K.L. Turner's Monstrosities on Canvass

K.L. Turner is yet another new artist of the Lovecraftian and the bizarre to keep an eye on. One glimpse at his excellent "catfish_charlie" art blog reveals a gallery of nightmarish delights for the weird connoisseur. While a description of the artist's background and influences could be written up here, why not use his own biography for insight into his talent?

Native Coloradan K.L. Turner is a practicing artist who is self-taught in a
variety of mediums. Over the years he has developed several distinctly
different styles, growing more diverse as time goes by. To the observant
viewer, however, cohesive themes recur throughout his work. While his art is
frequently dark in nature, this is not always the case.

Turner says of his work, "I’d like to think that my style is entirely unique,
but only a cave man raised by wolves could really say that for certain. We are
all influenced by those around us and those who have come before us. In my own
work I often imagine elements of others whose work I admire; Theodore Geisel
(Dr. Seuss), H.R. Giger, H.P. Lovecraft and Vincent Van Gogh to name just a few,
as well as broader cultural themes such as Dia de los Muertos and Celtic
designs."

Of immediate appeal to readers are his Lovecraftian pieces. Pseudo-mollusks, oddities summoned from another realm, and strange places populate his work as unmistakable echoes of the best H.P. Lovecraft ever offered. Turner's "Palingenesis" above is an excellent example of this. However, his classic weird depictions extend beyond Lovecraft.


One of my personal favorites is his beautifully freakish painting of the King in Yellow above, with a full view of tri-mooned Carcosa's skyline in the background. The blurred aspect of the King, particularly his face, suggests the obscure horror forwarded in the Yellow chronicles since Robert W. Chambers' original stories. The pale, but blank face is also a fine addition, reflecting the Lovecraftian overtones HPL himself seemingly injected into his work (such as the High Priest of Unknown Kadath) via Chambers.


Yet, like all artists, K. L. Turner breathes his own decisive themes and style into his paintings.
His "Architext" is one of the best examples evident on his blog of his unique voice. Tottering, mysterious columns beneath a sickened sky touch on a little of everything--authors like Lovecraft and Ligotti from the weird tradition--but do not capture any specific creation from anyone but Turner himself. This scene, as a solely Turner one, slams home the artist's own skill and imaginative originality, implying that we'll be able to look forward to more of the same in the future.

-Grim Blogger