still from Hedgehog In The Fog, Yuri Norstein, 1975 - Twin Peaks : Fire Walk with Me, David Lynch, 1992 - untitled, Rae Klein

As the night wind blows, the boughs move to and fro; the rustling, the magic rustling that brings on the dark dream.

untitled [2021]

digital camera

A sleepy clown amongst the stars. He sleeps without knowing and that is what’s best. A clown in the sky, snoozing serenely with the eyes.

Bluebeard's Castle / a novel by Anna Biller

I first encountered polymath auteur/cinéaste Anna Biller when she screened her Cal Arts thesis film Three Examples of Myself as a Queen (1994) at Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center in Venice, California. The film was a tour-de-force - a straight-faced hilarious surreal camp fantasy musical that Biller wrote, starred in, directed, costumed, composed and set-designed. Around that time I was also lucky enough to catch her live stage production, The Lady Cat, in which she starred as a be-whiskered furred sexy feline. Those glorious offerings have since been followed by films such as The Hypnotist (2001), A Visit from the Incubus (2001), Viva (2007) and The Love Witch (2016), each of which has been a gleaming iconic/iconoclastic constellation in the Anna Biller firmament.

Now, years later, I've just finished the audio version of Biller's debut novel, Bluebeard's Castle (Verso Fiction, 2023). Fascinating, complex and interwoven with stealth historic, cinematic and literary hat-tips, the novel absolutely felt like an Anna Biller production. Biller's indelible mise en scène over the years has been so gloriously signature with its unapologetic embrace of nostalgic high fashion and cinematic kitsch that the novel unspooled in my head as a dazzling film punctuated by bits of quintessential Biller-esque theatrical side-business: naked men painted white posing as statues; costumed dancers performing a sensual pas-de-deux between a caterpillar and a butterfly.

The book is a true-to-form romance novel that follows the erotic evolution of romance novelist Judith as she is drawn ever deeper into the gravitational pull of a devilishly handsome cad. But Biller subverts the genre by confronting the reader with the nightmarish horror of the narcissistic demonic, all the while seducing us with inescapable eroticism, daring us not to turn the page (or keep listening to the audio - convincingly read with Gothic intensity by Samantha Hydeson).

The juxtaposition of romance novel genre and rigorous razor-sharp psychological insight of Bluebeard's Castle made my head spin. In vivid Biller-esque fashion, the dark momentum of the work made me feel like I was being strangled with a gold satin cord and lowered into a red velvet lined coffin in a symbolic death. This is a filmmaker's novel with big dreamlike technicolor impact and Hitchcock-like precision.

I read somewhere that Biller had originally pitched Bluebeard's Castle as a film and, rather than wait for the capricious wheels of cinematic fate to spin in her favor, took to the novel form and made it happen.

Here's holding out hope that this scintillating work gets a green light. Would be epic.

Negative Prompt: ugly, duplicate, morbid, mutilated, out of frame, extra fingers, mutated hands, poorly drawn hands, poorly drawn face, mutation, deformed, blurry, bad anatomy, bad proportions, extra limbs, cloned face, disfigured, gross proportions, malformed limbs, missing arms, missing legs, extra arms, extra legs, fused fingers, too many fingers, long neck, low resolution, 3d model, deformed hands, deformed feet, deformed face, deformed body parts, same haircut, eyes without pupils, doubled image, same human face in one frame, illustration, anime, cartoon, ugly face, bruises, cartoon, anime, painting, red color saturation, unattractive face, jpeg artifacts, frame, Violence, Gore, Blood, War, Weapons, Death, Destruction, Fire, Explosions, Pollution, Garbage, Graffiti, Vandalism, Rust, Decay, Filth, Disease, Insects, Rodents, Vermin, Darkness, Shadows, Nightmares, Fear, Horror, Sadness, Depression, Pain, Suffering, Anguish, Despair, Loneliness, Isolation, Neglect, Abandonment, Negativity, Hate, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Discrimination, Intolerance, Prejudice, Ignorance, Arrogance, Greed, Selfishness, Cruelty, Insanity, Madness, lowres, text, error, cropped, worst quality, low quality, jpeg artifacts, ugly, duplicate, morbid, mutilated, out of frame, extra fingers, mutated hands, poorly drawn hands, poorly drawn face, mutation, deformed, blurry, dehydrated, bad anatomy, bad proportions, extra limbs, cloned face, disfigured, gross proportions, malformed limbs, missing arms, missing legs, extra arms, extra legs, fused fingers, too many fingers, long neck, deformed, ugly, mutilated, disfigured, text, extra limbs, face cut, head cut, extra fingers, extra arms, poorly drawn face, mutation, bad proportions, cropped head, malformed limbs, mutated hands, fused fingers, long neck, illustration, painting, drawing, art, sketch, disfigured, kitsch, ugly, oversaturated, grain, low-res, Deformed, blurry, bad anatomy, disfigured, poorly drawn face, mutation, mutated, extra limb, ugly, poorly drawn hands, missing limb, blurry, floating limbs, disconnected limbs, malformed hands, blur, out of focus, long neck, long body, ugly, disgusting, poorly drawn, childish, mutilated, , mangled, old, surreal

