Unquiet
Things

It’s spooky season, a favorite time of year for so many of us, so I want to remind everyone about a book I wrote, my love letter to the dark half of being human. I’m also hosting a giveaway on Instagram, so feel free to skip to my recent post to enter! Otherwise, read on…

The Art of Darkness gathers over 200 artworks across twelve chapters, musing on why artists have always been drawn to shadow. Symbolists and Surrealists making visible our inner landscapes, Pre-Raphaelites staging psychological dramas, artists like Goya painting his nightmares, Munch exploring anxiety and fear, Kahlo transforming pain into transcendence.

And the contemporary creators: Marci Washington‘s ghostly figures in rotting wallpaper. Dylan Garrett Smith rendering fauna and flora in ash and chalk. Caitlin McCormack crocheting delicate birds and skeletons. Darla Teagarden building surreal photographic narratives. Becky Munich‘s sly-humored sirens. Susan Jamison‘s luminous egg tempera paintings steeped in ritual. Rachael Bridge capturing twilight in impossible palettes. Stephen Mackey‘s dreamlike twilight worlds. Aron Wiesenfeld’s liminal thresholds. Caitlin McCarthy‘s spectral beauties and sibyls. Alex Eckman-Lawn‘s surreal collage portraits. Ruth Marten’s absurd alligator-laden interventions. Laurie Lee Brom‘s ghost stories. Bill Crisafi‘s woodland ritual. Amy Earles’ autumn daydreams. Nightjar art of Adam Burke‘s misty wilderness. Aleksandra Waliszewska‘s haunting nocturnal visions. Santiago Caruso’s darkly romantic illustrations. Gerald Brom‘s mythic creatures and feral witches.

We all experience the full spectrum of human emotion. The uncomfortable parts don’t vanish when we ignore them. But when we encounter them in art, something shifts. There’s richness in shadows, depth in contrast. These artists give form to feelings we couldn’t name otherwise.

This book is for…
October book clubs looking for something visually stunning to discuss
❈ Libraries creating seasonal displays that celebrate the atmospheric and eerie
❈ Bookstagrammers, BookTokers, BookTubers building creepy nonfiction TBRs
❈ Anyone who starts their spooky season decorating in April
❈ Bookish eleven-year-old oddballs and the adults they became
❈ Art lovers discovering contemporary creators alongside historical masters
❈ Gift-givers seeking something thoughtful for the art lover, the goth, the perpetually curious

Do you know any of the aforementioned readers, art collectors, or enthusiasts of the macabre? Go to this Instagram post and tag them for a chance to win a copy of this book! (US ONLY.)