Batty Bertha

 

I have learned more about the figures I am basing these drawings on. They were a Frito Lay give away found in bags of chips. Wow, they should bring that back. How fun is that? 

As near as I have found, this is the full set. I only own five of them. 

More to come!

Halloween Bats 365

 I painted these to decorate my carport. 

I love making cutouts and I plan to sell templates of some of my designs soon. 

Cool Ghoul (Reaper)

 

I drew this Sunday. I was in my storage and found the figure pictured. I only have a few of these, but I plan to draw each one. The reaper was always my favorite as a kid, so I started with him. These figures were produced by Multi Products in the 1960s. I was not alive then, but boy do I love the monster figures from then and all the way into the 90s.   

Keeping an Eye Out

 Watching for deliveries. I am testing my new Printify products. 

The Growing Season

 Something odd grows in the under brush and strange sounds echo through the trees. 

Sunflower

 Summerween has come and gone, but it is still too hot. 

The Studio

 I am trying to get a studio going again, but this unfinished space I have requires more money than I am likely to be able to invest to to get it in a properly usable state any time soon. For now it will largely be for storage and building monsters when the temperature allows for it. 

Tales From the Dark Side Ep1

 I have a great love for the first episode of this series. It is about Halloween, and greedy evil people getting what is coming to them. Two of my favorite things. In the episode, there is a jack o lantern that I really love and so I have drawn it and added it to my merchandise in my Printify store. The Jack has a bat for a mouth and bats are my favorite animal. Store owner Gideon Hackles likes to torment the poor children in his community and baits the parents into letting him with the chance to get out of debt. If you have not seen it, you should. I couldn't find the full episode online. 

Sam

 Sam hangs around here a lot. 

Jack

 A gallery I work with took a commission for this painting, but never took money. I painted it and the requester ghosted us. Now it hangs in the gallery waiting for a home. 

Do you want to partyyyyy! (or Punk, but slow about it)

I have been "working" on this painting for a while now. I am hell bent on getting it done before August. 

Landscape

 I am thinking about doing a painting of this location to go over my couch. Am I howling mad? 

Halloween Bats

 One of my favorite things as a kid were the simple illustrations in black and orange that were on  a lot of Halloween merch in the 80s, so I have made this and some other items in my Printify Shop. Never AI, always drawn or painted by me. 

The Great Gnome Extinction

 The reason you never see any gnomes around is the invasive frogs ate them all. 

Goblin Stew

 I love to cook when I can. I make a lot of soups and stews. This one is a lot of mushroom, garlic, onion and whatever is available, which is why I call it goblin stew. 

October on the Brain

 I painted this during one of my painting classes. Sometimes the students do not need me much anymore and I start painting too. I did this in about two hours. Maybe a little less. It went home with one of my students. 

MONSTERS IN MY POCKET

 As a kid, Monsters in my Pocket series was a favorite. I am nothing if not consistent in my tastes. Each of these was based on the figure of the monster they  represent. Did you collect them? Which were your favorites? 

Snail Witch By Ethan Black

 Helabore Blightspur was quick to betray, even for a hag. When her coven had finally had enough of her backstabbing, they saw to it she would never be quick to do anything again. After transforming her into a snail like creature, they banished her to a fungal marsh. She is constantly seeking a way to restore herself and to get revenge on the other hags.

Gustov and the New Jar

 I have a brain in a jar named Gustov. (Who doesn't?) During an adventure, this, his once home had a little accident  while we were at Transworld. The jar was broken. Since then, I have tried and tried to find a jar like this one. No luck. So, I have moved him into a more squat jar and now the apparatus at the top doesn't work for it. I am now building a new apparatus and will post my progress soon. I just need a few more parts and a good electrical storm. 

Jacked Up

 I can't wait to carve pumpkins again. I did this one last year along with about ten others. Come on fall!