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 💀💜KK-1-6 ZOMBIE GREEN BRAIN MOLD RARE 🧠🧟‍♂️ Halloween party decor hostess.

photo from a long distance, photo taken of an (epic intricate), oiled body, open hole labia, huge heavy chest, huge round oiled soft hips, rihanna, a little bit curvy, beautiful body, gracefully curved body, attractive pose, mature scene

out of frame, black and white, neon, ((shoes)), ((clothes)), ((bra)), ((panty)), ((pants)),ugly, duplicate, morbid, mutilated, out of frame, extra fingers, mutated hands, poorly drawn hands, poorly drawn face, mutation, deformed, blurry, bad anatomy, bad proportions, extra limbs, cloned face, disfigured, gross proportions, malformed limbs, missing arms, missing legs, extra arms, extra legs, fused fingers, too many fingers, long neck, low resolution, 3d model, deformed hands, deformed feet, deformed face, deformed body parts, same haircut, eyes without pupils, doubled image, mid aged man, old men, logo in frame, gun, man with more than one penis on body, scared facial expression, drawing, painting, blur focus, blur, photo effects, skinny guy, make-up on male, angry facial expression, same human face in one frame, illustration, anime, cartoon, ugly face, bruises, cartoon, anime, painting, red color saturation, unattractive face, jpeg artifacts, frame, Violence, Gore, Blood, War, Weapons, Death, Destruction, Fire, Explosions, Pollution, Garbage, Graffiti, Vandalism, Rust, Decay, Filth, Disease, Insects, Rodents, Vermin, Darkness, Shadows, Nightmares, Fear, Horror, Sadness, Depression, Pain, Suffering, Anguish, Despair, Loneliness, Isolation, Neglect, Abandonment, Negativity, Hate, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Discrimination, Intolerance, Prejudice, Ignorance, Arrogance, Greed, Selfishness, Cruelty, Insanity, Madness, lowres, text, error, cropped, worst quality, low quality, jpeg artifacts, ugly, duplicate, morbid, mutilated, out of frame, extra fingers, mutated hands, poorly drawn hands, poorly drawn face, mutation, deformed, blurry, dehydrated, bad anatomy, bad proportions, extra limbs, cloned face, disfigured, gross proportions, malformed limbs, missing arms, missing legs, extra arms, extra legs, fused fingers, too many fingers, long neck, deformed, ugly, mutilated, disfigured, text, extra limbs, face cut, head cut, extra fingers, extra arms, poorly drawn face, mutation, bad proportions, cropped head, malformed limbs, mutated hands, fused fingers, long neck, illustration, painting, drawing, art, sketch, disfigured, kitsch, ugly, oversaturated, grain, low-res, Deformed, blurry, bad anatomy, disfigured, poorly drawn face, mutation, mutated, extra limb, ugly, poorly drawn hands, missing limb, blurry, floating limbs, disconnected limbs, malformed hands, blur, out of focus, long neck, long body, ugly, disgusting, poorly drawn, childish, mutilated, , mangled, old, surreal

