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explorations in iphone notes

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monster

2023/09/03

September 3, 2023
A rough, sketch-like rendering of a mask. The technique suggests a blend of pencil and paint. The right side of the mask is crimson, and has dimensionality, as though molded or carved from a material; the left is black, and, while the area around the eyesocket looks three-dimensional, most of it is flat, as though sketched out in charcoal. The mouth is stretched wide in a smile revealing a white surface, suggesting teeth. The right side of the mouth has blurry vertical lines on it, as though dissolving into static.

2023/08/31

August 31, 2023
A large, furry, red creature with two legs and three horns. The creature appears to have a large blue iridescent rock embedded where its face would be.

2023/08/29

August 29, 2023
A vast desert plain. Above, the sky is black and starry; below, a light blazes on the horizon, less like a sunset and more like a bonfire. Hanging above the plain is what appears to be an asteroid with a huge eye on it. The eye is looking down at the desert, where a tiny figure stands, both arms raised, seemingly signaling to it.

2023/08/26

August 26, 2023
A green sky, and a powerful tornado reaching down from it. The tip of the tornado ends with a human figure at the end of it, as though the person's head is the tornado. On both sides of the tornado/person are jagged lightning bolts. The person is standing on a barren hill with no other details around.

2023/08/22

August 22, 2023
A figure with two legs, no arms, and a head that takes up over half of its body. The figure is set against a deep blue background; the front of it is lit starkly by red and green light. The figure has a quiet, blank expression on its face.

2023/08/19

August 19, 2023
A hillside, gleaming in the moonlight, possibly covered with snow. In the sky sits a blazing full moon. The whole scene is blue. Cast sharply in the moonlight, moving up the side of the hill, is a shapeless lump of a figure: a troll-like creature with large paws, a heavy brow, a long nose, and white, staring eyes. It appears to be transfixed by the full moon. This, for anyone who is familiar with Tove Jansson's Moominland series, is the Groke: out and about on a night when no one but the Groke would be stirring.

2023/08/16

August 16, 2023
A tall, two-legged figure with no arms and fin-shaped spikes running down its back. The figure has a long neck, and the neck is curved around so its head is looking directly at its chest. However, the neck is coming out of the top of the creature's head, not below its jaw, as would be the case for a person. The creature has a large, circular mirror hung around its neck like a medallion, and it is inspecting its reflection. Placed in front of it is a very large black egg. The whole scene is rendered in fine-lined black-and-white.

2023/08/14

August 14, 2023
A figure wearing a blazing red-orange mask, which stands out starkly against a dull, winter-gray background. The mask looks like it is carved from wood, with a ferocious expression: a sharp, frowning mouth with white teeth exposed; a precise, curved mustache; and two large, staring eyes underneath thick, heavy eyebrows. The mask is vaguely shield-shaped, and someone paying attention might note a similarity to one of the monster mask emoji in iOS. The mask is disproportionately large compared to the figure—they're the same size—and the figure, clad in featureless gray clothing, is also holding a staff. There is a dull moon in the sky. In front of the figure stands a small leafless tree.

2023/08/13

August 13, 2023
A large, furry, yellow sphere hovering above the ground, set against a dark indigo background. The sphere has no eyes or facial features, only a huge, yawning mouth. Anybody who's played Pac-Man might note a certain similarity. Here, however, is where the similarity ends; the figure also has horns and a phosphor-green halo hovering above it. Pac-Man, it seems, plays both sides.

2023/08/12

August 12, 2023
A black background. In the foreground is a blue, octopus-like creature with four short, triangular tentacles. The creature has empty eyes, and extending from the middle of the right eye downwards is a straight-edged seam that suggests this may be a mask or a costume. No one appears to be inside it. The creature is illuminated on two sides by a neon green light and a bright crimson light.

2023/08/11

August 11, 2023
A sky heavy with red clouds, like those from a forest fire. A worn-looking sun hangs in the middle of them. In the foreground is a large, rectangular structure, like a castle wall. This takes up the lower left quarter of the drawing. In the top right of the wall, at the very edge, is placed a warning sign: an exclamation point in a triangle. Set in the middle of the wall is a rectangular window with a rounded top, like a castle window. Sitting in the window is an unassuming-looking creature with long ears. Normal people would look at it and say something like "oh, a rabbit!" An understandable error, but a dangerous one; for this is a demon rabbit.

