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Wesley Cunningham: Home Grown Artist From Montreal Making The Best of The Pandemic

Sunday, May 29, 2022 | Sunday, Bloody, Funday

By CHRIS HAMMOND

Wesley Cunningham of Montreal, Canada took the Lockdown situation of the Global Pandemic and put their artistic talent to good use. Recently, I had the chance to talk about many things with Wesley including the inspiration behind their very Wicca/Pagan-influenced art and how art has helped them deal with the situations of the World.

First and foremost, the main question I have when asking who influences an artist is how they were influenced. Cunningham has many different influences:

The earliest inspiration for me is the great Stephen Gammell. So many horror artists of my generation saw his work at an early age in the “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” book series, and those images can really stick with you. 

Writers also inspire me quite a lot. The author Gretchen Felker Martin writes incredible horror novels with intensely vivid descriptions of horrific things. Her book “Ego Homini Lupus” was something I read when I was just starting to get serious about pursuing horror art and it really sparked my journey.

Pursuing the “Wesccloss” Redbubble website one will notice there is a definitive theme to the collection. Wes outlines how and why they decide to explore this theme.

I started my project on the zodiac in the summer of 2020. My work had shut down due to the COVID lockdowns and I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands.

I wanted to make a series of paintings with a common theme and the first thing that came to mind was the zodiac. I had been painting animal skulls for practice and thought I could use that with a zodiac theme and try to make it work for each sign.

Honestly, I am amazed I managed to get through them all, there are 12 signs and I don’t think I would have even set myself up for a project like that were it not for the months of free time I suddenly had access to. I [tend toward] a very hyper-fixated type of work so I get my best work done when I can sit down and create something from start to finish without interruption. I have been thinking about doing a second series on the zodiac but I know that will definitely take me a lot longer to complete.

There are many factors that influence artists. Wes describes how the “Worship of Nature” connect with their artistic style.

So I grew up in a very small town surrounded by the deep forests of northern Ontario, nature has always been a part of my life and where I find the most peace. I identify as Pagan, and rituals surrounding nature are very important to me.

What I’m most attracted to when it comes to nature is its duality of beauty and horror. The forest can be both gentle and deadly, and I truly believe that the only way to interact with nature is to approach it on its own terms. I think my art is inspired by the more haunting and deadly side of nature.

Artistic weapons of choice or what artists are most comfortable using when creating can really make a very distinct style. Wes has a few weapons that they outline.

I work almost entirely with acrylic paint or simply with pen and paper!

Are there any other factors that influence your art? Does The Pandemic help or hinder your inspiration?

Dreams inspire a lot of my art, one of my short comics was made after waking up from a dream where there was a long thick hair coming out of my eye. Most of my dreams don’t have much “plot” to them and are just a series of visuals that I like to recreate in my art. 

The Pandemic at first did help me a lot with my creativity, I used the lockdown time to visit my parents, so I was out of the city, surrounded by nature again, and had endless free time. However, once I had to return to work I think it really hindered me. I couldn’t go out anywhere besides work so my life became just the life at my job and the life sitting around in my apartment.

I think life experiences are vital to artistic inspiration, and when you’re devoid of any meaningful outside stimulation it can really stunt your imagination.” 

If there is interest Wesley Cunningham discusses how to go about acquiring a piece of their art below.

“I’m open to commissions occasionally, but I try to focus on selling my original paintings, as that’s more accessible for my time availability. I upload those originals for sale on my ko-fi account!” 

Follow Wes Cunningham’s artistic journey via:

Instagram

Redbubble

Portfoliobox

Chris Hammond
The Curator of the Creepy collectibles. I've been an avid horror fan for over 3 decades. Meeting and writing about some of the finest artists from all over the world is a pure joy. I've written for multiple websites on the art and collectible front. The horror bug that lives inside me is well cared for and has been going strong since I watched my first introduction to horror through a grainy VHS copy of John Carpenter's 1978 classic film Halloween.