Model: epiCRealism

Width: 768Height: 512

Scale: 9Steps: 100

Sampler: DPM++ 2M SDESeed: 109573225

beatiful majestic angel, white, white big wings, Comic style, Perfect anatomy, Centered, Approaching perfection, Dynamic, Highly detailed, Artstation, Concept art, Smooth, Sharp focus, Illustration, art by carne griffiths and wadim kashin, Trending on Artstation, Sharp focus, Studio photo, Intricate details, Highly detailed, By greg rutkowski, Pink, Comic style, Perfect anatomy, Centered, Approaching perfection, Dynamic, Highly detailed, Artstation, Concept art, Smooth, Sharp focus, Illustration, art by carne griffiths and wadim kashin, Trending on Artstation, Sharp focus, Studio photo, Intricate details, Highly detailed, By greg rutkowski Negative prompt: skin black, 3D, chinese, nsfw,yallow,(((pubic))), ((((pubic_hair)))),sketch, duplicate, ornate, (disfigured)1.1, (bad art)1.1, (deformed)1.1,((painting)), ((frame)), ((drawing)), ((sketch)), ((camera)), ((rendering)),(((cropped))), (((watermark))), ((logo)), ((barcode)), ((UI)), ((signature)), ((text)), ((label)), ((error)), ((title)), stickers, markings, speech bubbles, lines, cropped, lowres, low quality, artifacts,Amateur,Low Frame,Painting,tumblr,watermark,signature,((hdr)),((terragen)),((rendering)),(high contrast), chinese, nsfw,yallow,(((pubic))), ((((pubic_hair)))),sketch, duplicate, ugly, huge eyes, text, logo, monochrome, worst face, (bad and mutated hands:1.3), (worst quality:1.7), (low quality:1.7), (blurry:1.7),horror, geometry, bad_prompt, (bad hands), (missing fingers), multiple limbs, bad anatomy, (interlocked fingers:1.2),(interlocked leg:1.2), Ugly Fingers, (extra digit and hands and fingers and legs and arms:1.4), crown braid, (deformed fingers:1.2), (long fingers:1.2),succubus wings,horn,succubus horn,succubus hairstyle, (bad-artist-anime), bad-artist, bad hand,chinese, disfigured, kitsch, ugly, oversaturated, grain, low-res, deformed, blurry, bad anatomy, disfigured, poorly drawn face, mutation, mutated, extra limb, ugly, poorly drawn hands, missing limb, blurry, floating limbs, disconnected limbs, malformed hands, blur, out of focus, long neck, long body, ugly, disgusting, poorly drawn, childish, mutilated, mangled, old, surreal, words, letters, titles, text,Amateur,Low rated,Phone,Wedding,Frame,Painting,tumblr,watermark,signature, Steps: 54, Sampler: DPM++ SDE Karras, CFG scale: 7, Seed: 2380868840, Size: 512x768, Model hash: 5f6f1556d1, Model: animatrix_v20

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman was born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Sherman earned a BA from Buffalo State College, State University of New York (1976). In self-reflexive photographs and films, Cindy Sherman invents myriad guises, metamorphosing from Hollywood starlet to clown to society matron. Often with the simplest of means—a camera, a wig, makeup, an outfit—Sherman fashions ambiguous but memorable characters that suggest complex lives that exist outside of the frame. Leaving her works untitled, Sherman refuses to impose descriptive language on her images—relying instead on the viewer’s ability to develop narratives, as an essential component of appreciating the work.

While rarely revealing her private intentions, Sherman’s investigations have a compelling relationship to public images, from kitsch (film stills and centerfolds) to art history (Old Masters and Surrealism) to green-screen technology and the latest advances in digital photography. Sherman’s exhaustive study of portraiture and self-portraiture—often a playful mixture of camp and horror, heightened by gritty realism—provides a new lens through which to examine societal assumptions surrounding gender and the valuation of concept over style.

REVIEW: Playdurizm - Hauntingly Original & Visually Stunning Examination of Trauma

Playdurizm, directed by Gem Deger and written by Morris Stuttard, is a haunting fever dream where reality and fantasy collide in unique and visually stunning ways, while telling a dark and uncomfortable story. 

