Sculptures by Clark Ashton Smith
Top to bottom: Nameless One, Venusian Swamp Man, Bird of Wisdom
Smith is known mainly as a writer and member of the Lovecraft Circle but his artwork deserves a look. The above images hail from a website devoted to matters C.A.S.
His artwork often recalls Blake but is much more minimal -- usually with one character per sculpture or text. It's unusually restrained for a self-taught or "outsider" artist. What's most intriguing about the sculpture is its patina of age and a certain authentic quality. These look like the kind of impossibly ancient but previously unknown deities that Lovecraft characters were forever digging up or discovering in old shops. All of them have a strong emotional conviction, which is the quality of Lovecraft that continues to appeal long after the science in his stories has gone musty.