Emily loves Halloween

 SPOOKY STORY TIME: Little Emily was born to wealthy conservative parents. They were expecting a beautiful child. A normal child. They were deeply disappointed by her homely looks and patchy dark hair. As time went on and they got to know here, their displeasure grew. She was strange, played with bugs and was obsessed with dark and creepy things. She played with a mangy kitten that they could not seem to chase off. She begged to go out on Halloween. They could believe it, their child wanted to celebrate the Devils birthday. The las straw was when they found her drawing symbols in the dust and chanting. They had to be rid of her. They agreed to take her trick or treating, purchased her a witch costume and took her out of town so their friends did not see the blasphemous embarrassment. They slipped extra candy into her cauldron and let her eat as much as she wanted. On the way home, Emily got very sick and died before they reached the hospital. Well before. They managed to avoid suspicion and enjoyed sympathy from their friends and congregation. Blaming Emily's love of "devil things" for her death. The next Halloween they heard a very late knock at the door. They had never indulged trick or treaters and they were not about to start now, they told themselves... But the knocking continued. Enraged they flung open the door. There was Emily. Not in the white gown they had buried herein, but in her Halloween costume and far from alive. She grinned and held up her cauldron. Now full of putrid goo and swarming with all kinds of vermin that piled out as Emily's personal wave of vengeance. A few days latter, the maid found her.parents. ther bodies almost impossible to see for the swarming insects. Their horrified faces were unforgettable. Emily now haunted her favorite night, looking for others who need punishing. When she finds another child who has been killed while trying to enjoy Halloween, she adds them to her group of vengeful trick or treaters.

Prop, story and concept  by me, Ethan Black

Pumpkin Plague

When Jack first started the CRISPR lab in his garage, he planned to make the most prolific and fast growing pumpkin plant the world had ever seen. In that he was successful, but when he accidently injected himself with the plant DNA, he doomed himself to slowly mutate into the very plant he desired and now he mindlessly seeks others to infect with parasitic pumpkin plants. This Halloween will be the greenest the world has ever seen, and the most horrific.

(Story and concept by Ethan Black)

 

Return of the Spider Witch

 I have redrawn the spider witch. Which was inspired by my childhood horror sounds CD. A Night in the Graveyard.  I like this version a bit more. She is more creature like and menacing than the old woman crawling with spiders I created previously. Which do you like more? Why? 

Thank you, and stay spooky!

Ethan

Glowing Bones

 One of my coworkers printed this glow in the dark skeleton for me and he now "lives" in my truck. You just can't get enough skeletons. 

Spider Witch

 The Spider Witch was drawn with inspiration from a childhood horror sound effects CD that I listened to far more than any normal person would. The Cd is a tour of a haunted house and graveyard. In the graveyard you encounter a coven of witches who cast curses on your group. One of the witches says "Web of spider, evil eye! Cloak of darkness! YOU WILL DIE!" and three or four people start screaming. The CD is called A Night in a Haunted House / A Night in a Graveyard. (Thank you to my pal John Davis for helping me find the title.) Even as I post this, I consider that I can do something ore interesting with this concept. The Spider Witch may return soon with a brand new look. 

Stay spooky, freaks. 

~Ethan

We Need to talk about Kevin

 Our kitten Kevin has had some serious health problems and the vet is not sure of the cause. He is a sweet baby and our friends have helped out far more than I can every return. This is among the many many reasons for my absence for so long, but I am back on track now. 

Jason

 July, August, September, October, November

To me, Jason is the official Mascot of Summerween. 

I am not sure how I feel about summerween, but he has a strong connection to it in my mind. Camping and the outdoors seem to be summer time activities for a lot of people. Not me. I like the cold, I like autumn time outside. What about you?

String of Pearls Cauldron

I love making my house plants fit my spooky aesthetic year around. Planting in cauldrons is my go to for achieving this. I also use skulls, Jack O Lantern containers and anything else that adds haunt to my house. 

String of Pearls house plants are easy to keep alive and to propagate, but be warned, they are very toxic to cats, especially the blooms. I love the way they look like a boiling cauldron, but I do not keep any in my house due to our kittens. Enjoy with caution. 

Here is the Thing

 I painted this a few months ago and sold it right away. I guess they needed a hand around the house. (We can't afford good jokes here, what do you want?) lol  

Zelda, Zatara, and a Million Other Things

 

Yes, I have disappeared for a while, and I am very sorry, but health and responsibilities made it impossible not to. We have so many cats now. SEVEN! Thanks to neglectful neighbors who let their fertile cat kitten bomb us not once, but twice. Get your cats fixed people. They are each so very sweet and will get featured. 4 black cats and three tuxedos.  

I am back, I have big plans and a new Printify store front and I am planning to start doing videos. Halloween is not so far away and it is time I revived my presence and get spooky. Hold on to your broom handles people, it is about to get busy around here!