2023/08/08

August 8, 2023
A yellow blobby creature, spherical with four conical tentacles at the bottom. The creature has no facial features except for two googly eyes roughly affixed to the front of it where a face would be. The creature is set against a blue background with no features, and appears to be suspended in either space or liquid.

2023/08/07

August 7, 2023
A yellow shield on a red background. The shield has a minimalist illustration of a creature with two bandy legs, no arms, a single batlike wing, and a head that consists of a single eye. A coat of arms designed for a demon might look something like this.

2023/08/06

August 6, 2023
A bright red, two-legged creature set against a dark background, with a somewhat amorphous body outline. The creature has two clearly defined legs and head, and a wrinkle near its waist that looks almost like it's a costume someone is wearing. Sprouting off the back of it are some odd, bristly, protrusions that look more like what you would find on a fish. Planted on the creature's head, where a face would be, is a single, googly eyeball like that sold in a crafts store.

2023/08/05

August 5, 2023
A purple, two-legged creature, with no arms, no face, and two horns on its head. Sprouting from its back are three more horns. Its skin looks shiny and iridescent. On its chest is a large "warning" icon: an exclamation point set in a triangle.

2023/08/01

August 1, 2023
A large, furry, two-legged creature. The creature has no arms. Where the creature's face would be is an open window with a person staring out of it. The person is wearing a suit with a tie. Protruding from the rear of the creature's head, sort of like a horn, is a chimney: one of those pipe chimneys with a little roof over it.

2023/07/31

July 31, 2023
A giant, tree-covered mountain peak in the shape of a head. The head has a sober, intense expression, and is staring across the valley in front of it at a small figure standing in the foreground. Above are a few wisps of clouds.

2023/07/30

July 30, 2023
A chaotic surface that suggests a partially melted wall with an arched doorway in it. Standing in the doorway, staring out, is someone whose face is darkened by shadows. The person looks like they are wearing a robe, and has a shaved head and two intense, staring eyes.

2023/07/26

July 26, 2023
A two-legged creature with a giant eye, jagged teeth, and no visible arms. Two-thirds of the creature is taken up by its head. Parts of the creature are blurry, as if out of focus or obscured by fog.

2023/07/25

July 25, 2023
A figure stands up close to a blank wall, apparently facing it. The figure's feet are fused into the floor, almost like tree trunks rooted to the ground. The figure's right arm is upraised. The figure seems to be casting a shadow on the wall, but the shadow doesn't match the figure: it is huge, almost swallowing the figure, shapeless except for horns.

2023/07/22

July 22, 2023
A large, furry, headless figure holds up a large mask on a stick. The mask is a big-nosed, bearded face with its mouth slightly open. Sitting on top of the figure, where its head would normally be, is a person sitting in a chair. The mask is positioned directly in front of the seated person, obscuring it totally from view if you were approaching the headless figure, er, head-on. The seated person is holding an umbrella with two horns on top. The overall effect is of a large, horned, furry monster, with most of its head replaced by a person sitting in a chair.

2023/07/18

July 18, 2023
A grassy hill. At the top of the hill is a metal tower with a loudspeaker at the top. At the base of the tower is a small earthwork platform with a microphone on it, perhaps the microphone that controls the loudspeaker. No one is standing at the microphone. A path leads through the grass to the microphone platform. There are signs of fog on the ground. In the background looms a huge figure, blurry with fog, as tall as the tower itself. It is slightly stooped, head tilted down, looking at the microphone platform. Its facial features are hard to discern, but something about them is unsettlingly skeletal.

