Mab Graves

Pop Surrealist painter <3 mabgraves.com

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Okay my Drawlloween pals! I’m getting the list out early this year, so we can prep! In 2022 we have really seen the aftermath of the pandemic- the isolation, loss and turmoil of the past few years has left so many of us in such sad, dark places that I decided to take this years list in a new light, silly direction! We all just need to have some fun making each other smile, and reminding each other what a treasure our little Art family is. As always, anyone, ANY creative medium can join. The prompts are meant to be little inspiration touchstones and you can be as loose or as literal with them as you get inspired to be. The official start is October 1st, but I wanted to give everyone extra time to plan so that we leave no one behind! #itshere #mabsdrawlloweenclub #mabsdrawlloweenclub2022 #promptlist #drawlloween #october #mabgraves https://www.instagram.com/p/Chu3Rkjuf1s/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Ive teamed up with @stickerobot on a very special sticker to benefit the @trevorproject. This piece is a tribute to dear friend @martinharrisart who passed away in November, his death hit me and sent ripples through my heart in a way that I’m still grappling with. I decided to make a piece for Martin, something that had all the little things we loved and shared in it. We chose the Trevor Project as the charity for this piece, to honor both Martin and his passing. I know that we as humans are all collectively struggling with trauma and hopelessness from the last couple years and that impact is especially harmful to our LGBTQ family right now. These big, beautiful stickers are now available at @stickerobot - each one is $6 with $5 going directly to the Trevor project and $1 to cover shipping and transaction fees. I’m so grateful to Sticker Robot for helping me find ways to make my art more impactful, and to the Trevor Project for the vitality important work they are doing in the LGBTQ+ community. #stickerrobot #imissyoumartin #mabgraves #stickers https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3UTpsuxU7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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The Changeling - I’m really excited to see what everyone comes up with for today’s prompt! I didn’t get to start this piece till after midnight, so I want to add more forest to the background. Despite my best efforts, I’m still not ahead on the list! 😭 This will have to do for today. #outtatime! #mabdrawlloweenclub #mabsdrawlloweenclub2020 #changeling #graphite #fairychild #nabgraves https://www.instagram.com/p/CF4W3x_H-2H/?igshid=eczpb0c8r8cf

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The Cautionary Tale of Grumpkin Lumpkin —> swipe to read! It’s #pumpkin day for #mabsdrawlloweenclub! One of the best aspects of Drawlloween is the opportunity to stretch yourself on the prompt days you’re not immediately inspired by. “Pumpkin” is usually one of those prompts for me. It’s such core Halloween imagery, that it’s got to be on the list, so it one of the “meh” days I’ve come to underpainting the value of! The days that are the most challenging (or seemingly least interesting) so often result in the most fun! #grumpkinlumpkin #mabsdrawlloweenclub #mabsdrawlloweenclub2020 #pumpkin #dontthumpeggs #YoullLossinCourt https://www.instagram.com/p/CF2H21sHhRM/?igshid=1v3xjey29vuhd

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Every year I release a special limited edition Halloween plate, but I honestly wasn’t sure I’d have time to this year. I’m so relieved I was able to get this little fuzz ball finished in time! There’s a super-short preorder window on these this year because we want to be able to get them to everyone by Halloween. 🎃They’ll be available for the next 48 hours in my Etsy shop (link in profile) and then the edition will be closed. These plates are durable, break-resistant melamine, and are dishwasher safe. It’s been SO MUCH fun watching all the werewolves fill my feed today and I have a ton of catching up to do! #mabsdrawlloweenclub #mabsdrawlloweenclub2020 #mabgraves #justonebite #halloween #werewolf #melamineplate https://www.instagram.com/p/CF1o4AjnYSi/?igshid=46285m5u91nt

[mabgravesart]

Bramble and the Moon Pie 🌙🥧 Happy Werewolf day everybody! Werewolves are my favorite of the classic monsters, and I have LOVED my feed covered in so much awesome wolfie art! This little lady is the subject of my limited edition 2020 melamine collectors plate, and is available for the next 72 hours in my Etsy 💕 I’ll post the full design later! #mabsdrawlloweenclub #mabsdrawlloweenclub2020 #werewolf #justonebite #limitededition #mabgraves https://www.instagram.com/p/CFzjLkDn6rz/?igshid=1nq36qbysqzvl

[mabgravesart]

Bramble and the Moon Pie 🌙🥧 Happy Werewolf day everybody! Werewolves are my favorite of the classic monsters, and I have LOVED my feed covered in so much awesome wolfie art! This little lady is the subject of my limited edition 2020 melamine collectors plate, and is available for the next 72 hours in my Etsy 💕 I’ll post the full design later! #mabsdrawlloweenclub #mabsdrawlloweenclub2020 #werewolf #justonebite #limitededition #mabgraves https://www.instagram.com/p/CFzjLkDn6rz/?igshid=1nq36qbysqzvl

