I usually don’t have something in mind for a show beforehand, but occasionally, I will have an idea or concept for a something that has really resonated with me. Thus was the case with this particular illustration. That said, when I saw the announcement for Gallery1988’s ‘Cover Your Eyes’, I knew this exactly what I was going to do...or so I thought. I love horror movies, and I avoided this one like the plague for a myriad of reasons, however the biggest mental hurdle for me was that it was a remake (of sorts). In retrospect it was foolish, as it stars a plethora of talent que j’adore, including Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Chlöe Grace-Moretz, Mia Goth, and yes…remarkably, even more Swinton. While this version of ‘Suspiria’ (2018), gets a lot of hate (my atonement pending), I for one will take the controversial stance to say that the remake, revision, reimagining, whatever…is better. In my opinion it does nothing but pay homage to the original every step of the way, and yet somehow become even more sinister than it’s predecessor. It dials the tension way up with stark visuals which make the atmosphere that much more dreary, all the while, accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack from Radiohead front man Thom Yorke.
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| My 'final' layout which was mostly realized. |
Originally, I wanted to do a triptych of the ‘Three Mothers’ from the original Dario Argento trilogy featuring Mater Suspiriorum, Mater Lachrymarum, and Mater Tenebraum. The Mother of Sighs, Mother of Tears, and Mother of Darkness. Each of the three-matron chthonic deities were featured in one (or more) of Argento’s series, starting with the original 1977 version of Suspiria (Mother of Sighs), followed by Inferno (Mother of Darkness), and finally Mother of Tears Which gave us the finale exactly three decades later (2007). The premise of the ‘Three Mothers’that Argento developed the films from, is loosely based on Thomas de Quicey’s ‘Suspiria de Profundis’, or precisely, a section entitled “Levanna and Our Ladies of Sorrow”. It alleges that along with their being three Fates, and Graces, there are also the Sorrows, of which Argento derives his ‘Three Mothers’.
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| Color palette inspired from Dario Argento's 'Suspiria' (1977) featuring Jessica Harper as Suzy Bannion. |
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| Close up of central figure Susie Bannion (as played by Dakota Johnson). |
After I completed the sketch of her, and the hands that were supposed to go over her face, it just no longer ‘worked’, so I ditched it. The hands with the hooks, profiles were deliberately placed to provide the illusions of horns, and a triple goddess structure with the opposing visages of Madame Veva Blanc & Mother Markos. The last element I wanted to portray was how manipulated so many of the players in this film were, particularly the dancers. I established this by depicting our ‘ritual’ girls in the center, tangled in a cats cradle who’s designed was based on the (floor) pattern used for the ‘Volk’ performance in the film.
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| Close of left side featuring Madame Veva Blanc (Tilda Swinton). |
I went with a color palette on this one that was more monochromatic but also contained a few contrasting hues that I think really helped push the values on this one. I basically took the color scheme from the original film which was much more vibrant. In fact, the shape above Johnson’s head is the stained glass window from the original film which isn’t even in the new version. I needed a design element for the empty space, so this was my way of including all my colors in one spot and paying homage to the original. While nothing ever gets completely realized one hundred percent in an artwork, I think I managed to capture the essence of what I set out to do. If I had a little more time on this, already very delayed piece, I would have liked to clean up the cat’s cradle a bit more to provide more contrast and dimension.
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| Close up of Helena Markos (Tilda Swinton). |
I started the piece on June 24th, 2025, and completed it on October 19th, 2025 barely in time for the opening, even with an early start provided by the delay of my previous piece (BILL LINK). I spent approximately forty (40) hours, and thirty-three (33) minutes constructing the intial sketches and layout for the piece, with an additional ninety-four (94) hours, and fifty-eight (58) minutes digitally painting the image.
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| Image capture from Luca Guadagnino's 'Suspiria'(2018) featuring the floor diagram design for the 'Volk'. |
I was once again so pressed for time, I couldn’t proof the image. Thankfully this show was an online release, and I didn’t need to produce a physical image to provide to the gallery. I did however proceed with getting a proof made, and thankfully, the image needed no adjustments.
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| Close up of the 'Ritual' girls (Mia Goth / Elena Fokina / Chlöe Grace-Moretz). |
The 11” x 17” image (printed on White Pearl Linen, thank you SGX), was made for Gallery1988’s ‘Cover Your Eyes’, a celebration of spooky season from a cadre of artists paying homage to your favorite flicks, which opened October 21st, 2025. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.
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| Final 11" x 17" image on white pearl linen. |
For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here.
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