EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0

For the month of October, Tuesday’s will focus on EBSQ Bloggers who create imaginative artworks of Fantasy, Whimsy and the Spooky! Today’s artist, and our last special feature for the month, creates both spooky, Halloween inspired paintings and surreal, fantasy paintings too.

Who and where are you?

My name is Misty Benson (aka. gossamerfaery). I live, breathe, and bring my Morbidly Adorable Creations into being from Gossamerfaery’s Attic in curiouser and curiouser Idaho. From the Attic, the creations and I can smell the sugary scent of coffin cake on the winds. The rustle of leaves sounds like hollow bones rattling on pavement. Rain is actually skeletons tap dancing on the roof. Here we vehemently hold onto the ghosts in our dreams. Faeries may be spotted in the dying light. We are not afraid to muddy our white dresses in order to witness the mysterious lives of bugs. Halloween is our favorite time of year, so we spend Christmas decorating our tree with skulls. This is a place where beauty borders on strange and the strange is beautiful.

Everyday Is Halloween 16”x16” Acrylic On canvas

How did you get started art blogging?

I started blogging in 2003. I had just started selling my art online. I figured that it would be a great way to document my journey and allow me to connect with other people that were doing the same thing.  It started out with Livejournal, but then it expanded into MySpace, Facebook, Twitter – all the usual suspects. When I started, I didn’t expect anyone to even read my posts let alone find them! Over time, I began to realize that people were really keeping up with the antics of my minions!

One Spooky Night 12”x16” Acrylic On Canvas

Any tips for other EBSQ art bloggers?

Just keep updating! Whether you simply want to post a funny picture, a quick status update, or new art, it doesn’t always have to be fancy.  People love even the smallest of the macabre morsels. I like to post nice big updates with all the trimmings every week or so on Livejournal weekly. Then I post lots of little random thoughts, quotes, and such daily on Facebook. I admit, there are some days when I feel too busy to update, but I have found that every time I do, it is extremely rewarding. I was just reading some comments from a few fans the other morning, and I started welling up with tears. I honestly wonder how I ever got so lucky as to deserve all of the divine compliments that people leave for me. It’s like discovering tiny treasures. My fans are all little poets in their own right.

Comfort In Being Sad 20”x16” Acrylic on Masonite

What’s your musical inspiration of choice when you’re working in your studio?

I don’t really listen to music while I’m working. Music is so emotive and absorbing that it tends to distract me from my painting. Instead, I watch a lot of TV. People have asked me how I can look at the TV if I’m looking at my paintings. I don’t really watch so much as I listen. I pick programs where there is a lot narration or talking. The TV becomes my little storyteller. I also listen to a lot of eBooks and books on CD. If I just sit in silence or listen to music, I tend to get restless. This doesn’t mean that music doesn’t influence my work though! I’m actually working on a series of paintings that are inspired by various music titles. The painting “Comfort In Being Sad” was inspired by Nirvana’s song “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle.” I love all kinds of music, but I have a special place in my heart for a lot of the alternative and grunge that was so big in the 90s like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mother Lovebone, Smashing Pumpkins , Blind Melon, and the list goes on. I also listen to a lot of A Perfect Circle, afi, Tori Amos, and just about anything that strikes my fancy at the time.

The Fool, from Morbidly Adorable Tarot 16”x20” Acrylic On canvas

What’s coming next from your easel?

Soooooo many things! I never work on just one thing at a time. I’m simultaneously working on the Morbidly Adorable Tarot Deck for U.S. Games, a series of Zodiac paintings for a gallery, and my music themed project.  Right in the midst of all that, I just finished customizing a Munny vinyl toy for a local charity auction. There is always a project popping up somewhere!

http://gossamerfaery.livejournal.com/

Thank you Janell for being an EBSQ Blogger of the Week!

If you are an EBSQ Artist and would like to be considered for Blogger of the Week just add us to your blogroll. I’m searching EBSQ profiles weekly for links to artist’s blogs. If you aren’t an EBSQ Artist, what are you waiting for?

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