The Medium of Madness
Why do visual artists choose the particular mediums they do when they set out to interpret Lovecraftian Horror? Is there something in the clay, so to speak? Moyer, Dubisch, Rainey-Smith, Carlucci, Atkinson
Lee Moyer blends classic painting, pop culture, and naturalist illustration - mixing intensity with impish humor.
His art has been exhibited at the Smithsonian and galleries in NYC, LA, and London. Among his acclaimed posters are world premieres for Stephen Sondheim, John Mellencamp, and Stephen King, as well as art for Tori Amos, Amanda Palmer, and the von Trapps. His work includes Laurel & Hardy films, Spider-Man 2, and Call of Cthulhu. In collaboration with Ray Bradbury, George RR Martin and Neil Gaiman, Moyer designed and painted three literary calendars that raised six figures for charity. His essay "The Elements of Illustration" and his Kickstarter White Paper are widely read. His work is featured in many illustration anthologies and annuals. Moyer's games The Doom That Came to Atlantic City and 13th Age are available now. His Small Gods series, a pop culture abecedarium, and several illustrated children's books are forthcoming.
Mike Dubisch has been bringing a Lovecraftian twist to his fantasy art, illustration and comics for a quarter century, beginning in his mid teens. The versatile artist has created Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons toys, animated DVD covers for the World Wrestling Federation, designs for animated movies, and characters for MTV. His work is held in the permanent collection of The Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art. His Lovecraftian Graphic Novel WEIRDLING was published in 2007 to critical acclaim. Current projects include Zombies VS Robots:Diplomacy and Godzilla comics sketch variant covers, both for IDW, creature designs for film, including "Transcendent" for the 2013 Portland festival. See more at http://mikedubischart.webs.com/
Liv Rainey-Smith's original art is created through xylography, the practice of carving and printing wood. Rainey-Smith draws upon both European and Japanese techniques to create her work and favors working with natural materials as much as possible. She finds inspiration in early European prints, esoteric traditions, folklore, weird fiction, and the natural world. She won the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist in 2025. Rainey-Smith's woodcut art illustrates The Starry Wisdom Library Catalogue of the Greatest Occult Book Auction of All Time, and accompanies her story in The Dagon Collection.
John Donald Carlucci is illustrator and painter strongly influenced by artists such as Mike Mignola, Gerald Brom, Chris Bachalo. Darren Yeow, and Batt Dixon. His recent clients include Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke’s Hollywood Dementia, 20th Century Fox - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Strange Aeons Magazine, LoveCraft Wines, and The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. JDC is seeking to improve his artwork and technique every day. His only desire is to get better and better. To create is an amazing thing and to be appreciated makes it all worthwhile. With several projects underway, such as That Ghoul Ava comic with creator Todd Brown, JDC is looking forward to a busy and productive year!
Toren Atkinson is the lead singer for the H.P. Lovecraft inspired band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, as played on the video game Rock Band 2. Toren also co-designed and illustrated the award winning tabletop roleplaying game Spaceship Zero, and provided on-screen and voice acting talent to such properties as Stargate: Atlantis, Sword of the Stars (VG), Fort Zombie (VG), and Penny Arcade’s Cardboard Tube Samurai. He is one of the creators and co-hosts of the Caustic Soda podcast. Toren is an accomplished illustrator, with credits in tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu, design work for video games like [PROTOTYPE] by Radical. In his current position as storyboard artist he has worked on Marvel's Avengers Assemble and Rocket Monkeys.