Long Beach NY Zombie Walk & Pub Crawl

This August 22nd at 5:30 pm the zombie hoards are descending on Long Beach NY to celebrate the annual Zombie Walk & Pub Crawl.

Inspired by visions of the approaching zombie apocalypse I created this sculpt of a zombie wearing a  "Zombie Walk & Pub Crawl" shirt and photographed him with the Long Beach Boardwalk in the background.

The zombie is currently stalking my Etsy shop waiting for a new home :   https://www.etsy.com/listing/244518804/zombie-walking-dead-horror-art-sculpture?ref=shop_home_active_1


 If your in the area and are interested in catching a sight of the zombies you should visit the events FB page : https://www.facebook.com/LongBeachZombieWalkandPubCrawl

When I asked what route the undead would be taking the pages administrator answered :

" The route is pretty simple. Start at Kennedy plaza, walk up park ave, first stop is Sutton Place for a drink. We turn down Magnolia to get to the boardwalk and follow it to the end. Afterward we head to Shines. Followed by the Jetty, J.w. Trainors, and we'll end at A Whales Tale to try and catch TJ's band ".

Sounds like it should be a fun time. I'm definitely going to be zombie watching  - from a safe distance of course!

The Cupcake Killer Horror Art Sculpture

I finished up work on my horror sculpture this weekend. This was the character I was making the mallet for. I dubbed him the Cupcake Killer. Like any  romantic at heart he's hoping he can find a date for Valentine's Day.

But you better think twice before you reach for that cupcake!

Skeleton Zombie Cowboy

I haven't had much opportunity to update my blog lately. In between sculpting some new walking dead cowboy pieces I've started cleaning out my studio.

Here is one of my latest walking dead cowboys. I named him Sinister Slim. There are a few other photos of him posted at my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111396420/skeleton-zombie-cowboy-horror-art

Getting back to the studio cleanup. I'm sure I'm not alone among my artist friends when it comes to hanging onto "treasures"! You know what I mean. That special something that would be just perfect for some project that you have planned in the future. Well I bit the bullet and started giving stuff I haven't used the heave ho. My goal is to have one of my work tables set up for just photographing new artwork!

Bad Santa

I thought I'd share a few work in progress photos of this nasty little fellow I just listed on Etsy: Clubba The Bad Santa by BlacknickSculpture on Etsy

If you missed my earlier blog post this is the armature I made for the sculpture.

I like to wrap the armature with floral wire to help the clay stay in place.Once the armature was completed I began adding Apoxie sculpt clay.

Here the final pose is taking shape. The legs are done but I can still reposition the arms and head if I choose.

Adding some detail to the face with a needle tool.

Adding the bat to the figure and sculpting the sleeve.

The finished sculpture and base outside being primed.

Beginning painting the face.

Giving the figure a wash to accent the details.

Putting the finishing touches to the gift box my bad Santa will be holding. I named this guy Clubba because, well, what do you name a character holding a Louisville slugger?

One Bad Egg Finished!

I had fun creating this piece of dark artwork. It was a departure from the more complicated sculptures I usually work on.

Run afoul of this bad egg and your head could be decorating his Easter basket!Here are a couple different views of this rotten character.

Sea Serpent WIP Update

I haven't had much chance to work on the sea serpent piece due to the rotten weather we've been having! I'm painting the serpent in acrylic washes and I need to protect the finish with clear lacquer before progressing to the next step.

We finally had a decent day here and I was able to get outside and spray the serpent so I could finish the painting. The serpent is now done, the fisherman and boat are 99% completed. All that remains to do is create the waves washing over the base.

On past projects I've sculpted the waves in clay, made a mold, and cast the waves in resin. It is a time consuming process but provides a dramatic effect! Here is a post with photos of my sculpture of The Old Man And The Sea for a look at resin water : http://blacknick-sculpture.blogspot.com/search?q=resin+water

On this piece I'm going to use Apoxie Sculpt two part clay to create the water. The first step is marking off the direction I want the waves to flow using a marker.

Next I begin using foil to form my waves. The core of foil will save on weight and material. This weekend I hope to have the foil waves set in place so I can begin my wave sculpting.

Monster Wonderful Monster

Tarayvonne my teammate on Etsy Dark Team has assembled a wonderful collection of monster themed artwork in this treasury: Monster Wonderful Monster by tarayvonne on Etsy

I'm honored that she selected one of my monsters for inclusion in her unique treasury!

