Halloween Windows (Bloomsburg 2011)

It's time for Halloween windows on Bloomsburg's Main Street again.  They just went up yesterday, but there's rain in the forecast, so I thought I'd better get out there and pick my favorites before flood or fire or some other disaster did them in. 

This FrankenGreen Man on the window of Phillips Emporium/The Cloak & Dragon Bookstore seems like a good start...

This robust wolf howls on the window of the newly resurrected Towne Camera, next door to the site where fire claimed three historic storefronts in 2009, shortly after the Halloween windows went up. 

These wolves occupy the Window of Bloom's only chi-chi boutique, Krickett Square. (They'd make a good Vera Bradley pattern, doncha think? ) Anyway, take a closer look at the bottom wolf (detail on right), which has a wonderful wolf-like energy and grace.

Some of these young artists were influenced by Anime and other cartoon images. This large riotous scene on the Costume Shop Window is particularly animesque. Note the Japanese paper lantern on the prow of the boat.

 The original paper sketch was till taped to the window
 when I took the picture, so I could see what tranferred
from idea to execution.

But Halloween is also for the cute, like this Witch at Russel's & Kristy's Pub, and the Elf (both below) at Berrigan's Subs who seems to be pushing the season into Christmas a  bit, but that's ok. It's all about candy, right?

And I had to including this cat, because of its setting (Exact Abstract should just have this one on their door year round.) Plus I like its droll expression, something about the twisted whiskers, maybe.







Back to scary.  The skeleton below on the left goes well with the venetian blinds behind it, lots of neat lines going on. That's an awfully cheerful skull, though, so it's not nearly as scary as the demon-rabbit (below right.) A couple of years ago someone painted a demon chipmunk, looking very devious, all the more sinister for being what we normally think of as a cute little critter. This rabbit is even creepier since it's in the mirror... on the window of Hess's tavern, the oldest bar in town. Can't help but wonder if the artist is tapping into some ghostly presence who has a terrible hangover..

The two window paintings on Van Dyke's Goldsmith are among my favortites: an imaginative pair of aliens (above) with an undulating background pattern (I like the colors, too) and  (below) a spider and web that works well with the web-like pattern of trees  across the street reflected in the glass.

Finally, this intense vampire mouth is just wonderfully surreal. All fangs and bright red lips. It's on a restaurant window, of course, Balzano's  (so brave of them!) on the corner of East and Main.