A Terror Process

John Jude Palencar

Friday, October 18th, 2013

– by John Jude Palencar

“A Terror” … well not really but a fun e-story project for TOR Books. Creative Director, Irene Gallo and I were back and forth on the concept: sad concept or more “horror show”.

Here’s the link to the short story: “A Terror” by Jeffery Ford.

The finished painting is pencil on board, blocked in with acrylic washes, and gradual building of the form with hatching, scumbling and scratching.

First the rough sketches:

Pencil on board

Initial acrylic washes

Additional acrylic washes

“A Terror” 9.25″ x 10.25″ Acrylic on board

| View Posts

Featured Video

Featured Posts

Recent Comments

RELATED POSTS

Aortas in a Chair – Aortas They Don’t Care

Aortas in a Chair – Aortas They Don’t Care

For artists, concepts present themselves in unexpected ways. Why or how the artist responds to them is sometimes just as much of a mystery to the artist as it is to the artist’s audience. Freudian reasons aside, there are many avenues for inspiration & pathways to...

John Jude Palencar Exhibition

John Jude Palencar Exhibition

The Hartford Art School (Which has an absolutely fantastic Illustration Program), is also the home of the Joseloff Gallery. Next week, that gallery will be host to an exhibition of nearly 20 works by John Jude Palencar. The exhibition, which features both old and new...

Orphans & Reservoirs

Orphans & Reservoirs

  There are several initial steps to create successful images for cover assignments. Some have been explored in this blog. We’ve seen the thumbnail approach - custom thumbnail sketches for a specific cover. Drawing numerous thumbnails, refining the image until it...

14 Comments

  1. Avatar
    Dave Brasgalla on October 18, 2013 at 9:58 am

    I wasn't going to sleep tonight anyway… °_°

  2. Avatar
    Kiri Østergaard Leonard on October 18, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    Love these sketches and the final as well, excellent creepy work!

  3. Avatar
    Sandra on October 18, 2013 at 9:50 pm

    awesome!

  4. Avatar
    Shen Leidigh on October 19, 2013 at 12:13 am

    Very nice, as always. Thanks for the post.

  5. Avatar
    bill on October 19, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    John, you continue to be the God of the acrylic realm and acrylics flow through my veins.

  6. Avatar
    bill on October 19, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    I somehow deleted the rest of my comment. Suffice it to say, your work inspires in so many ways.

  7. Avatar
    John Jude Palencar on October 19, 2013 at 4:06 pm

    Thanks folks!
    Although the real horror is that during the painting of this illustration I was trying to open a stubborn cap to a tube of acrylic paint and cracked my tooth all the way to the root!

    You see …. art can be dangerous. I had to have the tooth pulled and an implant installed in its place…..I'm now waiting for the final surgery. Oh and the surgeon used cadaver bone for filler!

    JJP

  8. Avatar
    jeffrey ford on October 19, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    John: Loved the artwork for the story. Thanks!

    Jeff Ford

  9. Avatar
    Datlow on October 19, 2013 at 10:17 pm

    These sketches are marvelously disturbing. Thank you for illustrated Jeff's wonderfully creepy little story so perfectly.

  10. Avatar
    bill on October 20, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    There is nothing so horrifying as the Teethman. Pulling teeth and filling with cadaver leftovers. I think of the dentist and break out in a sweat.

  11. Avatar
    by Yvonne Navarro on October 23, 2013 at 4:35 am

    And thus is the reason I keep an old pair of pliers in the art studio– to keep me from the temptation of trying to use my teeth.

  12. Avatar
    John Jude Palencar on October 23, 2013 at 6:25 am

    Hi Yvonne – Yes – I have pliers for the very same reason. I was in the middle of a wet into wet wash and in need of the specific color quickly. So… without thinking I used my teeth…. what a costly mistake!

    JJP

  13. Avatar
    John Jude Palencar on October 23, 2013 at 9:55 am

    Let's try this again….

    Thanks Jeffery – It was pleasure to illustrate your story. I like the “death is not a democracy” line!

    Thanks Bill – Hopefully we will get to meet at Spectrum Live 3!

    Ellen – You are so welcome! – Thanks to Irene and the TOR Team too for the opportunity!

  14. Avatar
    Brian J Gomien on January 10, 2020 at 12:59 pm

    Hello John,

    I’m new to the blog and I had a question about acrylic washes.
    Specifically how wet can you get them and still have them stick to gessoed board?
    I have been warned repeatedly that too much water weakens the binder. What I’m after
    is wet in wet and drip effects similar to watercolor to give my work more texture and interest.
    I do plan to lay in thicker color and glazes on top and then seal the whole thing in lacquer when
    completed.

    Will that work or do I need to use workable fixative between layers?

    Thanks in advance ,
    Brian Gomien