October, halloween, gothic romance, and what is "creepy-beautiful"

Ok I've scheduled myself to write to you about something called 'Creepy-Beautiful ' which is a component of my artistic aesthetic, and how much I love the season of Fall and about the genre of gothic romance and also a super fun drawing challenge with halloween-y themed prompts; but I woke up to news of another mass shooting, and I think I'm starting to be menopausal, and the cat keeps peeing on soft surfaces around the house (mattresses, clothes, towels, rugs), and I'm in a bit of a funk. 

So right now the world feels 100% creepy and not sure where the beauty is -let's see if I write about it we can dig it back up.

Creepy-beautiful is sort of like the French term, 'Jolie-Laude', which translates to 'Pretty-Ugly'. To the French, being conventionally pretty is boooo-ring. Being truly beautiful is a combination of odd characteristics, and of course something behind the face and body to carry one through the world. Creepy-Beautiful is something that is aesthetically lovely, but is enhanced by the juxtaposition of something dark, gothic, or.... creepy. That is what interests me visually. 

I'm not a pure goth that decorates her house with coffins and wears all black etc etc (though I do admit to a certain amount of home decor shopping when Grandin Road comes out with its Halloween Collection), but I do have a board on Pinterest of photos of abandoned mansions; I enjoy listening to supernatural podcasts about ghosts and aliens and other mysterious happenings; and I was a huge fan of gothic romance novels as a teenager.  

"Dark Mistress of Stormhaven" 2014

The Gothic Romance Series
This was the inspiration for my series of paintings also entitled 'Gothic Romance'. On the covers of the genre of gothic romance there is a specific theme: women running away from large foreboding mansions in which there is a single lighted window. I wanted to create my own gothic romance book cover art - but my heroines are less 'running away' and more part of the foreboding part of the story. They're not so much afraid as...a bit frightening themselves. A bit creepy-beautiful. 

---

#artofdarkness2017 No.1: "Creatures of the Night"

So you can see why I would also love October - when Fall really starts to feel like Fall, and the month of Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead. The abundance of color, the changing light, the shorter days and longer nights, the morning mist over the fields, the excess of sugary treats... the last hurrah before everything dies before a new cycle starts (did you notice that juxtaposition of both beauty and the darker bit of death?).

Time for Daily Creepy-Beautiful Drawings!
I find myself the most creative this time of year, and to celebrate that this is my second October joining in the drawing challenge called "Drawolleen" or "Inktober". I'll be drawing a halloween themed sketch every day of this month, inspired by prompts written by Mr. Nemeth (@mister.nemeth) called #artofdarkness2017. You can see them everyday on my Instagram or Facebook feed, and they are also available for purchase for $10 and little bit of shippy-ship if I have to mail it to you.

---

.....Ok well I guess I feel a little less insane now, taking my focus off of world events. But I'll leave this post with a couple of resources in that department:

A place to learn about and support commonsense gun control:
*Much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving was created to reduce drunk driving, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was created to demand action from legislators, state and federal; companies; and educational institutions to establish common-sense gun reforms. 

Give to Hurricane Relief:
*Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico) Relief 

*Hurricane Harvey (Houston TX) Relief

*Hurricane Irma (Florida) Relief

​So let's keep looking for the Beautiful in the midst of this super Creeptastic time.
​xo K