Painted by me in oils in a number of sessions over a number of years with a number of whole, complete and fully fledged paintings among the seventeen or so under-layers. Roughly 83.5 cm wide, 45.5 cm high.
It's actually 'untitled'. I only came up with 'under a dark mountain' so people will have something to call it by when it goes viral!
First thought to call it 'cave in the hill'. Then, 'hermit's cave', which led to 'anchorite' which is a nice word but led nowhere other than to the present title, 'under a dark mountain'.
The audio consists of two tracks, 'quasar night majesty', and 'sylphide', composed, performed and arranged by masterymistery. Neither really matches or catches the mood of the painting; both are too cosmic, not earthy enough!
NIGHTMERRIES: THE LIGHTER SIDE OF DARKNESS This so-called "book" will chew you up, spit you out, and leave you twitching and frothing on the carpet. More than 60 dark and feculent fictions (read ‘em and weep) copiously illustrated by over 20 grotesque images you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.
AWAREWOLF & OTHER CRHYMES AGAINST HUMANITY (Vot could be Verse?) We all hate poetry, right? But we might make an exception for this sick and twisted stuff. This devil's banquet of adults-only offal features more than 50 satanic sonnets, vitriolic verses and odious odes.
MANIC MEMES & OTHER MINDSPACE INVADERS A disturbing repository of quotably quirky quotes, sayings, proverbs, maxims, ponderances, adages and aphorisms. This menagerie holds no fewer than 184 memes from eight meme-species perfectly adapted to their respective environments.
MASTRESS & OTHER TWISTED TAILS, ILLUSTRATED: an unholy corpus of oddities, strangelings, bizarritudes and peculiaritisms
FIENDS & FREAKS Adults-only Tales of Serpents, Dragons, Devils, Lobsters, Anguished Spirits, Gods, Anti-gods and Other Horse-thieves You Wouldn't Want to Meet in a Dark Kosmos: 4th Edition
HAGS TO HAGGIS Whiskey-soaked Tails of War-nags, Witches, Manticores and Escapegoats, Debottlenecking and Desilofication, Illustrated
I like your work. Painting in oil is difficult. I painted in acrylics when I was a teenager. You may be inspiring me to stretch a canvas these many years later.
I agree on the audio. It's not earthy enough and I didn't detect a single hint of Satan.
Hi Karen, it would be great if you were inspired to stretch a canvas. You can never have too much art in a world.
I haven't got the time, energy or skills to promote my work, so this blog will just have to do.
I like working in acrylics --- at least with them you can complete a painting in one sitting.
Working in oils requires patience, forethought and serenity --- qualities the quantities of which in my case are small.
And by the way, "MAY contain Satan".
Thanks for stopping by.l
mm
One entire internal wall of a house could be designated for painting on, on an ad-hoc basis. Whether the result is art of just pleasant/dynamic interior decor would be your choice. The pharmaceutical industry might be unhappy due to reduced the sale of tranquilisers and anti-depressants. Also imagine the boost in mental development for young children, e.g. in creativity, recall, confidence. By "boost", I don't imply that we should be thrusting our ambitions and insecurites onto children.
Collages made from cut-out words and pictures can also be an interesting pastime.
It's cosmic and rapturous as well.
mgeorge, an excellent suggestion.
And when you exercise your choice as to whether it's art or "...just pleasant/dynamic interior decor..." You're highlighting there are no objective, external measures to help you decide.
thanks for your comments.
MM
Shubhajit, maybe it could be simply "rapturously comic", whoops, I meant "cosmic" but actually now I come to think of it, "comic" wuill do just as well!
thanks for stopping by!
MM
This is very beautiful. I wish I had the patience to start drawing again.
Thanks Faycin, it makes me very happy that you found beauty in it.
Truly.
I have to admit, though, I've got to force myself to paint. I can't come to terms with the significance if any of the activity itself --- "just" arranging molecules on a surface such that light of different wavelengths bounces off the molecules and into the eyes of the beholder.
Now, is that really the sort of job a grown man should be doing? Fiddling with molecules?
Similar thoughts re music: it's "just" arranging bits of matter to vibrate such that the sound waves of different frequencies (and wavelengths) impinge upon the hearing apparatus of the listener.
Now, is that really the sort of job a grown man should be doing?
And the weirdest part of all is I honestly and sincerely don't know whether I'm being facetious or serious in relation to the above.
But if I can force myself to paint, you can force yourself to draw! And I'd very much like to see the output.
COMMENTS? Come on... gimme your best shot!