If you are here, chances are you love horror. Well, it just so happens that a brilliant artist down in Queensland Australia loves horror too. Chantal Laura Handley reached out to us from the clear blue, so to speak, wanting to tell us a bit more about her art, her passion for the genre, and why she does what she does. After seeing the art, we felt that you all should see it too.
HorrorBuzz: Why horror portraits?
Chantal Laura Handley: So you can probably tell I’m a horror fanatic! I’ve always had a love for ghost stories and scary movies and when it comes to artwork, I love portraits. Horror films, arguably more than other films have the opportunity for more extreme facial expression and a portrait has the ability to capture the soul and emotion of a character. There are many movie posters out there that can tell you a lot about the overall emotion of the movie but a portrait can capture a moment in time.
HB: Do you have something you are looking for when you choose a subject?
CLH: There is usually a moment in a film that has an intense emotion connected to it or is really memorable. If I have that feeling while I’m watching and I’ll have to recreate it!
HB: Your pieces seem to capture a very emotional moment; rage, desperation, menace, Is there a method in “bottling” those emotions?
CLH: It really helps if I’ve had an emotional reaction to the movie I’m drawing. It helps to understand the emotion the character is going through, whether it’s terror or fear and then I can try to capture it on paper.
HB: How do color and light relate to the level of intensity in your subjects?
CLH: Lighting and colour is extremely important! Before I even begin an artwork I have to decide which predominant colours I’m going to use and which to enhance. The effect of lighting really helps to create a menacing quality to the artwork.
HB: What primary mediums do you work in?
CLH: I work with Art Spectrum soft pastels and Faber Castell pastel pencils. The colour of the paper is very important to me and I use it as part of the overall artwork. There is lots of blending leaving me with very dirty hands! 🙂
HB: What is your favorite horror film or favorite subjects to work on?
CLH: I have created more artworks from the Hellraiser series than any other horror movie. I literally can’t stop creating pastel artworks from this brilliant film!
Why did we do a quick story about art? More importantly a story about Chantal Laura Handley? No, she’s not a sponsor of the site, just a fan. She’s a fan that reached out and we really dug her work. We think that you might really like some of the other pieces she has done.
About the Author: Norman Gidney
