THE HORROR OF MY LIFE: DANIELLA BATSHEVA

10/8/2022

Getting through it is an act of mental strength and you need to have a gnarly sense of humor to understand that Platt has no limits to trolling his readers. It was an honor to illustrate the cover for the re-release and it still feels a bit illegal.

THE FIRST HORROR BOOK I REMEMBER READING

Goosebumps Attack of the Jack O’ Lanterns. When I lived in Israel, I used to pick up my Goosebumps at an old bookstore and found a copy in Hebrew. Hardly scary by adult standards, but it was very spooky and fun at the time!

THE FIRST HORROR FILM I REMEMBER WATCHING

Beetlejuice is the first. I was about four years old and I would go around saying he was my husband in preschool. Everyone had valid concerns.

THE GREATEST HORROR BOOK OF ALL TIME

I’m going to say The Gas by Charles Michael Platt. Hear me out, it’s the very definition of horror, distilled. It’s disgusting, taboo, horrific, it has zero boundaries. One of the chapters described a very violent group sex act with a robot, flesh explosions and fecal matter, and I realized it was the first time that words on a page made me gag. I needed a break to compose myself. It was written in the 70’s and got the author arrested. Still holds up today. Getting through it is an act of mental strength and you need to have a gnarly sense of humor to understand that Platt has no limits to trolling his readers. It was an honor to illustrate the cover for the re-release and it still feels a bit illegal.

THE GREATEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME

This varies depending on my mood, but I default to Dolls. At least, to me, Dolls is the greatest horror film of all time. It’s got a fun, whimsical story, dolly monsters, colorful characters, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s extremely aesthetically pleasing.

THE GREATEST HORROR WRITER OF ALL TIME

I really enjoy the works of Clive Barker, especially the Books of Blood. I love that each story takes place in different locations worldwide, giving the reader a variety of interesting visuals and characters, with plots both supernatural and based in reality. For someone like me, with a shorter attention span, it keeps things interesting. The Yattering and Jack remains my favorite story from the collection. I love seeing the tables turn and the victim becoming the unexpected victor. Barker crafts interesting characters and has the flexibility to cover a wide range of topics and emotions in his works. The fact that he’s a great visual artist is also a huge bonus. My vote goes to Clive Barker!

THE BEST HORROR BOOK COVER OF ALL TIME

Tim Jacobus’ Goosebumps illustrations and Basil Gogos’ covers for Famous Monsters were my early favorites. I love seeing a monster painting with a bold, even bright, color palette that still has a lot of depth. While there’s a heavy application of color, the work never feels muddy or bogged down.

I feel guilty saying this because I would love to highlight an independent creator, but the Barnes and Noble release of Cthulhu Mythos Tales by Lovecraft is my favorite cover. It has the perfect blend of clean linework and classic monster imagery with a nod to illuminated manuscripts. They also pair it with unexpected colors, pops of gold embossing or spot UV, and a beautiful matte finish. Barnes and Noble has done an entire series of classic horror and sci-fi books, and they’re all so beautifully designed.

THE BEST HORROR FILM POSTER OFF ALL TIME

The poster for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari but the variant with the more elongated composition. Stylistically, I love how graphic and dramatic the characters are, and how bright the color palette is, while still maintaining an air of discomfort and eeriness. It’s not overworked or heavy handed and the clean shapes are beautiful. I love the suggestive environment and way the artist utilized the space in the composition. I’ve always enjoyed the stylizations in German Expressionism, but this poster is my favorite.

THE BEST PIECE OF ART I HAVE CREATED

This changes with my mood, or the weather, or the day. I never think about picking a favorite because I’m constantly growing and evolving. The best piece of art I’ve made might be different depending on who you ask! My current favorite is still my Pierrette, I think. I love a spooky mime paired with centuries-old medical diagrams. I go down the rabbit hole a lot into old medical practices and macabre history, so she’s the result of that. Might be different favorite next week!