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Sneak peek of my little mini brush set by @trekell_art_supplies - these retro rainbow colors are giving me all the feels.✨🐨🐦🐭🐵🐱🐷✨ Follow @trekell_art_supplies for all the details! I’m trying to accept that life isn’t going to slow down or change anytime soon... I won’t have the time or space I’ve always needed to work and create, so I just have to figure out how to adapt. Scroll for the behind-the-scenes pull-back shot of reality: shooting out of my traveling studio case and homeschooling Ransom at the same time. 😅🤪 #anAmericanAunting #trekellartsupplies #trekellproteam #trekellbrushes #minibrushes #miniaturepainting #mabgraves #covidlife https://www.instagram.com/p/CFSmFTvHMm6/?igshid=s6zcvq4jjkbc

[mabgravesart]

Eeep! Sneak peek of the promo art for something special @trekell_art_supplies and I have been cooking up. Details dropping later today 💕 #minibrushes #miniaturepainting #trekellproteam #trekellartsupplies #trekellbrushes #mabgraves https://www.instagram.com/p/CFSEupOH_nk/?igshid=ryfymqvp5uvz

[mabgravesart]

Okay my lovelies!! I’m so sorry the list took me a couple more days than planned, but a sort of a ridiculous amount of work, thought and research goes into these lists each year! I’ve been especially thinking about my fellow COVID caretakers, people with lives that have been completely turned upside down and are worried they won’t be able to participate this year. If you’re a creative, having an outlet to make art is part of your mental and emotional health, and I don’t want anyone feeling left behind or defeated - SO! I made three separate lists. They all coincide so each one will still be a part of the community feel, but they’re for daily, every other day, and weekly participation. I don’t want anyone to have anxiety over biting off too much, and I’m personally a completionist, so I always hate having to skip things. Hopefully these separated lists will help leave no one out! As always, #mabsdrawlloweenclub is open to ANY artist, ANY medium, ANY skill level. We are one big family. This year, I’m also making “inspiration touchstone” pages for each prompt for people who feel creatively stuck or in a funk right now. I’ll be posting those in the coming week! I can’t wait to play with you all this October! #mabsdrawlloweenclub2020 #mabsdrawlloweenclub #promptlist https://www.instagram.com/p/CEsgGWfnFvU/?igshid=vm8v0wn5x4xe

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The Light Princess. When I first started painting in 2009, I painted a similar piece, inspired by the George MacDonald fairytale. It was one of the very first pieces I painted, and I always liked the composition. With the crashing of my old computer, all I’ve been able to salvage is a small thumbnail of the original, so I decided to revisit the story this year and paint it again. With everything going on in life right now, the symbology feels very personal in a completely new way. 💕 #thelightprincess #mabgraves #oilpainting #fairytales #floataway P.s. this piece is cropped here for Insta because it’s too tall, you can see the full piece in my Etsy shop! https://www.instagram.com/p/B-7uuE9HzLj/?igshid=1el7py9ga5f7h

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Before the world got weird, @vitalmarks sat down with me and (insanely patiently) coached me through sculpting. Fortunately, he’s a master-level Mab-speaker, and fluent in my hand squiggles, so together we slowly sculpted a new Tanith for 2020. As I’ve been writing her story, she’s become such a fully formed, complex little person. I wanted to create a sculpt that reflected the subtlety of her personality. Here she is 💕 #thetaleoftanith #mabgraves #mabdoll #artdoll https://www.instagram.com/p/B-h31zBHVPv/?igshid=3qe36egct0iq

[mabgravesart]

Painting some feelings. #letitout #arttherapy https://www.instagram.com/p/B-eXELOHdDu/?igshid=72xqt23tp9zt

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Still unpacking...💕💕💕💪🏻 https://www.instagram.com/p/B-DZBraHxy3/?igshid=ypr6jyrks47u

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Unpacking boxes of special tiny originals saved for events this year to photograph! https://www.instagram.com/p/B-C-wV3HRkN/?igshid=10igcpvpr63zr

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Finding ways to keep minds busy and hearts calm 💕. I found an old bow that was my dads, and Ransom and I wandered the forest using dry reeds as arrows. #stayinghome #hermit https://www.instagram.com/p/B91yiheH-2P/?igshid=1pj80bsga95e0

[mabgravesart]

I needed a new pincushion. I made a new pincushion. Problem solved. Discarded planter rescued. #allaboutthecattitude #pincushion #mabgraves #reducereuserecycle https://www.instagram.com/p/B9VEQp0HJ3W/?igshid=b5v6lq9nwyb8