2023/07/16

July 16, 2023
An overcast night, with no stars and only a hazy moon in the sky. Below is a house; more specifically, the cross-section of a small house. By "small", it appears that the house has only three rooms: a cramped little attic, a living room area, and below, a basement. The interiors of all three rooms are visible, like an open dollhouse. The attic is very dark and mostly empty, except for some boxes, dimly illuminated by the light coming in from a skylight. The living room is empty, except for a glowing television and a person standing in front of it, slightly hunched, hypnotized by the light from the screen. There is no light in the living room other than that which comes from the television screen. There is one indiscernible picture hung on the wall, and no other furnishings. But it's the basement that's most startling. The basement is totally empty, except for an enormous red blob with tufted fur, horns, and no facial features to speak of. The blob has one outstretched, clawed hand, reaching through a hole it has evidently punched in the basement wall. It appears to be digging a tunnel under the small porch of the house. If one is going to harbor monsters, one needs to bury them deep and remain alert.

2023/07/12

July 12, 2023
A crude white face on a black background. The face has two cavernous eyes, a frowning mouth, and no nose. It is roughly scribbled in crayon, as though drawn by a toddler. Above the face is a more carefully drawn wide-brimmed hat, floating in space. Below the face is a shirt, also more realistically drawn. The shirt is upright, as though someone is standing in it, but empty, as though the person is invisible. The overall effect is that of an invisible figure wearing a hat, a shirt, and a disproportionately large, misshapen face drawn by an upset child.

2023/07/07

July 7, 2023
A very pointed, nearly perfectly conical hill, covered with grass. Balanced on the point of the hill, sort of like a platter on someone's head, is a flat platform, on which stands a large, stone statue. The statue has a humanoid face, but is roughly cut, with no arms or legs, and looks like a religious figurine. Sitting right under the platform, keeping it balanced on the tip of the hill, are two figures. One of them is looking at a phone. The sky is mostly clear, with a few wispy clouds.

2023/07/06

July 6, 2023
It is very late evening or very early morning. Standing in a grassy meadow is a giant round sign, maybe 10 feet in diameter: a smiley-face that appears to be constructed from metal and plastic, like a sign for a gas station or roadside attraction. The sign is falling apart: panels are missing or broken, revealing the metal framework underneath, and plants dangle from the frame. In the background is the suggestion of a foggy tree line. Standing to the right of the sign is a person, shining a flashlight up at it. The darkness and the beam from the flashlight throw the seams and contours of the sign into sharp relief, making the smile empty and menacing. As Lon Chaney once said, "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."

2023/07/04

July 4, 2023
A creature with heavy, primitive facial features, pointed ears, fur all over its face, and eerily expressive eyes stares pensively at a small sphere suspended by a string above its head. Only the creature's conical, gorilla-esque head is shown.

2023/06/26

June 26, 2023
A hiker stands on barren ground, dotted with rocks and patches of grass. We are looking at the back of the hiker. The hiker is wearing a backpack and carrying a walking-stick in their right hand. Above them, looming out of what appears to be fog, is a vast creature whose shape could best be described as "large". The creature is mostly shapeless, with a large body, head, and horns. The creature's face is just a giant, staring eye. It does not appear to have any appendages.

2023/06/25

June 25, 2023
A person wearing a v-neck sweater and T-shirt. Just the person's upper half and head are visible, like a portrait. The thing about this person is that their head is a large, spherical boulder. On top of their head is perched a small bird.

2023/06/19

June 19, 2023
A two legged creature with horns and/or pointed ears stands in the grass. It seems as though the interior of the creature is visible, perhaps a cutaway view, like a biological diagram. This cutaway view obscures the creatures face. Inside the creature are various beakers and tubes containing glowing green liquid, connected by piping. The creature holds a test tube with the same glowing liquid in one of its hands. The overall effect is of a furry, walking chemistry set.

2023/06/11

June 11, 2023
A face in profile, with a blur of short, dark hair. The face is sterile, minimalist, and expressionless, like that of a mannequin. It appears to be a mask, but other lines and seams make it look as though the entire head is assembled of multiple parts, as if the entire figure in the drawing is a machine or robot of some sort.

2023/06/10

June 10, 2023
Several people are walking around in a space. They are wearing full-body suits, almost like space suits, with only their faces visible. The suits have fur, horns, and various odd and indeterminate details.

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    All work © Chris Silverman