Four Inspiring Halloween Artists

As I'm relatively new to creating my own vintage-inspired Halloween items, I am using this entry to mention some of the artists I find inspiring! And since my words alone cannot do them justice - I have provided many many links to their work:

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Johanna Parker:
Johanna (website Johanna Parker Design) creates one-of-a-kind papier-mache folk-art objects with work that features a host of vintage-style holiday characters - owls, cats, bats, ghosts.... and (having just finished some work myself with one such character, I could be a bit partial to the new one shown below) - a mouse! All of these works have an eye for old world artisan details of rich patinas and line work, that create a piece that could be at home on your mantel all year long. (I'm also very fond of her 2D work and you can see some of that on her behind-the-scene illustration drawings on flicker; this 2D work is also appearing now via zazzle).

If you are reading this in early July 2011 you might have time to bid on this mouse!
For more information see her blog.

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Lori Rudoolph:
Lori (web blog Retro Rudolph's) is another one of those artist who has monster skills in both 2D and 3D  work. Her papier-mache jack-o-lanterns, witches, devils, and veggie-people, start with the old school look of Halloween products (for example paper-pulp pumpkin lanterns from the 40s to 50s) but with her personal twist that features high-definition deep-brow grimaces and colorful paper additions and inserts. (Halloween for me is all about mysterious flickering lanterns and I love that many of her works offer you the opportunity for that after-dark spookiness). Well, her lanterns, bobble heads, and noise makers, are just for starters - see more of her work on flickr as well as etsy.

Check out the Retro Rudolph's blog for sneak peeks like this one!

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Matthew Kirscht:
This artist (aka Shiver Bones) has a body of work beyond just Halloween - check out this flickr gallery of his surreal fine art; (and here is his main website matthewkirscht.com). This is a world unto itself filled with bizarre characters involved in all sorts of spooky behavior... that does indeed send shivers down your spine, and if you have any knowledge of vintage Halloween post cards and company lines, you'll love the tongue-in-cheek nods to those works (like this piece called the Hellfire Lantern that touches on a classic Beistle style the company sadly no longer pursues). Like that work, I'm truly fond of his line style in monochrome or classic black and orange... and his newest work recreates vintage comics merged with his Halloween imagery:

See the Matthew Kirscht Halloween gallery on flickr.

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PumpkinRot:
And finally, somewhere between your gnarled post-season pumpkins and the most fascinating haunted house on the block -- there is that same sense of awe to be found in the artistically creepy work of pumpkinrot. With their added eye for photographic sensibilities, check out the yard displays and more in the pumpkinrot flickr galleries - (as well as the pumpkinrot main website and of all the things pumpkinrot finds interesting at pumpkinrot blog). 

Pumpkinrot on flickr

Love those pumpkin expressions? In recent news the pumpkinrot duo has created a line of pumpkins available for order from Primitives by Kathy. Check out the full catalog for a collection that includes Pumpkins of all sorts that include Reapers, Ghost Babies, Witchy, Sinister, and Charred!

The above pumpkin was found on the Pumpkinrot blog.
Pumpkinrot at Primitives by Kathy

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Okay, well that's just a few - and I would love to write more on more Halloween artists but time to move on to other things (though perhaps I'll revisit this "ode to Halloween artists" in future entries)...  in the meantime I have left this page full of links for you to explore! Have fun!!!