salem, Star Trek, Wolverine, Frankenstein Created Bikers (Dear God No sequel!) and I, Frankenstein!
It's probably pretty obvious what a huge movie fan I am just by looking at my art. Besides for entertainment, movies are great sources of inspiration for me. I may even put a whole damn movie or all the characters in one painting! An example of this would be my BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA piece!
Step 2: I sketch in all the main character elements that are important to the composition. Here is the time I think about size and eye flow in a painting. Still working monochromatic at this point.
Step 3: This is the final stage in the underpainting. The background elements go in and the final shading occurs. Once dry, I begin color application.
Step 4: The final color stage as well as painting the really small details and highlights comes in here. This is the fun part, when you get to see a painting come together.
And that is generally the basic structure for how my painting process works each time. It may seem difficult to others, but it works very well for me. If you have any other questions, always feel free to ask! I love what I do and wouldn't change a thing. The most important thing for each artist is to find one's own style. What works for you may not work for others. Whatever process feels most comfortable is the right one for you.
You can find me on Facebook at Horror Artist Chris Kuchta's Gallery of the Macabre and on Twitter at @Bloodedemon. Also DeviantART as bloodedemon and I'm now on Pinterest.
