My characters have undergone the same process of simplification as the colors. Now that they have been simplified, they appear more human and alive than if they had been represented in all their details.—-Joan Miró

What if the invading force that we are so afraid of has our face?—-Jordan Peele

So I thought, why not do the obvious thing, and merge Joan Miró with Jordan Peele?—-Deke McClelland

In this week’s free Deke’s Techniques, Deke combines the intellectual, symbolic, and visceral influences of two of his recent inspirational artists, Catalan surrealist painter Joan Miró and horror filmmaker Jordan Peele.

So what do you find at the spot where three creative geniuses (if you count Deke, which we do around here) converge? When it’s almost Halloween? And you’re sketching on an iPad?

Well we start with Miró‘s “The Sun,” interpreted here by Deke:

And add in the hero and her nemesis from a scene from Jordan Peele’s movie Us. You’ll notice that simplifying a nemesis doesn’t make her scissor-wielding hands any less creepy. Plus there’s a terrifying Miró-inspired bunny rabbit. Eeek.

If you’re a member of LinkedIn Learning, then Deke’s got two exclusive movies this week. In the first, he shows you how he starts to add color to his artwork. And in the second, he creates what he calls a “Rorschach background.” Who knows what your subconscious might find there.

If you’d like to make your own creepy experiments with Deke’s file, you can download it below and craft your own surrealist nightmares.

Deke’s Techniques, where Halloween ain’t a bunch of happy bats and pumpkins (this year.)