Nelson Loskamp reflects on years making paintings from horror stills

Artwork by Nelson Loskamp.

By NELSON LOSKAMP January 28, 2024 

When I was young I wanted more than anything else to be an artist and live in New York. One of the reasons was Andy Warhol’s factory. I've always been fascinated by the style of those early 60’s black and with photos of the gang and thought I could move to NYC and it would be just like that.  It took me years but I did manage to move there in the late 90’s and did meet and cut the hair and interview some of the Warhol folks. Another of my big influences was the movies, growing up in Burbank, CA. celebrities and the studios were all around me. I was especially drawn to the b-horror and sci-fi pics.  I have for years been making paintings from horror stills. Recently, like the renaissance painters who placed their patrons in the scenes of the classic Greek dramas and biblical stories, I have been casting my friends and family in the roles of the horror genre. 

1.Young Nosferatu dining at Zuni, D.Weiss.
2.Heather in shades.
3.Jackie Daytona from What We Do in the Shadows, Self Portrait
4.“Like the Jet” Sean deLear having a Bud in man-drag. RIP.
Various sizes 20”x24 to 24”x36 oil on wood and canvas 2018-2022

I did not study art in school, in fact my highschool offered no art class. One of my biggest introductions to contemporary art came through visiting Joan’s daughters, Amanda and Jennifer. They taught me the collections of their parents that they grew up with.  

Cay on the beach
Cat at rocky shores
Cay as Donatello’s David.
Cat As Bonny from Five nights at Freddie’s
Heather looking down
Self portrait in gold
Xavier Harrison as Marlon Brando in the Wild Ones.
Splash in the grass Raymond Vigil RIP,
Heather with Chopper
Cay in the boneyard
Aim High, Gink! Sammy Haycraft RIP.
Night Swim, Cay
Jack Tripper from Three’s Company, Self portrait.
Various sizes 18”x18” to 30”x40” oil on canvas and wood. 2020-2022

The Joan Quinn Horror, a portrait of Joan as dracula, meshes all my interests and is part of my latest works on paper, The Horror Factory. WM

1. Defrocked, Richard Burton Night of the Iguana.
2. Whats for Breakfast, Mabel? Spaghetti, Peter Falk, Women Under the Influence.
3. Telly before TV, Telly Savalas smoking from Lisa and the Devil.
4. King Kinski, Klaus Kinski. Creature with the Blue Hand
Oil on particle board 16”Wx 20”H each 2021

Lee Marvin, Agnes Morehead, Vincent Price, Barbara Bouchet, Paul Newman, Edie Sedgwick, Marlon Brando, Peter Sarstedt, Angie Dickinson, Vincent Price, Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin, Klaus Kinski below. cNelson Loskamp. All 20”x24” oil on canvas KKinski oil on wood 9”x12”. 2022