Grzegorz Moryciński - Demons

Josh Kirby - The Voyage Of The Ayeguy, 1980

Departure

Arrival Of The Ark

Adoration Of The Imag

Death Of A Spaceman

Deposition

Ascension

"Voyage of the Ayeguy is a series of paintings of deep personal significance to Kirby, widely regarded as his tour de force. The paintings chart the epic voyage of ambassadors from the Ayeguy civilisation commanded to: 'Go, civilise the savage planets!' in their spaceship, the Ark. The biblical parallels are overt: the central traveller is Kirby’s idealistic ‘Christ’ figure, Jay Zuzz.

Initially separate paintings, by the third a thread emerged. An American commission to publish six works as a portfolio (1980) accelerated the project and Kirby wrote an accompanying text. He added new paintings right up to the time of his death.

Each scene presents challenge, confrontation and emotion as the spaceman protagonist pursues his mission across a strange planet. They are masterpieces of baroque composition, complex allegories orchestrated in rich colour and detail, combining the influences of Hieronymous Bosch, Pieter Breugel, Rubens and the muralist Frank Brangwyn." - quote source

Many thanks to David T. Alexander Collectibles for the scans.

This portfolio of amazing Josh Kirby prints is for sale on their site here.

See more of Kirby's art here.

Till Nowak - Salad

"In November 2006 Till Nowak created the image "Salad". For this image he created digital vegetable models
and combined them to become a tribute to the fantastic biomechanical creations of H.R. Giger and the
vegetable portraits of Giuseppe Arcimboldo." - quote source includes a pdf document showing the process of the artwork.

Other monsters created out of vegetables were previously mentioned here.

Bernie Wrightson - The Edgar Allan Poe Portfolio, 1976

"One of the first paintings completed for the Edgar Allan Poe Portfolio was 'The Pit and the Pendulum'. Wrightson experimented using an impasto technique -- painting with very thick, broad strokes. The colors were very dark, being made up primarily of blacks, and browns. When the painting was finished, it was then varnished with a high gloss to protect it. The result, when lit by the printers' lights was a glare making it impossible to reproduce. When informed of the technical limitations of his painting, Wrightson painted a second version which was dominated by great areas of dark green. Wrightson's original idea for the 'Pendulum' painting can be seen in the photograph of Jeff Jones as the hapless victim of the Inquisition. Wrightson painted Jones chained to a cold concrete slab awaiting the blade of the pendulum." - quote taken from Christopher Zavisa's monograph on the artist, Berni Wrightson: A Look Back, page 251.

Jeff Jones was mentioned here on Monster Brains a few months ago regarding the artist's unfortunate passing.

The Pit And The Pendulum
"I saw clearly the doom which had been prepared for me..."




I was only able to find a few examples of the original paintings to compare against the portfolio prints, you can see the color differences between the original painting of Murders in the Rue Morgue and its printed version below.

Murders In The Rue Morgue
"As the sailor looked in, the gigantic animal had seized Madame L'Espanaye by the hair..."



The Tell - Tale Heart
"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! - tear up the planks! - here, here! - it is the beating of his hideous heart!"

The Back Cat
"She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan."

The Premature Burial
"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins?"

Masque Of The Red Death
"Seize and unmask him - that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the battlements!"

The Cask Of Amontillado
"For the love of God, Montressor!" "Yes," I said, "for the love of God!"

Descent Into The Maelstrom
"...I began to reflect how magnificent a thing it was to die in such a manner..."



The excellent Golden Age Comic Book Stories recently shared the Wrightson Poe prints, you can see slight color variations in those posted there.