ATELIER PROPRÆTORIA – the works of Propraetor

Salve, citizens.

Life has been incredibly busy for me of late on a number of levels. I attended both the AlteKrea festival in Kitchener and the Rue Morgue Dark Carnival in Hamilton within the last two months, completed two new pieces since July 1st, and am currently wracking my brain to figure out what I should work on next.

The two new pieces are a bit of an experiment for me. As colour is something which has always been a bit difficult for me to get a grip on, the bulk of my work has been decidedly monochrome. This has changed recently and with what appear to be favourable results.

These two colour experiments have, so far, been very well received by friends and fans in various media. I hope you enjoy them.

“In Theatro Doctrinæ Immanis” is an attempt at bringing my obsession with the figure of the plague doctor to a bit more life.

“Sacrament” was a further experiment with both colour and texture.

Both partake of the dark narrative horror that I have come to love in my work.

Enjoy.

Salve, citizens.

With pleasure, I direct your attention to my latest work, Saturnine. Yet another foray into the world of the visually narrative, this one is an older idea of mine, but given a fresh look.

And for those interested, prints are available in the webstore.

Enjoy.

Salve, citizens.

It is with some small agony that I finally can share with you my latest assault, “The Tacit Apostasy.”

Another in my attempts at narrative art, this one has a deeply personal element to it. I hope you can find a story in its lines.

More works will be on the way soon!

Vale.

Salve, citizens.

It has been a very chaotic last few months at Atelier Propraetoria. Things are finally settling down for me so I can actually finish a few projects and turn my attention back to the war.

The current work-in-progress is very much in the home stretch and should be completed within a fortnight, if I can work diligently at it. As usual, I am keeping it more or less under wraps. While, at present, it does not have a title, I can share that it is another experiment in darkly narrative art.

A quick peek for you.

In other news, “The Anthropiary of Stonegarden” is continuing its evolution. I am hoping, before long, to share an exhibition of some of its denizens with the rest of the world. In the meantime, through popular demand, I have decided to start offering prints of my Red Windows series, which until now has only been seen on my Facebook page. The prints will be 8×10 and only available through the Etsy page. I will also be offering smaller prints, say 5×7, available in groups.

If this latter offer works out, I may introduce the same for some of my other works as well.

For now, everyone just hang tight and check out my other locations on the web (see the links page).

Vale.

Salve, Citizens.

A quick note to let everyone know that, yes, I am indeed still alive and kicking. Yes, I am also changing the formatting on my entries so they are easier to read.

And now for the news, in my world:

In addition to the three commissions on the go, I am also slaving away at a new stand-alone piece. This one, as usual, is an evolution of the level of detail I am including. So far, I am in love with it. The bad news is I screwed it up a while back and have been spending quite some time repairing the damage I had done. Drawing one blade of grass at a time is, to coin a phrase from a friend of mine the other day, “meditative”, but it is also time consuming and a little maddening. Still, the result will be gorgeous, I am hoping.

I have also made mention in other media of my forthcoming book, entitled “The Anthropiary of Stone Garden”. While I am keeping the concept of the book under wraps, officially, I am selling illustrations that I am making for the book. once they’ve been completed and scanned. Poke around on my Etsy page (click the marketplace link to the right for the Etsy link) to get your hands on them, or come out to one of my vending appearances and pick them up there.

In other news, and it pains me to bring personal drama onto my website, but since it would appear I have made a few enemies over the last few years, I would like to quickly say something concerning humanity. Despite my sinister aesthetic (or perhaps because of it) I am, myself, a peaceful person, and when people take it upon themselves to attempt to bully me and mine, for whatever reason, it disgusts me greatly. In all cases, it is they who insist on the enmity and in most cases there is no real cause for it except what they invented for themselves. I am not a fan of people who behave as animals, nor am I a particularly big fan of unnecessary cruelty. Humanity is a process of personal, internal overcoming and it is sad when members of this species refuse to do just that, just to satisfy some petty urges.

I am not going to go on a massive philosophical rant, here, nor am I trying to offer a diatribe against anyone specific. I just wanted to say, always remember your humanity, but never take your eyes off the shadows within, at least not for long. There are things in there that can empower you if you know how or make you contemptible if you do not.

Hope everyone is doing well and you are treating yourselves kindly. Be well.

Vale.

salve, citizens.

the first piece of news i should report is that I will again be returning to the bazaar of the bizarre in march. the last one, in december, was fairly successful for me and this time i am going to be changing things up a bit: at the coming bazaar, in addition to my usual prints, i will be selling several smaller originals at reduced prices. these originals i will not be making prints of. rather, they are going to be included in a book project i have conceived which i will hopefully have for sale later this year.

in other news, my next piece of narrative phantasmagoria is well under way, as well as a new commission piece. this leads me to my next subject, which is commissions. i do, in fact take commissions for what i hope is a reasonable fee. these commissions, generally, will never be scanned or re-sold as prints. they are exclusive to the client.

when i say i take commissions, however, it should be noted that if i am approached with an idea for a piece utterly incongruous with my usual style and content, i may not take it. if you want something dark, austere and sinister, i will do what i can to make it happen for you. if you want a portrait of your dog in the garden. it is not likely to happen and your money would be better spent elsewhere.

so many projects on the go and not enough of me to go around. i really must get around to cloning myself.

vale.

salve, citizens.

it has been a while since i have taken the time to pause and update this page. much has been going on in my life which has caused me to spend the bulk of my time producing rather than doing the more administrative ends of things. this week, however, i shall rectify that.

the crossing the rubicon exhibit at gallery 1313 in toronto came and went. many new friends were made, old friends reconnected with and new pieces were shown. most importantly, the rest of toronto is now open for conquest.

some visuals:

as some of you who follow my other online presences have seen, i have completed my most recent piece. this is the second in the seneschal series, entitled of ye lucidity most sombre. i was pleased to feature this during the crossing the rubicon exhibit. as it happens, immediately after the exhibit, it found its way into the people’s gallery in waterloo, ontario and shall be returning to atelier proprætoria this week.

currently i am hacking away at another stand-alone piece, after which i will be finally revisiting edictvm I. i am also currently revisiting my sculpting and casting projects, including a new one which i am not going to reveal too widely just yet. let’s just say it will be interesting, nostalgic and perhaps a little meditative.

perhaps the most important news is my return to the world of vending. on december 15, i will be at the bazaar of the bizarre’s “frost bite” winter show in toronto.

this time around, i will only be selling art prints. next time, there will be more artifacts in hand for patrons. feel free to come by and check things out.

apart from all of that, i am also finally renewing my activity on the various blogs i’ve been writing for over the years.

more news as things develop. MMXIV will be another year of conquest, be assured!

vale.