Playdurizm follows Demir (Gem Deger) teenager who enters into a fantasy world with his movie idol, played by Austin Chunn. The film explores how Demir ended up in this world and explores his complex feelings about living in this new reality as he learns more and more about how he got there and what this world signifies for him. 

Unique Visual Style and Surrealism

Playdurizm tells a dark and devastating story with a unique visual style, showing the dangers hidden behind glitzy fantasies. The moments in Playdurizm which work the best capture the dissonance between fantasy and reality through moments of horror. When Demir’s fantasy world is at its brightest or most technicolor, the darkest of questions hide just beneath the surface. 

Playdurizm is about a teenager inside a fantasy world, shown through glitches and dreamy color schemes, and the directing, production design, and cinematography work wonders to capture this aspect of the plot. As a viewer, we feel thrown into this fantasy world, zapped into a world that feels both futuristic and retro. 

The visual style and surrealism of the fantasy world remind me of the absurd surrealism and life hidden under layers in Casper Kelly’s short films Final Deployment 4: Queen Battle Walkthrough and Too Many Cooks. Like these surreal short films, Playdurizm captures the surrealism of dreams and creates a unique experience. 

One of my favorite moments in the film expresses a unique sense of the world. We see a movie trailer representing what we have been seeing, but without Demir’s presence. This moment pushes the film in a wonderfully absurd direction, while leading to more questions about this unraveling mystery of Demir’s world. 

Visually, Playdurizm is captivating and perfectly represents the film’s questions about reality and obsession. The visual representations of the edges of this fantasy world add a hauntingly beautiful quality to the film, and allow the devastating moments of the story to have a truly lasting emotional impact and be difficult to watch, especially surrounded by production design mixing dark kitsch with Barbie’s dreamhouse. 

Playdurizm utilizes neon colors–especially pink, purple, and blue–creating a world that feels like a piece of art. When Demir first wakes up in this unfamiliar bedroom, living with Andrew (Austin Chunn) and Drew (Issy Stewart), he has no memories of this living arrangement, but feels a pull toward Andrew and a desire to have a more intimate relationship with the other man. 

The floor of the bedroom is covered in blue-purple balloons, creating an environment that feels like a party–bright, inviting, and a little bit surreal. 

As the film progresses, the colors grow darker, the pinks and purples still present, but as colorful lights reflecting off the darkness by which they are surrounded. Playdurizm utilizes this trend of neon to show how Demir’s fantasy grows darker and more violent as the film progresses. 

Originality of Story

Playdurizm is a wholly unique experience tackling extremely difficult topics with mystery and surrealism befitting a fantasy. The fantastical aspects of Playdurizm constantly have a feeling that something dark and difficult to watch is just under the surface. 

As I watched, I felt Demir's uneasiness. We know there is darkness under every surface and we see glimpses into the dark reality of the story as these glitches occur. 

Playdurizm affectionately expresses its influences while creating a completely unique experience. As I watched this film, I was constantly in awe, unsure what would happen next and how far the film would go and how the character’s would react to every development. 

Playdurizm’s tone feels lighthearted and glitzy, creating a palpable dissonance with the film’s darker themes, expressing the action of trying to cover up our worst memories through returning to the familiar and getting lost inside our fantasies.

Playdurizm brought to mind the wonderful Horror Express focused Creepshow episode Night of the Living Late Show, which showed a fan putting himself in the world of his favorite movie. Playdurizm wonderfully explores this idea as a means to escape the trauma of real life, creating a blend of visual styles and tones, highlighting the darkness as well as the false happiness of our fantasies. 

Performances

Playdurizm’s dark surrealism works wonderfully to create a unique world that feels both dangerous and beautiful. In addition to a captivating visual style, the performances in Playdurizm allow us to fall even further into this glitchy fantasy world. 

The film’s director Gem Deger stars as Demir and plays the part perfectly, exploring the innocence of this teenager caught in a challenging and violent fantasy world. 

Deger’s performance highlight’s Demir’s inquisitive personality and innocence while navigating the complexities of desire and obsession. 

Austin Chunn’s performance as Andrew highlights a unique time and style in film, bringing to mind the Cronenberg and De Palma films from which this film draws inspiration. 

