Elisabeth Alba - Fetish

I recently learned about Melissophilia, an arousal toward bees/wasps/hornets/etc. Melissa comes from the Greek name for 'honey bee.' There's all kinds of interesting things that can be read about bees in mythology here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa. Anyway somehow I decided I wanted to draw a girl with bees and it turned into this!

Lee Moyer - Fetish

Scott Murry - Favorite Love Story

Linda Ramone originally dated Joey, but ultimately went for Johnny. It's one of the most famous love triangles of modern love. She was even the subject of classic Ramones songs like "The KKK Took My Baby Away." However it went down, these two are rad. Happy (belated) V-Day!

Kristina Carroll - Favorite Love Story

Dragonslayer
Charcoal 18 x 24

It's a little ironic that I am not a huge love story person. When it comes to romance, I like my stories with a little less "Happily Ever After" and a little more grit. And while so many of the stories illustrated so far definitely fall into that category for me (some of which I was considering doing myself!)- I still needed something more. Especially when it came to inspiring me visually.

There is a painting By Jeffrey Catherine Jones called Dragonslayer. It's  a twist on the classic St. George and the Dragon tale, where the hero goes to rescue the Maiden, only to find her in bed with the Dragon. I have been in love with this painting ever since seeing it and just couldn't get it out of my head. So I decided to pay homage to that illicit romance and one of my favorite artists.

Taryn Cozzy - Favorite Love Story

This is based off of Norah Jones' song "Man of the Hour" - It's one of those funny love stories about how a woman's unsuccessful search for a man has helped her realize she doesn't need one. She sees that she has a more reliable catch - her dog - and together they share the kind of love a man can't fill. This love story goes out to those of us who share an unconditional love with our dogs.

Favorite Love Story- Ricardo Lopez Ortiz

The Terminator

Guy travels trough time in order to save girl from killer robot, who is also from the future. While protecting her, he falls in love and fathers the future savior of mankind.

Perfect.

Erika Steiskal - Favorite Love Story

Beauty and the Beast has long had a place of honor in my romantic heart.

Jorge Mascarenhas - Favorite Love Story

After deliberating between 6-10 stories, I finally chose this one: "Let the Right One In."

Lee Moyer - Favorite Love Story

Mary Shelley starred in her own poetic love affair of course. But that may not even be her greatest or most sublime reason to be here in the Month of Love.

Steen - Favorite Love Story

I had a list of couples about twenty long and I couldn't choose any one over the other.  I love each of them for different reasons, but one trope I always come back to is the knight/noble lady.

Lauren Saint-Onge - Favorite Love Story

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King is my favorite book series of all time.  The fact that Roland Deschain is so emotionally detached at the start of the tale and by the end, transforms into a feeling human being, is fascinating to me.  Someone who has learned to be alone for so long, accepts friendship, as well as the ability to love and depend on other people again. And I think that's a great kind of love story.

Love Story - Marc Scheff

This week, again I'm doing double, or quadruple duty.

I read this story, "Magnets" by Thais Miller from Nautilus mag, about a love through time, like a mini Cloud Atlas. It seemed like a fun one to take apart. I also decided to do it on a 5.75" square postcard, so I can use it for the Mail Me Art project. Then my friend, DJ 80 Bugg emailed me about her new album, Escape to Mount Cyanide. The imagery I had in mind fit, so I did this up and it will be included with her new CD. I also kept the original drawing intact to put up for sale on my private collectors list.

"Escape to Mount Cyanide"

acrylic, ink, pen, pencil, on a very small postcard

Chris O'Neill - Favorite Love Story

MJ is one of the biggest reasons the ol' web-head gets out of bed in the morning. Pete has always prioritized keeping his loved ones safe over everything else.

Carly Janine Mazur - Favorite Love Story

5" x 7" oil, acrylic, and gold leaf on board

One of my favorite love stories is a Russian folktale called The Tsarevna Frog--The Frog Princess. The story is about a prince whose destiny is determined by firing an arrow towards whom he's to marry, a frog, who in the end turned out to be more than he could ever ask for.

The whole story can be read here: The Tsarevna Frog.

Lee Moyer - Favorite Love Story

A natural-born sequel to yesterday's loving couple, no?

Kevin Jay Stanton - Favorite Love Story

I realized that while I do watch a lot of romantic movies, I tend to think of the romance as somewhat secondary. The forerunners for this project were initially two of my favorite movies - The Fifth Element and Ever After. But neither of them really resonate for me romantically. Frankly I just like Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich and Drew Barrymore kicking ass. All of my ideas revolved around heroic poses of them.

