I was lucky this week to pick this up from artist Richard Hescox. Richard is a true professional artist, but, many know him as the artist who did the artwork for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Media Home Video back in the mid 80’s. Believe me, look at his other artwork…it’s beautiful.
This is Richard’s original idea for the artwork for Halloween II when he was approached by Universal back in 1981. Below is what he told me about this artwork. (Paraphrased)
I painted an illustration for a possible poster for the film “Halloween 2”. It is 7” by 8”, Acrylic on illustration board. I don’t believe that it was ever published anywhere. The image I came up with was a pumpkin morphing into a skull. In my painting, the pumpkin appears on the left and changes into a skull on the right. Except for suggesting a pumpkin, because that was part of the first films poster, they left the image ideas up to me. This sketch is what I first submitted to Universal as an idea and they approved the idea and asked me to paint up the finish painting, which they decided not to use. (Which Universal kept.) Although It wasn’t used, it probably gave them the idea that they did use with the skull emerging forward, instead of to the side.
I always wondered where Universal got their idea…now, we all know. I like what Universal came up with, but, I also think this idea is more on the lines of the original’s striking image. It’s organic, mean and very sinister. Beautiful and eerie at the same time.
Absolutely, a grail score.