Conclusion 

Playdurizm is a unique and surreal exploration of traumatic experiences following a complex queer character played wonderfully by Gem Deger, the film’s director. Playdurizm thrives in its performances, captivating visual style, and meta moments.

Playdurizm is available on blu-ray and dvd from Kino Lorber

The Tendrils

damienhirst This beauty treasure is called ‘Minnie’. She’s a cutie! Another Disney character that I made in 2020. She’s carved from pink marble and is on show with my Reverence Paintings in “Forgiving & Forgetting”, my show at the @gagosian gallery Rome. Show’s on July 6th - October 23rd.

https://www.heni.com/

#sculpture #sculptureart #sculptureartist #sculptures #sculpturelovers #sculptureoftheday #sculpturepark #sculpture_art #sculpturegallery #sculpturesofinstagram #sculpture_gallery #sculpturesurbois #contemporarysculpture #sculpturecontemporaine #sculpturephotography #sculptured #modernsculpture #abstractsculpture #handsculpture #artsculpture #instasculpture #skulptur #skulpturen #skulpturer #skulpturensammlung #skulptures #skulptūra #skulpturia #skulpturenausstellung #surreal #surrealart #surrealism #surrealismartcommunity #popsurrealism #popsurrealist #popsurreal #surrealist #surrealista #surrealistic #lowbrowart #weirdart #lowbrowartist #surrealisme #surreal_art #surrealismo #surrealpainting #faceless #retroart #newcontemporary #lowbrowpopsurrealists

SФЦИDΓЯДCҜ:

The Lack Of Hope - Glass Figure Remix by Gesaffelstein

𝙼𝚏 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚜 🆎𝚘𝚟𝚎

Ok so my interests are

- mummies

- cults

- music (specifically synthesizers and keyboards, folk and glam rock)

- birds (specifically ospreys and mourning doves and grasshopper sparrows, and owls)

- lemurs

- little shop of horrors from 1986

- photography (usually surrealism and documentary photography)

- Quakerism

- art (kitsch, art nouveau, surrealism and medieval art)

This year I’m hoping to get into gardening, and expand my skills with embroidery and sculpting *-*

Intro Post

About me

I don’t think I ever really made one of these. Hi, I’m Nik. I’m 30 years old and I write a lot. I’m trying to be more organized and systematic about it, hence the creation of this blog (accountability!). I went to undergrad for writing and philosophy, got a masters in publishing, and graduated law school about a year ago. I write horror stories mostly. I used to write a lot of poetry (especially in college) and hope to pick that back up at some point, but my main focus right now is fiction. Everything I write ends up being very large in scope and I think my current project is probably going to be the first book in a trilogy.

Faves

My main faves are Shirley Jackson, David Lynch, J.D. Salinger, Thomas Pynchon, Tove Jansson, Ali Smith, and Kurt Vonnegut. I also am having a big Bong Joon-Ho moment. My writing tends to meditate on trauma/loss and feature occult themes. (I do tarot readings btw, if anyone’s interested...) I’m also into dream analysis, absurdist humor, old New York kitsch, and surrealism. (I post things I find interesting/inspiring on my main @trysteroo)

My WIPs

Your Mirror Status: second draft Target word count: 70k A gothic horror novel set at an insular liberal arts college wherein young Harper Grady (bisexual cis woman) gets a first-hand education in the sinister forces operating within the idyllic academic institution--forces she must ultimately confront and attempt to thwart. Ghosts, bad spirits, magic, melodramatic hipsters, a weird cult, some taboo romance -- it’s all happening. I made a longer post about this WIP, which I’ll link to here. Think “dark academia” but absurd and deeply unsettling.

In the Pines Status: first draft (scrapped prior drafts and started over) Target word count: 70k A gothic horror novel set in Brooklyn and Upstate NY that chronicles the strange journey of Francis Hanratty (gay trans man) after he stumbles out of Prospect Park with no idea who he is. Features a rogue cop, a teenage satanist couple, a celebrity psychic, a sleazy bible salesman, a semi-famous emo band, a far-right self-help cult and its charismatic leader, Real Housewives, more magic, more ghosts, some murder, and an actual demon (or two). This story exists in the same universe as Your Mirror and has some of the same characters. (I started writing this first, but it’s on the back burner. It’s definitely not as well-developed as Your Mirror). Think Twin Peaks meets The Good Place.