So I went back and decided on A Very Long Engagement, which can truly be called a romantic movie. In highschool I would sigh about how deep Mathilde's love for Manech was and how strong their bond was, and think about that mournful tuba. Also, Marianne Cotillard is a serious badass in this, and I'm all about that. Oh and for anyone who hasn't seen the film - "MMM" stands for "Manech aime Mathilde" and is carved into the bell of a church where the lovebirds grew up.

At the moment I'm trying a bunch of new techniques to flesh out ideas and this seemed like a good opportunity to do so!

Jenna Kass - Favorite Love Story

My absolute favorite love story, Beren and Lúthien, comes from The Silmarillion. (spoiler: I'm a huge Tolkien nerd.)

To be as brief as possible: He was a mortal man, and to be worthy of the daughter of an Elven king, he vowed to get a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth (Sauron's old boss). Lúthien follows him, and they journey together, surviving by each others' strength. They do actually get the Silmaril, but Morgoth's wolf bites Beren's hand off still holding it.

The wolf is slain, and the Silmaril recovered, but Beren dies - and as a mortal, it is a final death. Except that Lúthien tells him to wait in the Halls of the Dead, and goes to the lord of that realm, and is so eloquent in her grief that she is allowed to bring Beren back to the land of the living, as long as she gives up her own immortality.

Sarah Gay - Favorite Love Story

Marla Singer + Tyler Durden

(Fight Club)

Amanda Atkins - Favorite Love Story

I have always adored E. E. Cummings and the elephant valentines he drew with crayon and oils yearly for his wife, Marion Morehouse. The New York Public Library can teach you more about these beautiful gifts of love.

I love the idea of a specific animal acting as a sort of symbol for the love shared by two people - something that can be called upon again and again as time goes on.

Stacey Lee - Favorite Love Story

"Conversation, like certain portions of the anatomy, always runs more smoothly when lubricated."

I'm not really a fan of romance, and I tend to avoid love stories like the plague.  Except for Quills. Maybe it's because it's main character is brilliantly filthy.  Maybe it's because he speaks to the sinner and the saint in all of us.  Maybe it's because Joaquin Phoenix is a total babe.

Jason Cheeseman-Meyer - Favorite Love Story

I'm old enough now that Romeo and Juliet feels like a story about impetuous youth self-destructing through their adolescent view of reality rather than a love story.  But Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash -- that's a love story.  Two people, married to other people when they met, famous, self-destructive, painfully addicted, but they pull it together, and endure for a lifetime, living together, working together, rarely leaving each others' side.  It's not a pretty story, but it's a powerful one.

Lee Moyer - Favorite Love Story

Craig Maher - Favorite Love Story

Oh Molly, you'll always be my favorite.

Tim Durning- Favorite Love Story

Gromwell (noun): (Plants) any of various hairy plants of the boraginaceous genus Lithospermum, esp L. officinale, having small greenish-white, yellow, or blue flowers, and smooth nutlike fruits.

I had some trouble thinking of love stories that really affected me, but while scrolling through movie ratings I hit The Baxter and started smiling. A "baxter" is the nice guy the leading lady leaves for the leading man and this movie by the comedians behind Stella and Wet Hot American Summer is genre-aware, ridiculous, and very sweet.

Alice Stanne - Favorite Love Story

I guess 'favorite' and 'love story' might not be the best words to describe to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It's more like most unforgettable heartbreak of my young life. The books definitely do not qualify as love stories but for some reason the way they ended really stuck with me. I was also probably very jealous that people's souls were animals who hung around their person, talking with them and being their closest friends.

Anna Christenson - Favorite Love Story

The first love story that came to mind when thinking of this week's challenge brief was the myth of Narcissus and Echo.  I decided to go with it, because it is a sad and beautiful story, but also one I think can be totally relatable at times. I think most people go through periods of self-obsession that are detrimental to either their mental or physical well-being, let along those around them (depression, addiction, hubris, etc), or have felt ignored and unloved. 

I'd really like to go back and do this piece traditionally. I am not sure it got the time it deserved!

Jeanine Henderson—Favorite Love Story

My valentine to Johnny Cash & June Carter—because doesn't everyone want a love story like theirs? 

My Dad used to talk about how much Johnny loved June, and how he died of a broken heart shortly after he lost her. I don't believe in "storybook" or "perfect" love, which is why I guess I always loved their story—the truest, strongest kind of love weathers all the storms and can't be broken, even by death.

I tried some new things with this piece,  looking to the iconic Hatch Show posters for inspiration.

Lee Moyer - Favorite Love Story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Leedskalnin

Tim Paul - Favorite Love Story

I tend to not have favorites. But I do have currents. Which is to say, "this is the [blank] I am most currently digging."

So the love story I am currently most digging is actually the Ice King's background story, which has only been explored a few times. When you first meet the Ice King in Adventure Time, he's a hilarious weirdo that is always kidnapping Princess to try and force them to marry and love him.

