Forum: 

Genuine Blood Art

Anonymous's picture
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Published Public: Anyone can view.

Over a year ago I began to experiment with the use of blood as an artistic medium. I began using my own or that of willing donors but quickly found human blood to be impractical, as the quantity required for the work I do is more than what can be safely procured. After a length search I found a butcher shop willing to provide me with big blood and it has been a labour of love ever since.

When I first began I had no idea how difficult blood was to work with. It truly has a mind of its own, and exposure to oxygen for certain periods of time, even before it is placed on the canvas, alters its colour and thickness. It also requires a tremendous amount of patience, as the blood is required to dry on the canvas for different lengths of time in order to achieve different effects.

In order to make the process safer and longer lasting, the blood is combined with clear acrylics during its application, and coated with several layers once each piece is done. This seals in the blood, helping to both accent and preserve it, as well as giving it a more paint-like quality.

I am more than happy to work with the ideas of other people in creating my pieces. That said, if there is anything, and I do mean anything, you have in mind which you would like to see converted to blood painting format, I am more than willing to take commissions, and can be reached at kalenight@gmail.com.

I currently have a painting up for auction at gothauctions.com ([URL=https://www.gothauctions.com/auction/XcAPViewItem.asp?ID=254..."Saphiel"[/URL]) and links can be provided to other works if you are interested in taking a look. I don't want to spam the forum, but I will leave you with one example, one of my favourites. 

Thank you all for reading, and as always, if you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.

[IMG]https://www.dead-muse-rising.org/one.jpg[/IMG]

- Kale Night

Kale,

I am glad that my words encouraged you in some way, and I hope that you can post some more of your work on here sometime to share with the community.  I greatly anticipate hearing more from you.

Trixy

Trixy,

I am deeply honoured by your reply. I certainly have never been one to refrain from doing something simply because most people frown upon that, and like you have said, I like to think my work is a reflection of that. As you said, doing what we feel rather than what we are told to feel is an important factor to many of the people in this community. Thank you again; your words mean a lot to me. It is my hope that some good may come of this, whatever it may be.

Kale, that is definately a very powerful piece of artwork, and that is putting the fact that it was painted with blood aside.  I absolutely love that people are willing to step out and do things that go against the norm (isn't that, in part, what this community about after all?).  Your work is definately different than any I have seen and I am very impressed.  Keep up the amazing work.  People like you who explore new frontiers and break barriers are the people who are remembered in history.

Valerian,

There are no additional pigments whatsoever, so it's 100% natural. There are a lot of layers required to get it that dark, and it tends to look more brown than red.

Thank you for your compliments, as well as the useful information. I didn't know that, and I'm sure it will come in handy.

Puck,

Thank you as well. I know there are other blood artists out there, but most I have seen concentrate on pieces with intricate detail and a lot of white space in the background. It's not at all a bad thing, just different.

Whoa... I didn't expect the colour to be quite so vivid when I scrolled down to see the pic.  Is that simply preserved natural colour, or is there pigment mixed in? 

Blood or no blood, that's quite an effective piece in my opinion.  But since we *are* talking about blood, I should remind people who are looking at this piece rather squeamishly at the moment that some of humankind's first artworks were painted with a mixture of charcoal, saliva and blood.  The sheer staining ability of blood on porous surfaces made it very practical for painting on stone and on animal hides.  If I'm not mistaken, certain North American native tribes incorporated blood with pigment as a painting medium.  I want to say the Anasazi but that may not be correct (art school is a long way behind me now, be gentle with me).

------------------------------------

Art of Adornment ~ Victorian Gothic Jewelry & Accessories