Month of Fear: Kristina Carroll

Showing posts with label Kristina Carroll. Show all posts

Friday, October 31, 2014

Kristina Carroll - Masks

Unmask
Charcoal 18 x 24

Sometimes we do what we think people want. Sometimes we do what we think will make us the most money. Sometimes we are just afraid that no one will support who we really want to be. It's a mask we've all worn it at some point. But what happens when we surrender to that little spark inside and reveal our true selves?

This is a book-end to False Muse.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Kristina Carroll - Demons Within

Leviathan
charcoal 18 x 24

When he raises himself up, the mighty fear;

Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

The sword that reaches him cannot avail,

Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.

Nothing on earth is like him,

One made without fear.

He looks on everything that is high;

He is king over all the sons of pride.

-– Job 41:15-32

A great monster of the sea is an image that recurs in many stories. In the myth of Job, God describes Leviathan in detail to Job to remind him of his smallness. It is mentioned several times in Judeo Christian stories but probably originated in the Mesopotamian myth of Tiamat- the great chaos goddess. The running theme is the embodiment of nature and our helplessness against forces we will never control.

It's interesting that in demonology, the Sea Serpent demon is a power for good and knowledge: (serpents and knowledge...that sounds familiar...)

From the Ars Goetia:

Forneus is a Great Marquis of Hell, and has twenty-nine legions of demons under his rule. He teaches Rhetoric and languages, gives men a good name, and makes them be loved by their friends and foes.

He is depicted as a great sea monster. He causes men to have a good name and to have the knowledge and understanding of tongues. He makes one beloved by his foes as well as of his friends. He is partly of the Order of Thrones, and partly of that of Angels. His name seems to come from Latin "fornus" or "fornus" (oven). He can take many different forms but mainly prefers his human form.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Kristina Carroll - What are you Afraid of

False Muse
charcoal 18 x 24

The fear of being original is one I think all artists have. There is always the worry of one's art being seen as derivative or just plain boring. What if the work that we sweat hours over and put out into the world never finds an audience? What if what we create is just a shattered mirror or window, showing only a distorted image of what has come before and never anything true? The False Muse sits on your shoulder and shows you images drawn in the dirt, to be washed away by time. It is my worst fear.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Kristina Carroll - Things that go Bump

Rabbit
Charcoal
18 x 24

When I was very young, my mother brought home a video for me to watch. It was an animated movie about bunnies, so I am sure she thought it was a good choice. But not too far into the movie the bunnies started getting caught in wires and fighting and.... bleeding. Now I didn't know much about the world but I knew that cartoon bunnies were not supposed to bleed and got very upset. The movie, as you probably know, was Watership Down. It's a classic children's book but the movie really scarred me. (I mean for goodness sake- look at the movie poster! It's terrifying!) To this day, I still get a little stomach turn when I think about certain scenes. I am not sure I will ever finish that movie and have avoided what is supposed to be a wonderful book up until this point because of those bloody bunnies. However, for this week's challenge, I decided to face part of my fear and downloaded the audio book to listen to while I worked on this drawing. I just finished it today and am happy to report I quite enjoyed it. Even the bloody parts.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

2014 Artist Spotlight III

Kevin Jay Stanton
http://www.kevinjaystanton.com/

Kiri Østergaard Leonard
http://kirileonard.com/

Kristina Carroll
http://www.kristinacarrollart.com/

Kurt Huggins
http://www.teeteringbulb.com/

Kyle Stecker
http://kylestecker.com/

Lee Moyer
http://www.leemoyer.com/

Marc Scheff
http://www.marcscheff.com/

Meredith Miotke
http://mlmiotke.com/

Michael Manomivibul
http://www.mikemanoart.com/

Michael Marsicano
https://twitter.com/MMillo

Michelle Dickens
http://www.dickensillustration.com/

Narciso Espiritu
http://narcisoespiritu.com/

Friday, November 1, 2013

Kristina Carroll - The Face in the Window

The Face in the Window
Charcoal 18 x 24

The Face in The Window

(A quick and dirty Halloween Story and Illustration by Kristina Carroll)

"Three in the morn. The soul’s midnight. The tide goes out, the soul ebbs. "

-Ray Bradbury from Something Wicked This Way Comes

She lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She could probably move if she wanted to. She tried to tell herself it was only that she was afraid to wake her husband, not that there was a larger dread lurking at the edge of her vision. A growing certainty should she turn her head toward the window, there would be something there and the moment she saw it, acknowledged its existence, was the moment it would be free to attack.