As you learn his history, he was driven mad by the magic in the Crown (which give him his powers), turning him into the Ice King. He may have saved the world in the past as well. He might have stopped the Lich King as well. 

As he lost his mind, he also lost the love of his life, Betty. No one is sure what became of Betty.

Now, almost a thousand years later. Ice King is a lonely, kooky magic-user, with domination over the power of ice and snow, living with penguins in his Mountain Fortress in the Kingdom of Ice. 

But every now and then, he's haunted by fragments of his past, in particular, Betty.

I love it, because the Ice King is far more than he seems. 

Michelle Dickens- Favorite Love Story

Among my favorite love stories is F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Although the romantic aspect of the novel is a small component within a larger context of decadence and corruption in the roaring twenties, I find Gatsby's unwavering devotion to Daisy very touching. In keeping with the symbolism in the novel, I utilized a color palette of green and golds to illustrate the characters' affluence. It was also fun to experiment with an art deco approach to recreate the look of the period.

Angela Rizza - Favorite Love Story

Meet me in Montauk.

Elisabeth Alba - Favorite Love Story

I have always loved tales of Robin Hood and Maid Marian!

Richie Pope-Favorite Love Story

The story of Joel and Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will forever be my favorite love story. If who you are is based on your memories and experiences and you erase someone out of your memory, aren't you just erasing yourself? Relationships always end, but we enter them anyway. We enjoy the ride, knowing this.

The final exchange between Joel and Clementine puts it perfectly:

Joel: I can't see anything that I don't like about you.
Clementine: But you will! But you will. You know, you will think of things. And I'll get bored with you and feel trapped because that's what happens with me.
Joel: Okay.
Clementine: ...Okay.

Lee Moyer - Favorite Love Story

The splendid BrainPickings offers a fine essay on this topic:

As we make historic progress on the dignity and equality of human love, it’s hard to forget the enormous indignities to which the lovers of yore have been subjected across the 4,000-year history of persecuting desire. Among modernity’s most tragic victims of our shameful past is Oscar Wilde, who was imprisoned multiple times for his “crime” of homosexuality, run into bankruptcy and exile, and fell to an untimely death. But Wilde’s most “sinful” quality — his enormous capacity for passionate, profound love — was also one of the most poetic gifts of his life.

More here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/07/15/oscar-wilde-love-letters-bosie/

Scott Murry - #nofilter

When you watch a romantic scene of a movie, you'll catch moments of people kissing upside down, swapping spit within moments of duress, and certainly locking lips during a sunset or two. That's how the ideal spats of passion come about.

There's nothing quite as awkward or unromantic as dancing with your loved one in the shower to the Misfits' "One Last Caress" playing over an iPhone. But hey, real moments of love can take place anytime and anywhere—that's how you know it's the real deal.

Aaron Miller - Chocolate Rose #nofilter

Chocolate Rose | Aaron Miller | 2014 | 8x10" | oil on panel

When I was a kid my stepfather would run out to the drugstore and get his last minute gifts. Usually arranged around a beer run. At some point the end-cap box of perfume and fake pearls was just not cutting it for Mom. I'm pretty sure the fight started over something else but I recall a box being thrown and fake pearls flying everywhere. I've since associated stuff like that with comfortable levels of appreciation that relationships can attain that border on thoughtless. Automated birthday emails might some something that illustrate that as well. And in this case I choose the plastic wrapped chocolate rose. This just isn't something I'd have ever considered giving to a new girlfriend. After I painted it I did give it to my wife, just as unceremoniously as the token suggests.

Chris O'Neill - #nofilter

There's #nofilter when it comes to LOVE. We don't get to choose who we love, or why.

Joan Varitek - #NoFilter

The idea came from a concept of who we are really in bed with at any moment, with whom we share our real intimacies. Even after a successful date both parties might go back to browsing OKCupid, even idly. Or, in a more optimistic sense, the dishing of juicy details among friends has a shorter refractory period. As long as our Internet presence becomes an extension of our mindpsace, how well can we get to know a new person fully, even after being in bed?

Daniel Nyari - #NoFilter

A fun way to look at love is to think of it as an imbalancing factor. Its very nature is violent in relation to existence. Love automatically divides the world into more deserving or less deserving. We "fall" in love and become obsessed with the other.  As a result we risk over-idealizing this other and project our inner desires until we begin resenting them for what they aren't. When the veil is lifted, what reflects back at us resemble nothing of the people we first fell for but only the ugliness of our own avarice. 

Taryn Cozzy - #nofilter

My new beau is handsome, funny, sweet, and respectful. I really like spending time with him in any way possible - right down to the vigorous back rubs.