Hey, gang- for today’s Monster Monday art blog post, I’ve got a new Elsa Lanchester “Bride” scare-brush monsterpiece to share with you. I’ve painted at least 3 other portraits of the Bride over the years, and have had several requests for a new one, so I finally got around to making a new one.
I love the 1935 black and white Universal Monsters movie for it’s character and set designs, and even though the Bride character only has a few minutes on screen, those minute moments are quite memorable and iconic.
Although, the movie does have some “WTF..?!!!” moments, too. Somehow as a kid I chose to forget this scene when I first watched the movie on TV.
But, if the Monster hadn’t demanded a mate for the sequel to “Frankenstein” we wouldn’t have Elsa’s amazing portrayal of Mary Shelley and the Monster’s Mate, or future films like “Young Frankenstein”, which is one of my favorite films and an annual Halloween must watch and not only includes a lot of homage moments in the movie, but a lof of the actual original set pieces and props from the ’30s film.
I first projected up the image with my Autograph Super AG opaque projector, and sketched it out with a #2 pencil. I try not to draw too many details since most or the small lines will be blown away by the airbrush. It’s best just to use the projector to crop the photo for the best composition, and then get basic outlines and key reference points. I find it easier just just paint the rest freehand and sketch with the airbrush as I go and build up the drawing.
I started off with a medium grey I mixed up with some white and black Createx paint. I have to airbrush outside on the back patio, so I have to take advantage of any nice weather days if I want to paint. Wind and rain can be a problem, but other than a couple storms the weather has been nice and mild, and May has been great so far. June will be here before you know it and they’re calling for more rain mid-week, so I’ve got to get started on my next monsterpiece yesterday..!
For airbrushing, I use a Paasche VL-3 double action airbrush and some Createx Colors airbrush paint. I also use a piston driven “pancake” style Craftsman compressor with a reservoir tank. If you’re going to learn to airbrush I recommend not only getting a double action airbrush (push down and get air, pull back to control paint flow) but also a tank compressor. You don’t need a a big one, it just needs to be able to produce 100-150psi (PSI=pounds per square inch). You won’t paint at that high amount of pressure (I use around 60-80psi), but if it can’t it’s going to struggle to keep up with you. A tank also helps keep the air flow smooth. A moisture trap coning off the compressor and one on the air hose can keep the water condensation that builds up in the tank from getting to your painting. Be sure to drain the compressor after each use. Thankfully it hasn’t been humid or too muggy so water in the line hasn’t been too big of an issue, but I have been fighting tip dry.
After getting the portrait sketched out in grey, I started working on more details and values.
I constantly went back and forth with highlights and shadows, background and foreground, and adding details or correcting mistakes.
When painting I like to step back and look at the overall painting, and/or taking progression shots for posts like this. It not only helps with content creation for my website and social media accounts, but helps to show you the “big picture” on a small screen. That helps so much with identifying any mistakes in the drawing such as proportions and values. Seeing them and addressing those things early in the painting can save you so much time trying to fix them later.
I was starting to have a lot of problems with tip dry while trying to paint the streak in her hair with the air brush. They’re always tricky for me, so i used a white acrylic paint pen do do some of the finer lines, and make some of the highlights brighter. I then went back over them lightly with the airbrush to soften them.
The trick to painting portraits like this is to focus the details on the eyes/nose/mouth, and let everything else become softer as it goes out from the face. Painting these and taking 35mm shots of them back in the day taught me early on about depth of field in drawing and photography. The smaller the number on the F-stop, the more light entering the camera and a less depth of field. The bigger the number, the less light, but more depth of field and detail. Knowing how this all works can really help your images pop.
After a few days of working on the painting I finally decided to wrap it up on the Bride. I did the final highlights on the eyes, mouth, and ears, and did any needed blending- as well as painting the sides of the canvas to make the image wrap around. Since I use the gallery wrapped canvases I always make sure to paint the sides of the pieces. It looks so much better when they hang on the wall, and eliminates the need for any framing.
And there you have it- another monsterpiece is completed…and already SOLD!
I now just need my wife Nicki to get some high-res photos with her mirrorless digital camera before this and my other recent monsterpieces go up on the walls at my art show at Playhouse next month.
I’ll have this painting on display at my upcoming “Featured Creatures” art show. The show’s artist reception will be on June 5, 2026 from 5-7pm in 2nd Floor West gallery at Playhouse on the Square – 66 South Cooper Street, Memphis, TN 38104. There’s another artist, Angi Cooper, having their reception the same night in the downstairs gallery. My art show runs from June 6-August 2, 2026 and is in conjunction with Playhouse’s production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street“, June 12 – July 12, 2026. All art shows on display are free to attend art shows during Playhouse’s normal business hours.
Whatever doesn’t sell at this art show will be for sale at this year’s Monster Market in October and Memphis Monster Con in November. I’ll also have new art prints, sketch cards, sketch covers, and stickers available for sale.
Oh, and don’t forget that I’ll be set up at the Memphis Public Libraries Comic Con on Saturday, May 30th from 10am – 3pm at the Raleigh Branch (3452 Austin Peay Hwy, 38128). It’s a free event and very family friendly.
Speaking of family friendly, I really enjoyed going downtown to be at the Beale Street Monster Club’s “Bigfoot on Beale” celebration this past Saturday. Had a great time, and even got some drawing/painting done, which I’ll share pics of next Monster Monday.
Lin