If you want to know more about me or my WIPs feel free to drop me an ask :) Hope you’re all safe and healthy and gleaning at least some pleasure out of these endless numbered days.

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN YS

From large scale murals to multi-layered works on canvas, LA based artist Lauren YS’s art captures everything from the female experience, addressing topics like sexuality, death, aliens, monsters, and the occult. Her works are complex much like her own experiences, so we’re super stoked to find out more about what drives her, who and what inspires her, and what challenges and advice she has for our readers in this awesome Sketchy Behaviors interview..

Take the leap!

Photographs courtesy of the artist. 

Introduce yourself. Hey! I’m Lauren YS - Hmm, something you might not know … I used to play ice hockey and my favorite candy are Peach O’s. I am a really good listener, but that also means I hate being interrupted. I dream, often, about being underwater.

Tell folks a little about your artwork and what do you love to make works about? I make work about the female experience, sexuality, identity, space, aliens, heritage, death, monsters, nature, emotions, natural phenomena, the occult and whatever else I might be obsessing about. I like slimy creatures, kitsch, psychedelia, sex and Halloween, and mixing repulsion with attraction. I want the viewer to feel unsettled as much as engaged. I make things in an effort to try to process the beautiful shit rocket that is the world around me.

When did art become something you were aware you could do for a living or as a career you wanted to pursue? I have always been making art, but I never thought it was possible to support oneself as an artist: It seemed really out of reach or surreal. It wasn’t until I had already been fully freelance for a year before I realized I was actually doing it. I think it’s just something that comes out of necessity, it’s like – if I want to keep making art as much as possible at the rate I am living, then damn, I’m going to learn how to make money off of it.

What’s a typical studio day for you like? I tend to work nocturnally. I’ll paint through the night and sleep through the day and watch horror movies, listen to podcasts about art, serial killers and cults, and eat anywhere from 1-2 sacks of tangerines every day. I like to really plow through paintings as well, it’s hard for me to stop working on something once I start. After about three weeks in the studio like this, your mind starts to wander off into deep strange places, and that’s when the really good stuff comes out.

What’s your studio or creative space like? What do you keep around to constantly motivate or inspire you? I have always worked best in a bit of “artistic chaos”–I like to fill my space with odds and ends, knick-knacks, items from my travels, talismans. I believe in the power of objects. I love my lava lamp and need to buy seven more. I also have this drawing I made of an Asian grandma screaming “DRAW, MOTHERFUCKER” which I plan to make into a screen print and give to all my artist friends.

When working on a body of paintings and works for a show, what is your process like? How long does it typically take you to complete a painting from start to finish? Depending on the size of the gallery, it can take anywhere from 2-6-10 months to create a show, given that it is often punctuated by mural tours and big projects to pay the bills. I like to work on lots of pieces at the same time, so generally it’ll take a few days to a week or two to finish a piece. I am trying to get better at reworking pieces rather than just pushing through them one by one. Workflow is still sorting itself out. I also make a ton of pieces that end up being nixed from the final show. I am very prolific but also very psychotic.

Not only do you work on canvas, but you are also known for some of your amazing murals! When did you start going from painting on a regular scale to large scale works? What’s your process like for mapping out these large works? Well shucks, thank you! I started painting murals around 2013, which was a sort of natural transition because I wanted to work bigger and bigger, I wanted to travel and be in the sun and use giant machines to make my art. I actually started learning color from using spray paint. I freehand everything because I like to feel independent of projectors or machines, especially if I’m in a foreign country or don’t have time or resources.

It makes me feel empowered to be able to make big things on my own. Maybe that comes from growing up under the common experience girls have, especially asian girls, where you’re expected to be small and quiet and obedient. I have always worked in active aggression against that stereotype.