THE WORST PIECE OF ART I HAVE CREATED

Will never see the light of day. I was working with a client who became a bit abusive about 8 years ago and kept berating me about getting the piece done while I had strep throat and a 102 fever. Younger me, having no self confidence or boundaries, allowed that behavior and micro-management. It was the ugliest thing I had ever made in my entire life. It wasn’t even mine. I wasn’t even allowed to stylistically be myself, he dictated every detail, and I painted. It was like trying to take my mind out of my mind and be someone I wasn’t. With a 102 fever! The piece itself was a really weird portrait of the person and the perspective didn’t make sense with the position of the body. The body, the outfit, the lighting - all looking like a patchwork of something that wasn’t meant to be! The whole thing was forced.

I’m very fortunate that my clients nowadays trust in my abilities and direction. Let that be a lesson to any new artists! No amount of money is worth disrespecting yourself!

THE MOST UNDERRATED HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME

How come nobody talks about Xtro? That film is such a wild ride! It gets crazy pretty early on with that weird alien impregnation scene and then the bizarre full-man-birth. The SFX artists on that film should’ve been given an award. I respect that it tackled a complicated family dynamic but didn’t take itself too seriously and still had gross squishy alien stuffs. I haven’t seen Bromley-Davenport’s other films, or the sequels, but this is a nice reminder to check it out.

THE MOST UNDERRATED HORROR BOOK OF ALL TIME

I’ll go with Blood Crazy by Charles Michael Platt. His works are like “white whales” to people and I can see why. This one really hit home because I spent much of my early years in Philadelphia and South Jersey, and it does the place justice, which is not exactly a compliment. This book had me feeling squeamish, gross, uncomfortable, and cackling uncontrollably, all within the first couple of chapters. Platt has done a couple readings of this book at horror conventions and the audience was always either horribly offended or laughing their asses off. I haven’t heard a lukewarm reaction to it, so far.

THE MOST UNDERRATED HORROR AUTHOR OF ALL TIME

I’ll say Charles Michael Platt. Homie went to jail for his writing in the 70’s. That’s something!

THE FILM THAT SCARED ME THE MOST

When I was little The Blob scared me. Not even the 80's remake, but the one from 1958 that had strawberry jam bursting through cardboard buildings. I have no idea why jam was so scary to me, but Chucky was aggressively fine?

THE PIECE OF ART I AM WORKING ON NEXT

Today, I’m working on some illustrations for a chapbook by an indie writer! His name is Michael Burke and I’m having a really fun time working with him because the descriptions of visuals in his pieces are stunning. It’s a short story is called Saturnalia and I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil it. It’s a futuristic-pagan-space story, which is interesting subject matter, to say the least.

I’ve been doing ongoing illustrations for alternative culture brand Kerrang! and with Trashville, a fresh entertainment and arts brand based in London. I’m fortunate to have many clients, so there’s always something being churned out! I don’t always know the exact date that my pieces will be published but I always share them to my socials, once they’re released!

Daniella Batsheva

Visual artist and lifelong horror fan, Daniella Batsheva, is a self-declared "illustrator with a design habit." Her aesthetic straddles the line between underground and mainstream. Her art boasts the beautiful detail-heavy, intricate linework of the Victorian era mixed with the dark goth imagery inspired by horror films. Softly stylized figures with deep color palettes. Whimsy with a creepy twist.

Daniella was named the first-ever female Lead Illustrator at Kerrang! - the UK alternative culture brand that has been around for 40+ years and reaches more than 45 million people a month. Her art for Kerrang! embraces a wide range of timely issues including mental health, sex, drugs and female empowerment.

Daniella shares, “Making art is very much a compulsion for me. I can't function without creating. Art provides a way that I sort my own thoughts and feelings, so it's something that is absolutely necessary for me. The selfish side of me creates so that I can share a timeline of my life experiences by sharing the things that I find to be most beautiful. The other side of me creates because I have always felt a lack of art and visual stimulation in my surroundings, so it is necessary to contribute towards helping to beautify the world.”

Daniella Batsheva social media:
https://www.daniellabatsheva.com/
https://www.instagram.com/daniellabatsheva/
https://www.facebook.com/daniella.batsheva
https://twitter.com/danibatsheva