#5 Month of Fear: M A S K S

"Premeditation" 8"x10" oil and acrylic on board

I took a different turn in interpreting masks. Rebellion, dissatisfaction with society and government, it's all very scary and very serious and very, very real. As a race, us humans have gone through a lot lately, and for our benefit, I hope to see that we will all rise up and fight for what we believe in and change the world for the better through intelligence and cooperation rather than violence.

#4 Month of Fear: Haunting

"White Lady" 5"x7" oil and acrylic on board

I live in a hotbed of the paranormal. Growing up, every October Ed and Lorraine Warren would come to my high school and do a presentation about the hauntings in the area and about the exorcisms and investigations they've conducted.

A constant in our area is the famous White Lady of Union Cemetery. She's almost caused my friends car accidents to avoid hitting her, and my Poppa said that he had an encounter when he was young, but never went into detail, remaining vigilantly silent about his experience.

#3 Month of Fear: Demons Within

"Fallen" 12" x 24" oil, acrylic, and gold leaf on board

Fallen from grace.

#2 Month of Fear: What Are You Afraid Of?

"As Above" (left) "So Below" (right) each 2.5"3.5" oil, acrylic, gold and silver leaf on board

I believe in karma. that any good deed will come back to you, and any malevolent deed will come back and bite you in the ass. I also believe in self-fulfilling prophecy. Life has a tender balance, and to me, when I have a bad day, I can't help but wonder what I could have done to someone or myself to warrant such bad luck!

#1 Month of Fear: Things That Go Bump

"Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep" 8"x10" oil and acrylic on canvas

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I shall die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.

I wasn't brought up in a religious household. I always thought it was pretty deep to drill into a child's mind that some unknown force in the middle of the night could kill them, for no reason, and that you better hope your soul be saved.

 

This is my week #1 submission for  Month of Fear, the post can be viewed here!

Tall Order: A Mission Statement

Hello there, my name is Carly Janine Mazur, and welcome to a little project of mine called: Tall Order. "Why is it called Tall Order?" you may ask? 'A tall order' is an idiom, defined as being an assignment or task which is difficult or seems impossible to accomplish. This blog is going to be the home for one year where I will post one new illustration every Friday. I don't plan to cut corners or cheat my way through by posting doodles or quick sketches, but provide a new painting every, single, week.

Sure, some paintings will be tiny, some more ambitious. While I take on this insane task I will be working on pieces for gallery shows, freelance jobs, and anything in-between, so I will say this: some pieces I post here will have indeed taken more than a week to complete. If I am restricted by non-disclosure agreements, I unfortunately will not be able to show those; however, I will absolutely share what I am not restricted by contractually.

What inspired me to do this project was thanks to the group illustration blogs Month of Love and Month of Fear. If you're not familiar with these blogs, they are concerted weekly efforts by illustrators to create and post themed illustrations during the months of February and October, respectively. Month of Fear is currently in full-swing, so I will be spending this month sharing the works I've done for these weekly themes.

When the Month of Love was started last year, it was a piece a day. That was difficult, to say the least, but I powered through it. So as October rolled around it was mutually agreed upon that it was going to be a weekly affair, much more manageable by working illustrators. Suffice to say, I was amazed that I could keep up the pace, and actually do a new piece a week, from conception to completion. It gave me a new sense of confidence in myself, and in turn made me a happier person to see my accomplishments.

Painting is an absolute joy for me. I want to share with you this seemingly impossible task for the next twelve months. There will be ups and downs, I'm sure, as every artist goes through during their lives and careers, but through the thick of it all I want to share with you this year-long journey.

See you on Fridays!