PRINT - Pointy-Nosed Devil by Colin Batty

Crispin “The Imp” Mallory hailed from the damp cobbled streets of Manchester, where he was widely regarded as the city’s most charming minor demon. Unlike his sulphur-breathing cousins in the South, Crispin preferred tea over brimstone and found eternal damnation “a bit too drafty.”

The horns came in at age 12, much to the dismay of the headmaster at St. Brindle’s Grammar School. The nose, however, was a family trait—passed down through generations of Mallorys who could sniff out scandal, treacle pudding, and misplaced sixpences from half a mile away.

By 19, Crispin was a fixture in Manchester’s underground theatre scene, starring in unlicensed morality plays where he almost always played himself. Local legend claims he once talked a vicar into joining a conga line and that he could recite Shakespeare backwards while balancing on a gargoyle.

This portrait was taken just before his departure for the United States in 1892, where he hoped to “broaden his cultural horizons” and “possibly haunt a barn.” The flowers? A parting gift from the Ladies’ Crochet League, who swore he had “the devil’s charm… and the posture of an angel.”

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Colin Batty is an artist from Manchester, UK. He has worked on countless cool projects including Tim Burton's, Mars Attacks, the Oscar nominated short, The Sandman, Eddie Murphy's, The PJ's and many, many more. Colin has contributed to Freakybuttrue for many years and graces this site with his amazing designs, incredible sculptures, comics and his world famous cabinet card paintings and so much more.

Each original cabinet card is a genuine one hundred year old (or more) photograph on which Colin directly paints. Photographs of this age are often creased, scratched, deteriorated, and otherwise worn. Colin often utilizes the character of the wear to find inspiration.

ATTENTION: This is a PRINT of Colin's original Cabinet Card which you can see HERE.