She turned her head toward the window next to the bed.

A face stared back at her from outside.

She woke up with a start. It was 3am. Again.

The woman stared at the ceiling for a few minutes but knowing she wouldn’t get anymore sleep that night, rolled out of bed and walked to the living room. She sat on the couch, glanced at her desk in the corner, with its piles of hand-written outline notes and a few chapters stacked around it on the floor. She turned on the TV and sighed.

The dream had started a few months ago. It was always the same: paralysis, fear, look, face in the window, wake, 3am. It didn’t matter how many times it happened, it was always new in the dream. It was always the same fresh terror.

The worst part is that it was happening with more and more frequency.

Kristina Carroll - Equinophobia

Equinophobia
Charcoal 18 x 24

There are so many interesting phobias out there. Fear of Gravity (Barophobia), Fear of Beautiful Women (Caligynephobia.)... More obscure and one could argue more interesting than the Fear of Horses. But the more I thought about it, the more I just couldn't get the image of horses out of my head. Between Henri Fuseli's Nightmare horse and the familiar Carousel Horse (why do they always look like they're terrified and screaming?), this one needed to get exorcised. A bit rushed due to a very busy week but I think it does the job nonetheless.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Kristina Carroll - What Terrified You as a Child

Run
18 x 24 Charcoal

Growing up, nearly every place I lived in had multiple floors and several of them required me to climb or descend stairs in order to get to and from my room either on a second floor or a basement. Even my ancient grade school had several floors with trembling creaking wooden stairs that I had to use to get to the bathrooms next to the creepy boiler room. While the worst stairs were always any basement stairs (obviously), pretty much any stairs seemed to trigger every scary story I had ever heard up to that point. Going down them was like a slow decent into inevitable horror- I knew something was going to be waiting down at the bottom. (Especially when my bedroom was in the basement and I would go to bed after watching Unsolved Mysteries. ) Going up stairs, I was always being chased. Even now I occasionally have to feed the compulsion to run up stairs instead of walking.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Kristina Carroll- My Favorite Horror Story

House of Leaves
Charcoal

I read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski a few years ago and it is not only one of the best "horror" stories I have ever read, it is one of the best books I have ever read. I have always been drawn to labyrinths and everything about this book is a labyrinth.

It's very difficult book to describe. There are multiple narrators, each with individual stories, who peel back layers of a core story: a family moves into a house where things immediately start going strange. Its clear this more than just a house. A black closet appears out of nowhere and it is discovered that the house measures larger from inside than out. Then a hallway appears that eventually leads to a massive underground labyrinth. Characters attempt to explore and then things get really interesting for not only the family, but each narrator that in turn attempts to uncover the truth.

But all this isn't really just a book... It's more like a three dimensional work of interactive art. The way the book is written is very unconventional. The words on the page are often rearranged to reflect something happening in the story. Sometimes it's the madness of a character. Sometimes it's the speed in which you follow someone down miles of stairs. Sometimes it's the passage of time. It's often hard to follow but when you finally solve the puzzle of how to read a passage, it is that much more intimate and rewarding a story.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Kristina Carroll - My Recurring Nightmare

Passage
Charcoal

I used to dream of flying all the time. I still do occasionally...but it's different now.When I was younger, it would be free and controlled. I would zip around, land on rooftops to watch people or sometimes even become a hero with magical powers. However, as I grew older, the dreams started to change. I had to concentrate a lot harder to fly or I wouldn't be able to control my speed and go up way too high then start falling or get stuck somewhere, having forgotten how to get started again. Then there were the wires. It would start fine- I would be flying great, ready to soar above the city and go wherever I wanted but suddenly there was a set of telephone wires in my way. I would try to go around but there were more. They were everywhere. At last, I try to go between them but I quickly get tangled up.

The worst part is when they start to electrocute me.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Kristina Carroll - What Lives Under My Bed

Sub/Conscious

charcoal

It's funny how many artists have trouble sleeping. I have rarely had that problem. I do however have a very vivid dream-life and a lot of anxiety so my sleep is too often full of activity. All the things that might keep others awake at night follow me into sleep and transform into every manner of nightmare.

Sometimes I wish I had insomnia.