Monster Mania Artist Commentary - Candy Heart

This drawing of a disgruntled candy heart is my tribute to Valentine’s Day. This little heart-shaped sugar candy just wants to be left alone.

Big googly eyes are a trademark of my Monster Mania drawings. I like the blank stare. I think it is super creepy. But sometimes I want to convey some emotion and I need to employ some eyelids or eyebrows to make the eyes more expressive. I started with googly eyes and then I tried angry eyes and then I landed on tired eyes. This poor heart is old and tired. 

All of my Monster Mania drawings present the monster against a monochromatic background. The backgrounds are created by stacking 3 or more abstract drawings on top of each other. Each abstract drawing is made using hundreds of biomorphic shapes. I often adjust the opacity or apply blending modes to the drawings to allow the lower layers to show through the upper layers. This creates an interesting texture. I like the visual static. It is more interesting than using a flat color. On this particular drawing, One of the background layers was created using dozens and dozens of little hearts. At a glance, the background is just a yellow square but if you zoom in you will discover all of these little hearts floating in the sea of irregular shapes and textures. 







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