Is there a medium you’d love to get your hands on, but yet to have the chance too? And what are your go-to materials? I’d really love to learn how to use an airbrush, a la Sorayama. Outside of 2D I am dying to get back into stop motion animation. My favorite brand of spray paint is Montana Black (high pressure forever!), and I use a wide variety of acrylics and gouache in my paintings, specifically the Holbein gouaches from Japan.

What do you love about where you live, and what is the art community like in your area? I never thought I’d move to LA, but I’ve been really enjoying it here. I’m a communal living person (been in and out of communities for about 9 years) and I am lucky to have found somewhere that fits with my work ethic (intense) and social vibe (weird). I like to be able to work alone while still having people bustling around and making things all the time. It helps me to feel like I’m not dead or a total solipsist.

I’ve also found that the artists in LA–especially the female artists–have proven to be really kind, generous and welcoming. There’s a lot of room for weirdos here; it might take a while to find them, but they’re here. We also have a one-eyed cat, did I mention that?

Who are some artists you’re inspired by and have influenced you throughout the years? I’m a big fan of dark/psychedelic/erotic artists like Keiichi Tanaami, Suehiro Maruo, Sorayama and the whole Ero Guro movement. I also love Goya’s dark paintings and the sculpture work of Bernini. Some contemporary artists I’ve been into lately are Christian Rex Van Minnen, David Altmejd, Robin Francesca Williams and the fabric sculptures of Do Ho-Suh. Jamie Hewlett, Swoon, Andrew Hem, Aryz. I find that my taste changes constantly and I am always thirsty for different influences.

What’s been the most challenging part of your art career? What’s been the most rewarding? What do you do to keep the balance? Something really challenging has been learning how to trust myself while growing in the industry and balancing business, work and travel. It’s a really solid test: moving to a new city, providing for yourself, going on tour, shifting from place to place, managing gallery work and mural work, all while protecting and nurturing your own ambition and positivity, and not feed into the shitstorm of capitalism and social media past what is required of you.

The muralist life is not for the faint of heart. I would hardly say that I keep any type of “balance”–art is my life and there isn’t much room for anything else, and that’s how I like it. It is the most rewarding thing to look around and feel like you’ve created something new and good and powerful, all on your own terms. It is similarly rewarding to feel the need to level up - I enjoy feeling stressed arguably more than I enjoy feeling accomplished.

What would your dream collaboration be? What do you enjoy most about collaborations with other artists or clients? I would love to do something with Takashi Murakami and/or his gallery (Kaikai Kiki Gallery). There’s also this amazing Australian animator named Felix Colgrave whose work I’ve been obsessed with lately, I’d love to find a way to make an animated short with him! I love collaborating - especially on mural work - because it’s such a cool experience to be able to intermingle your visual world with someone else’s. Working with ONEQ in Hawaii this year was really great, she had so many suggestions and ideas from out of left field that made me rethink my own work as well. It also forces you to relinquish some control on the way you work, and reflect on the basic joys of making shit in the first place.

If you could paint a portrait of anyone living or dead, who would you choose and why? I really want to do a tripped out portrait of Yayoi Kusama or Bjork or maybe Steve Buscemi—all heroes of mine.

What’s your advice to folks who see what you do and want to pursue art as a career? I would say, go at it as hard as you possibly can! Make sure you really enjoy doing it! Not all parts of painting murals are glamorous (actually, few are) and it’s important to truly love every part of it if you’re going to commit your life to it.

This means: hustling walls, handling machinery, travel, people, logistics, finding somewhere to pee, dealing with unexpected bullshit, not complaining, being comfortable handling yourself in dangerous situations, being independent and resourceful, etc. I have reservations about artists who genuinely don’t seem to enjoy all the elements of mural painting going too deep into it. But if it’s something you love, there’s nothing better.

What are your FAVORITE Vans? I’ve been rocking the classic authentic Vans in black/burgundy as paint shoes for years now. But I also love the Sk8-Hi boys in burgundy… I never wear them because I’m too scared to get paint on them, haha!

What other artists would you love to see interviewed for Sketchy Behaviors? I’m currently really into Andrea Wan, Louise Zhang and Caratoes. It would also be really cool if you covered a GNC or trans artist, like Nomi Chi or Laughing Loone!

