Peter Scanlan Art

Sardauker by Peter Scanlan

Here's a drawing from my sketchbook that I inked and then painted up a little in Photoshop, trying to find a simplified technique to use on a graphic novel that I have in mind. #elricofmelnibone #inkdrawing #photoshop #peterscanlan #demon #sorcerers #stormbringer #comics #comicbook

A panel from my rendition of Henry Kuttner’s dark horror classic The Graveyard Rats. Click on the image to see the first six pages on Behance.

The Beast by Peter Scanlan

Reaper by Peter Scanlan

Demonic Fun by Peter Scanlan

#medieval #painting #acrylic #martyr #art #folkart #middle ages #damned #hell #peter scanlan

Another eye-I think the underwater world here represents my sub-concious, and that toothsome gentleman on the right is my primal, sub-concious mind.

Here’s a digital painting from a couple of years ago of the Green Knight from Arthurian mythology.

“Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Here’s my portrait of Abe Sapien from last years “Evolution of Abe Sapien” contest. It won first prize, which was especially cool since Mike Mignola himself picked the winner. I have a page describing the process of creating the image here.

Another eye,maybe this one is more optimistic? I hope so. I love the cosmic, otherworldy settings created by painters of the Baroque period, mostly the 1600′s. Where they used these mindscapes to stage scenes out of the bible or mythology, I like to borrow them as a backdrop for my own psychological musings. I tried to use a more Baroque palette as well.

Another happy go lucky foray into existential terror- Dare I Eat a Peach? partially inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot again, in this case, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The main impetus for most of these paintings was the approach of my 50th birthday last year, which, judging from my subject matter over the last few years, had me well and truly freaked out.

Here’s a more recent painting, Worm crown that uses the eye as the symbol for our consciousness locked inside our impermanent mortal shells. I like the idea that our two physical eyes look outwards at the world, while the third eye, often depicted on the forehead, looks inward at vistas more vast and unknowable.

I found this old painting from art school (SVA, class of 1986) the other day. I’ve always been fascinated by the metaphorical power of the human eye.