We here at Whimsical Mischief hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween and that you gathered enough candy to keep the old monsters and beast in their dark slumber for another year.

And so, we bid the dark season farewell and look forward to brighter and merrier days ahead.

Several years ago Kevin received a text message from his sister, Dana, asking, “Do you wanna scare little kids?”

Even for someone as odd as Kevin this was a strange text. He’d come to find that Dana had been working at the local Boys & Girls Club and they were putting on a haunted house for Halloween and could use some volunteers.

Laura had been working there for several years at that point and never had luck getting volunteers for her annual haunted house so when she asked Dana if she knew of anyone and Dana said her brother, Laura was skeptical.

But, to her surprise, Kevin showed up and there was a special connection between them almost immediately. It would take some time but they’d eventually come together, fall in love and get married.

Some years later Kevin was having a hard time deciding what to draw for his yearly Halloween illustration. He wanted it to mean something to him and really have that Halloween feel. As he looked around, desperate for any kind of inspiration, his eyes fell upon some photos from he and Laura’s wedding. One in particular caught his eye:

They had set up a small photo area at their wedding, complete with fun props. When it wasn’t busy they took the opportunity to have some fun and that photo was one of their favorites.

Love and happy memories played through Kevin’s head like a beautiful melody. Soon that melody merged with the Halloween atmosphere that decorated every corner of their house and an image and a story began to form in his mind.

Imagine being a trick or treater on Halloween night. You and your friends decide to take a shortcut through the woods when you hear something behind the bushes. It’s a light, haunting laugh. Someone is speaking and there are sounds of glass clinking gently together. 

You’ve heard stories about this forest being haunted and wonder what terrible fate could befall you if you’re caught by some terrible ghost. Nevertheless, your curiosity is too great and you creep forward and quietly move the bushes aside. 

What you find is a skeleton and some kind of tentacled mer-woman having an anniversary picnic under the full Halloween moon. 

With this image burning in his mind, Kevin set to work doing the drawing. He started with pencil on paper and then inked it with his trusty pens and his brush pen.

From there, the lineart was scanned into the computer and colored in photoshop. Some of the black outlines were colored as well to make something pop or to just soften the line since black is a very heavy color.

When all was said and done, Kevin felt that he’d done what he’d set out to do. He’d created a loving tribute to he and Laura’s love while keeping it in the Halloween spirit.

Because it’s our favorite time of year Kevin has put up some of his ORIGINAL artwork for sale in our Etsy shop!

These are one of kind illustrations that are on sale for half or more than they’re worth. You’ve already met the October Beast and the Ghosts who love candy but there are more to see! So if you need that perfect gift for the Halloween lover in your life or if you’re just itching to decorate your house with that spooky and fun picture then this is your chance!

The sale ends on Halloween and these illustrations will go back to their original pricing. And remember, they’re one of kind so once they’re gone, they’re gone forever!

Take a gander below at what we’ve got so far and you can purchase them in our store!

The poem and drawing for The October Beast sprang from not only Kevin’s love of Halloween but also from the fact that he and Laura are both rather short people.

Just like the final Ghosts Love Candy illustration, Kevin went the traditional route for creating this particular drawing. Follow me and I’ll show you how!

Everything starts with pencils on toned tan paper. The pencils are rather simple and don’t have a whole lot detail to them. That will be added after. Once the pencils are complete Kevin begins work with his pens. He uses various sizes of black pens and a white pen to begin to slowly create darker and lighter values with layers of hatching.

For this particular piece Kevin started in the foreground with the bag of candy and the magic created by the Old Pumpkin Beast.

Next, Kevin moved onto the candy that lay on the ground and then made his way to the Pumpkin Beast himself! Using different styles and directions with the hatching Kevin creates different textures and looks for each portion of the drawing, like the Beast’s clothes, his belt, his arms and his legs.

Kevin does the same thing to the rock wall, the trees and bushes and the rest of the sidewalk. Once all the black and white work is completed he adds in some more darker values with a warm gray Copic marker just to make sure that the October Beast and the kid and his candy are the focus and other bits fall into the background. Once that’s done Kevin tosses in a dash of color to add a little pop!

Finally, the drawing is scanned into the computer and given a few additional touches. A small hint of texture is added to the drawing and some of the color is popped out a bit more. After that, it’s all done and you have yourself a haunting picture and poem just ripe for the Halloween season!

OLD PUMPKIN BEAST

Out in the woods lurks the old pumpkin beast.
His looks are quite frightening to say the least.
He comes out each year as the leaves turn and fall
The only thing is…. He’s not very tall.
He does his best to cause a terrible fright.
But it doesn’t work well with his severe lack of height.
They laugh and they joke about the monstrous small-fry
Whose pumpkin head is so small it wouldn’t fill a small pie
But then Halloween comes as it does every year.
And that is the night when their laughs turn to fear.
You see there’s much more to the old pumpkin beast
And on Halloween night his power’s unleashed.
All those who laughed and joke at his height
Feel the full power of his old pumpkin might!
For on this All Hallows Eve with every treat that they get
Comes a special trick that they won’t soon forget.
They eat up their candy before they can blink
But each one that they eat is another inch that they shrink
When they finally realize how their size has decreased
They find they’re much smaller than the old pumpkin beast.
That is the moment when they reap what they sow
And learn a hard lesson that everyone should know.
The tiny are mighty and don’t you forget
Or on All Hallows Eve you’ll be very upset.

Since we are in the midst of our FAVORITE time of year I thought that we’d celebrate the dark season with some of our favorite bits of Halloween art and poetry.  Some of the ones we’ll show here can be found in our gallery and we’ll even show you a few pieces that aren’t.

Every year Kevin does a new Halloween illustration and, for some of them, he writes a fun poem to go with it. We’re starting off with one called Ghosts Love Candy about a young boy named Randy who learns a very important lesson while Trick or Treating.

This was one of the first drawings of Randy and his new ghostly friends. After awhile Kevin began to put together some possible drawings for a future children’s poem and art book and so he needed a unified look for them and that gave him just the opportunity to revisit his old pal Randy.

While this drawing above was drawn entirely in the computer, Kevin wanted to go back to basics for the poem and art book and went with pen and ink on tan sketch paper which was slightly enhanced in the computer after the art was completed.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks because you’ll find that Randy will pop up again!

GHOSTS LOVE CANDY

There’s something you should know.

And this could come in handy.

Just as it did one Halloween night,

For a Trick or Treater named Randy.

Randy was a ghost this year,

And was feelin’ fine and dandy,

When a haunting voice softly said,

“Do you have some candy?”

Randy turned to see three REAL ghosts

With eyes the color of cotton candy.

“Well do you, my ghostly friend?”

The second ghost asked Randy.

“I’m no ghost,” Randy replied.

“But I sure do have some candy.”

Randy held up his pumpkin basket,

Which was filled to the brim with candy.

The ghosts dove in with a crunch n’ a munch,

And ate all of Randy’s candy.

Randy learned something that Halloween night

Which was not so fine and dandy.

All Hallows ghosts love Halloween most

Because they REALLY love candy.