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mcrassusart — The Dunwich Horror - Lovecraft - Concept Art by-nc-sa

#dunwich #lovecraft #lovecraftian #photographicmanipulation #photomontage #photoshop #landscapefantasy
Published: 2015-05-03 20:31:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 7395; Favourites: 105; Downloads: 0
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Description My concept art based on Lovecraft's novella. 
The making process: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7qP3n…
Read more on my blog: mcrassus.wordpress.com/2015/05…

“When a traveller in north central Massachusetts takes the wrong fork at the junction of the Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean’s Corners he comes upon a lonely and curious country.  The ground gets higher, and the brier-bordered stone walls press closer and closer against the ruts of the dusty, curving road. The trees of the frequent forest belts seem too large, and the wild weeds, brambles, and grasses attain a luxuriance not often found in settled regions. At the same time the planted fields appear singularly few and barren; while the sparsely scattered houses wear a surprisingly uniform aspect of age, squalor, and dilapidation. […]
Gorges and ravines of problematical depth intersect the way, and the crude wooden bridges always seem of dubious safety. When the road dips again there are stretches of marshland that one instinctively dislikes. […]
The thin, shining line of the Miskatonic’s upper reaches has an oddly serpent-like suggestion as it winds close to the feet of the domed hills among which it rises.
As the hills draw nearer, one heeds their wooded sides more than their stone-crowned tops. Those sides loom up so darkly and precipitously that one wishes they would keep their distance, but there is no road by which to escape them. Across a covered bridge one sees a small village huddled between the stream and the vertical slope of Round Mountain, and wonders at the cluster of rotting gambrel roofs bespeaking an earlier architectural period than that of the neighbouring region. It is not reassuring to see, on a closer glance, that most of the houses are deserted and falling to ruin, and that the broken-steepled church now harbours the one slovenly mercantile establishment of the hamlet. One dreads to trust the tenebrous tunnel of the bridge, yet there is no way to avoid it. Once across, it is hard to prevent the impression of a faint, malign odour about the village street, as of the massed mould and decay of centuries. It is always a relief to get clear of the place, and to follow the narrow road around the base of the hills and across the level country beyond till it rejoins the Aylesbury pike. Afterward one sometimes learns that one has been through Dunwich.” – The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft
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Comments: 11

godkill [2017-07-02 03:13:07 +0000 UTC]

Being from the Canadian Appalachians, I would like to point out the severe lack or downright absence of rocky mountains. Most are wooden, rocky cliffs are quite rare but... Present. The rock present is, mostly, schist. Breakable rocks that form in horizontal layers. Kudos on the covered bridge, on point. They are trademark. The Bavarian houses are not that omnipresent either, but nevertheless, your piece is gorgeous. If you want insights on very nice house types to picture in Lovecraftian artwork: look at pictures of Maritime Provinces in Canada. Especially St-John's Newfoundland. I would suggest a look at historical houses in Maine. Cheers!

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mcrassusart In reply to godkill [2017-07-03 10:44:06 +0000 UTC]

godkill,
Thanks for the insights and suggested references. Being from Europe, I am not too familiar with the house types and landscape specifics of New England. I also didn't do too much research before doing this artwork.
If I'll ever continue the project of illustrating Lovecraft's stories, I will take more time to look at pictures of villages and landscapes of the Appalachians. 
Cheers!

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godkill In reply to mcrassusart [2017-07-03 10:49:16 +0000 UTC]

Well, you also have to take in consideration that HP Lovecraft's father was a VAN (Van Lovecraft). Which points to locations Germanic or Dutch in his ancestry. So, in a way, it's not that far off to a Lovecraft Nerd who knows this. The Bavarian houses are also common in our part of the globe, the Dutch pioneers kept their architecture alive in the Americas, Ironically, a type of house loved by the English settlers too! Please do continue to portray Lovecraft, his mythos surely welcomes your talent. 

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mcrassusart In reply to godkill [2017-07-18 08:40:38 +0000 UTC]

Interesting, I didn't know that. It would explain his fascination with German culture, which transpires in some of his stories.

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Bartleby1973 [2016-02-15 20:03:45 +0000 UTC]

really great. Also reminds me on John Carpenters phaenomenal try to create a Lovecraft-style in "In the Mouth of Madness".... brilliant work you did.

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mcrassusart In reply to Bartleby1973 [2016-02-15 20:25:43 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. Now that you mentioned, I can see some similarities. The bridge to Hobb's End must have been inspired by the one in Dunwich. Really cool movie and very heavily HPL inspired. I'll watch it again.

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Bartleby1973 In reply to mcrassusart [2016-02-15 20:45:33 +0000 UTC]

Yes, it's a Lovecraft-inspired motion picture, not only the bridge to Hobb's End, much more in it. For me, it's one of the best from Carpenter. The surreal atmosphere and the great Sam Neill... a real creepy one. The horror really happens in your head, loveit.

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mcrassusart In reply to Bartleby1973 [2016-02-16 09:45:00 +0000 UTC]

Yup. Even the name of the film is an obvious reference to two of his best stories
In the mouth = Innsmouth.
At the mountains of Maddness

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Bartleby1973 In reply to mcrassusart [2016-02-19 10:53:13 +0000 UTC]

oh.

OH.

damn. thanks for that eyeopener.

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Sly-Mk3 [2015-12-17 01:07:10 +0000 UTC]

Impressive!
I feel like I could get past the solidity of my screen and walk straight onto the path.

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mcrassusart In reply to Sly-Mk3 [2015-12-17 13:18:04 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! That was my intention with all the images - adding a sense of 3D depth, so that the viewer feels immersed in the dark landscape.

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