Monster Mania Artist Commentary - Bacon And Egg

This Monster Mania drawing is part of a series within the series that I call “Monster Buddies.” Several Monster Mania drawings feature two monsters. Sometimes a monster needs a buddy.







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Monster Mania Artist Commentary - Brain

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Over a decade ago, I was a freelance illustrator for Grantland, a now-defunct sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. Working for Grantland was fun because I got paid to draw Kenny Powers, Walter White and Johnny Utah. The downside to working for Grantland was the extremely tight deadlines. It was common to receive an assignment on a Thursday afternoon that was due Friday morning.     When you are working under a super tight deadline, you don’t have time to brainstorm or incubate ideas. You don’t have time to explore or experiment. You don’t have time to make refinements or fix mistakes. You do the best you can with the time you are given.  When It comes to the Monster Mania series, I serve no master, and I have no deadlines. I’m not in a rush to finish a drawing. I’m allowed to enjoy the process. I’m allowed to play and experiment. I’m allowed to explore multiple paths. I’m allowed to have a deeper conversation with the drawing. I can redraw somethin...
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Monster Mania Artist Commentary - Tilt Union

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In October 2016, Brad Ruder invited me to be the guest artist for a Print Session at Tilt Union. The Print Sessions were a series of screen printing classes where the students hand-screen-printed artwork created by the guest artist. For my print session, I created illustrations of the Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Monster.  My version of the Bride was heavily influenced by Tim Burton. My Bride is a mix of the Martian Girl, Sally Shock and Emily the Corpse Bride. The colors were inspired by Beetlejuice. I gave my Bride the traditional beehive hairstyle with the white lightning bolt streaks, but I also added a Tim Burton spiral to break up the black space. The hair takes up a third of the image, and I wanted to make that space a little more fun and interesting. I ended up repeating the spiral shapes throughout the drawing. I also made the hair really frazzled like an electrocuted cartoon character. I also added some lightning in the background. The treatment is similar to ...
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Monster Mania Artist Commentary - Crazy Face

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Between June 2017 and September 2018, I created a series of 12 paintings called the “Crazy Face” series. I would draw or paint mouths, eyes, noses and ears on random scraps of paper and use those images to create mixed media collages of silly faces. The “Crazy Face” paintings were really fun to create.  This Monster Mania drawing is loosely inspired by the “Crazy Face” series.  In September 2018, I hosted my final solo exhibition at CityArts, titled “Mishmash,” which showcased a mix of abstract collage paintings, “Crazy Face” paintings and drawings from the Monster Mania series. I felt “Mishmash” was the perfect way to transition into the next phase of my creative journey.  In October 2018, I “retired” from painting and exhibiting to focus on the Monster Mania series. I had to quit painting cold turkey. I didn’t want to get distracted with side quests that would shift focus away from Monster Mania.  Dustin Parker | Mixed Media On Wood | Crazy Face #1 Dustin Parker | ...
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