This is the first in my new series of tiny sketch challenges. I thought it only fitting that, given the season, the theme should be Halloween. The rules are simple: make a small piece of art (4" x 4") with a Halloween theme. Use color, black and white, paint, pencil, charcoal, photos, collage - whatever medium you choose. And you don't have to be an artist to take part - it's just fun to try to make a picture in such a small space, like writing a one-line short story or doing a gesture sketch in life drawing. If you decide to join the challenge, post your tiny masterpiece on your blog or website and send me a link in the comments section so I can share.
This challenge is also posted on Facebook, and I'm happy to say some of my friends took up the gauntlet with style.
The first entry is from Suzy Block. She combined the 4 x 4 sketch challenge with her Doodle-A-Day project to come up with this fearsome pirate and his sweet Mini Me. Visit Suzy's Monkey 2 Monkey Blog to view all of her Doodle-A-Day entries.
Illustrator Kat McD has really gotten into the Halloween spirit by painting the Man in the Moon's face and using a couple of cleverly-placed clouds to suggest a ruffled collar and wisps of clown hair. I wonder if that's the Great Pumpkin he's watching over?
I really love Laurie Young's entry: a cute little trick-or-treater with vampire fangs and a bat headband.
Look at the way the moonlight silhouettes the witch's hat in this mysterious and moody entry from illustrator Steven Corvelo Those hauting yellow eyes really pull you into the picture.
From the mind of Jake Gordon: the Big Three of 1930s Universal Studios horror flicks: Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolfman.
Carah Smith's image evokes a sense of frantic danger, with the jagged wings of the bats mimicking the jagged teeth of the leering Jack O'Lantern. And is that a horde of zombies on the horizon? Yikes!
Mary Peterson has a unique take on the usually gloomy Edgar Allen Poe. This sunny yellow background makes him look (almost) cheerful!
This big-eyed black cat by Lois Keller reminds me of that old Groucho Marx quote: "A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere."