What’s next for you that you can share? My first book is coming out this year with Von Zos, and I’m also going to be designing a tarot deck with them. April is my first mural tour in several months; I’ll be hopping from Australia - Guam - Peru, and then moving around South America for a while, trying to practice my spanish. After that, I’ll be starting work on my next big show, scheduled for a city in Asia, which I’m really, really excited about - keep an eye out!

FOLLOW LAUREN YS | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | SHOP

   WELCOME to my VERY UNOFFICIAL, ACTUALLY SPOOPY

        INKTOBER PROMPTS

   FOR THE MONTH OF HALLOWEEN 2019

Take the iconic horror movie character and render them in an art style you choose from the Style Cloud!  When an iconic monster has a group (such as Lost Boys), you can choose your fave.  When there are multiple movie depictions, you can choose your fave.

01  Jason Voorhees - Friday the 13th

02  Nosferatu - Nosferatu

03  Carrie White - Carrie

04  Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice

05  Jigsaw - Saw

06  Chucky - Child's Play

07  Godzilla - Godzilla

08  The Children - Village of the Damned

09  Pennywise - It

10  The Tethered - Us

11  Freddy Krueger - Nightmare on Elm Street

12  Erik - The Phantom of the Opera

13  Candyman - Candyman - Candyman - Candyman - Candyman

14  The Saeki Family - Ju-on

15  Michael Myers - Halloween

16  The Wolfman - The Wolfman

17  The Xenomorph - Alien

18  Pinhead - Hellraiser

19  The Nun - The Conjuring 2

20  Ghostface - Scream

21  The Creature from the Black Lagoon

22  Audrey II - Little Shop of Horrors

23  The Lost Boys - The Lost Boys

24  Gorilla Wolf Mofos - Attack the Block

25  Leatherface - Texas Chainsaw Massacre

26  The Mummy - The Mummy

27  Regan MacNeil - The Exorcist

28  Hannibal Lecter - Silence of the Lambs

29  Bride of Frankenstein - Bride of Frankenstein

30  Frankenstein's Monster - Frankenstein

31  Dracula - Dracula

    the Style Cloud

When a certain artist is named, they are just a stand-in for their style or spirit.  You can make take Kazuo Umezzu for Junji Ito, Lucian Freud for Egon Schiele.  Some categories are inclusive enough, you could range Hannah Barbera from Scooby Doo to the Flintstones.  Or choose a style not on the list.

Ghanaian Poster Art    Urban Art    Rap CD Art    Outsider Art    Looney Tunes    Rococo    Roman Dirge    Robert Crumb    Hernandez Brothers    Daniel Clowes    Saul Bass    Gibson Girl    Winsor McCay    Popeye    Stoner Art    Hanna Barbera    Caricaturist    Tumblrized    Furry Art    Disney Art    Mascot    Pee-Chee    Harry Clarke    Dictionnaire Infernal    John Tenniel    Struwwelpeter    Klasky Csupo    Max Fleischer    Spongebob Squarepants    Tim Burton    Batman: The Animated Series    Cartoon Network    Stevens Universe     Rage Comics    Egon Schiele    Surrealism    Chuck Tingle Cover    Romance Novel Cover    Jack Kirby    Rob Liefeld    Garfield    Strip Comics    The Far Side    Sailor Moon    Pokemon    Alfonse Mucha    Yoshitaka Amano    Cave Art    GrecoRoman Statuary    Faerie Art    Pop Art    Kitsch    Cubism    Mannerism    Impressionism    German Expressionism    Americana    Hieroglyphics    Ukiyo-e    Hindu Art    Mesoamerican Art     Paracas Art     Bayeux Tapestry    Illuminated    Saint Art    High Renaissance    Noir Comics     Dr. Seuss    Little Golden Book    Patrick Nagel    Lisa Frank    Airbrushed Van    Goosebumps Cover    Jack Chick    Audrey Kawasaki    Junko Mizuno    Junji Ito    Keith Haring    Louis Wain    James Audubon    Mad Magazine    Rumiko Takahashi    Nintendo    Castlevania    Joshua Timbrook    Jhonen Vasquez