Don’t have much to say about today’s prompt, guarded, except that it pretty much said dungeon to me. I threw in some redcaps to keep things interesting.
The only problem with this image is it’s another example where I think of an image that needs way too much crosshatching.
I finally got around to picking up an old cheap copy of Game of Thrones so I won’t have to bother with the headaches involving the small handful of headaches with the ebook copy from the library. Now that it’s easier to navigate I thought I’d do a quick sketch of Bran’s first encounter with the Three-Eyed Crow.
These are going to be sporadic until I finish Inktober. Still, it’s nice to knock off a few at my leisure.
I had a terrible time thinking of a Halloween twist to today’s prompt, “Whale”. All I could think of was Moby-Dick. Well, I guess it’s kind of Gothic, so it counts.
Whatever I think of John Huston’s version. The climax where the boat is out in the water with only the noise of the rowing around them until Moby Dick leaps over them is absolutely spectacular. How could I not try to copy it?
In a way, today’s prompt, “cruel”, was easy. Thinking about it I could easily imagine dungeons, racks, iron maidens… needle nose pliers.
The problem I had with this simplicity is I didn’t want to do sadism. So instead I did a situation where the monster is just a big meanie.
I’m pretty happy with this one, even though I think my Deep One is kind of derivative of Maurice Sendak.
I’m calling this week’s topic “ghost stories” since I’ve done Haunted House… or at least most of the good ones.
The first film on my list, Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu tells the story of two peasants who have a pottery business on the side. It is a time of civil war, and both of them want to use it as a way to find their fortunes. One of them wants to be a Samurai, the other just wants to make his fortune. Soon, however, the war comes to their village and there is no choice but to run.
The one who wants to be a samurai succeeds and soon finds himself married to a mysterious noblewoman who lives in a similarly mysterious mansion.
I don’t think this should have been my first choice for a Halloween selection. Just because this was a Ghost story doesn’t mean it’s a horror film. However, it has a wonderful soft focus with a great handling of feelings of regret.
The next film on my list, Stanley Kubrick’s adaption of Stephen King’s The Shining tells the story of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a struggling writer with a history of alcohol abuse, who gets a job as winter caretaker at the secluded Overlook Hotel where he, his wife Wendy (Shelly Duval) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) will be alone for months. But the Overlook Hotel has many secrets and the family is about to find them all out.
The Shining is one of those films where people give me an odd look whenever I tell them I hadn’t seen it. (It’s even worse since I’m a big Kubrick Fan) I’d always been told that it was good Kubrick and bad King and since I was never much of a Stephen King fan I hadn’t bothered.
Now all I can say, who cares about the King. Kubrick uses the book as an outline, only using what is necessary. In the process, he creates a story of isolation, claustrophobia, and madness. It is truly amazing watching Kubrick slowly turning the screw of tension. This is amplified by his brilliant cast led by Nicholson portraying the descent into madness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dUwz9j4oGM
I decided that today’s prompt, “flowing” meant flowing water (or running). At that point, it was a choice between the River Styx or Tam Lin.
I have the slightest feeling I may be plagiarizing Gustave Doré‘s Divine Comedy but I don’t completely remember which illustration.