If you have a minute you should pop into Tarayvonne's Etsy shop for a treat. She has a wonderful assortment of shadow boxes and other miniature creations: :19th Day Miniatures bids you welcome by tarayvonne on Etsy

Sea Serpent Sculpture Sold!

I had two pleasant surprises yesterday. The first was the sale of a piece of my horror themed art.

It was the sea serpent sculpture that was inspired by the brontosaurus upsetting the raft full of sailors in King Kong (1933).

The second surprise came after I had fed the seagulls. Each morning the gull we nicknamed Wally shows up on the beach near our home.

My wife and I started to feed Wally when we noticed he was hobbled by fishing line ensnaring his legs.

Eventually he somehow freed himself but now each morning when I check out the surf conditions for fishing Wally expects his free lunch.

Yesterday was the end of the striped bass fishing season. Each year I make a point of fishing the last day. Well the freezing temperature combined with the gusty northwest wind put any idea of fishing out of my mind.

I thought since I'm here I may as well tough it out and walk a few beaches. After three blocks my eyes were tearing badly from the constant wind. I turned my back to the wind to get a moment of relief. As I turned to continue on this lure washed up literally at my feet!

The weird thing is I wanted this lure but I had put off buying it till after the holidays.

Dark Art Horror Sale

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlacknickSculpture I'm having a 30% off sale in my Etsy shop from Dec.11th through Dec.15th on my horror art and dark art sculptures. With free shipping on purchases over $100. So have a look if your searching for an unusual gift for someone.

Black Friday to Cyber Monday Dark Art Sale

I'll be having a 20% off sale and offering free shipping on sculpture purchases of over $100 from 11/26 - 11/29 : BlacknickSculpture - Etsy On Sale Many of my fellow artists on Etsy's Dark Team are also holding weekend sales. They create a wicked selection of gorgeous dark themed artwork! Be sure to check them out if you have a free moment: Etsy Dark Team: Black Friday to Cyber Monday 2010 EDT Specials!

New Horror Artwork

After going without clay for several days I finally got my shipment! I was one happy camper. Nothing worse then being near completion of a piece and not being able to finish it!

This gnarly looking vampire was fun to make. In the near future we are having an exhibition of artwork by the Etsy Dark Team members. The theme will be non-sparkly vampires and this fellow will be my entry.

I wanted my sculpt to be a depiction of an average joe type of bloodsucker. Like if a groundskeeper or villager were to become one of the undead. I just listed him on my Etsy shop this morning: http: OOAK Dark Art Clay Vampire Figure by BlacknickSculpture on Etsy

Speaking of the Etsy Dark Team a number of our members are having great Black Friday sales. Some running through to Cyber Monday. If your looking for the perfect dark gift pop over to check it out: http://etsysdarksideteam.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-friday-to-cyber-monday-2010-edt.html

Horror of horrors!

I ran out of Apoxie clay in the middle of a horror figure I'm sculpting. A sculptor without clay is a sad sight. A sculptor that fishes without clay and who is unable to fish is an even sadder sight. I'm watching out for the UPS man today and hoping my clay order arrives!

The ocean has been kicking up something awful the last week. This photo gives you an idea of the size of the wave compared to the surfer. Also notice the surge of water pushing back seaward in the left of the picture. It is colliding with the incoming water and erupting straight up.

There was also water flooding over the rock jetty to my left adding to the washing machine action of the water. I scratched fishing for another day and decided to snap some pictures of my feathered friend Wally.

He ( or she ) is a black backed seagull. My wife named him Wally after we came across him one afternoon with his legs tangled in braided fishing line. He could just barely stand.

She took to feeding him daily which was hard because even small seagulls were able to dominate him and steal his food. As I came to know him I realized besides being ensnared he was also blind in one eye.

Some how over the weeks the line came free. Then Wally went through his limping phase for about a week till he regained full use of his legs.

Now he is a living terror!

Blackback seagulls are aggressive by nature but Wally has raised it to an art form.

He savages any seagull that even comes near him on the beach. And forget it if he sees one of his own species! Sometimes he'll chase them 1/4 mile down the beach before circling back.

I'm thinking someone threw something at Wally to blind his eye. The reason I say that is if he sees you holding anything large he wigs out.

The picture of him lifting off is right after he spied the camera. Otherwise he is fairly trusting of me. Even walking alongside me when I go to the waters edge to check on conditions.