Every once in awhile, we come across an artist who delves into horror and fantasy. Well, McMonster is one of those, who have not only embraced this genre but also announces it loud and clear through his name ‘Monster’! And his works speak volumes of what this artist is capable of in this genre.
The website genuninelywhatever.com describes McMonster most succinctly, thus, “McMonster is a storyteller that gives no narrative; enchanting viewers to create their own story within each piece.” The bottom line is his ‘stories’ stem from horror and fantasy.
Using only ink and water, McMonster’s renders his paintings in tones of grays and blacks. He highlights the main parts of his canvas with white acrylic ink that he enhances by focused light. Of course, all his works take the viewers to the worlds that are both dreary and whimsical. He also displays his works in a virtual gallery that can be viewed on mymatterport.com. His works stand out when viewed through time-lapse videos.
How passionate is McMonster about his art can be gauged from his YouTube videos, where he displays the step-by-step creation of his paintings. With black and white paints, he achieves different shades of grays that he uses in his paintings. His tools are brushes of varying sizes and, to speed up the process, he uses a hairdryer to dry the canvas, before putting a fresh layer of a different shade.
In one of his works titled ‘We can grow’, McMonster makes a dark backdrop with black and shades of gray and then contrasts this background beautifully by depicting a wolf howling at the moon. The whole effect is something very surreal. In another one, he paints the Loch Ness Monster being ridden by a cloaked witch-like figure, who’s guiding it with long reins. This whole setting seems simply out of this world.
That people appreciate his macabre and frightening paintings can be assessed from the kind of response he receives from them. On Instagram alone, he enjoys a fan following over 258,000 and counting. Wallpapers and clothing of his works are also popular.
MC MONSTER (MICK-MONSTER)
