Quick Update

I'm currently wading knee-deep in work, but I'm taking a momentary break from it to bring you wonderful news! There are two new solicitations floating around the internet with my name on them:

Bluewater finally solicited the Hilary Clinton book I worked on. Whether or not I actually do the interior artwork is still up in the air, but I contributed the cover art and I'm pleased with the work I did on that. It's somewhat amusing to me that it's listed as coming out in March and I still have yet to see a script for it. I might be good, but no one can work that fast.

(Click here, then scroll halfway down the page to find it.)

And, I HAD a piece up for sale at Dynamic Forces, but since it was a daily special, I can't really post a link for it. It sold out very quickly and I'm working my butt off to make more of them! My debut with Dynamic Forces was with a Black Cat image and next week, my Wasp is going to be a daily special yet again!

I have a few more projects with Dynamic Forces in the works, but I won't reveal too much about it until I'm sure of the details. Let's just say, I may have a date with the lovely Vampirella in my future. Stay tuned for more updates!

Belated Show Report and New Pin-up

Here's my post-show report for the Polar Express Holiday Art Festival that went down in Gloucester City on December 11th: All in all, it was a small show that went surprisingly well under rather poor circumstances.

We were upstairs at what looked like a VFW lodge, in a room that was absurdly dark, at a table that was as far away from the door as we could be. And yet somehow I managed to sell two pieces and get a possible portraiture job! Not too shabby! I also got to meet Tom Matthews from 98.1 WOGL, which was awesome! I absolutely love that radio station and I've been listening to it since I was a little kid, so getting to actually put a face to such a familiar voice was really cool.

This image is an accurate depiction of the lighting situation in that place. Any light you see was provided by two particularly bright two desk lamps, which is fine if you're looking at the stuff on the table, but I might as well have left the stand-up screen at home.

I was lucky to have Tom along, because once we got there and saw how dark it was, he was able to go back to the house and grab the two table lamps you see in the photo. I didn't pack them because I knew it was going to be an indoor show and I only bring those to outdoor nighttime shows. Silly me.

Anyway, enough of that.

I finished another pair of sketch covers and I'm totally in love with this one! I turned in my trial sketches to Brian from Dynamic Forces, so now I'm just waiting to hear what he thinks of them.

First Blue Willow Egg

I just finished a new painted egg and I'm really pleased with how it came out!

This one is obviously quite different from the mythical creature designs I was doing before, it's based on the Blue Willow china plates. It was a special request and I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees it!

I've also been working on a set of sketch covers for Dynamic Forces. Some of them will be handed over to Brian and some will be put up for sale at Stormwatch Comics. Take a look:

I should be receiving a bunch of X-Men blanks by the end of the week, so expect some lovely lady mutants in the next batch of comic pin-ups.

Cease & Desist #2:

And in other news, the BBC has found my Doctor Who shirts and has frowned upon them. They will be unavailable for purchase through my Etsy store until this mess is sorted out.

Holiday Craziness

This past month has been insanely busy for me!

Here's what's going on right now:

- I finished two new comic book covers for Bluewater Productions!

- My painted eggs have now been made into Christmas tree ornaments and are currently on sale at Stormwatch Comics in Berlin, NJ.

- I just came back from an art festival in Gloucester City and will be posting my usual post-art show entry later on in the week.

- I have a stack of blank Spiderman covers, waiting to be illustrated as part of an audition for Dynamic Forces. If I make an impression, it might win me steady work as a resident sketch artist there!

- I currently have artwork hanging in three different gallery locations,

two of which I've haven't had the chance to set foot in.

- My Etsy store has become extremely popular now that the holidays are here and I'm recieving orders faster than I can send them out.

- I just finished a custom t-shirt design in time for my client to give it out as a Christmas gift, and have two more custom Xmas presents to complete before the end of the month.

- I've finished a new Doctor Who shirt design, this time starring Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. I haven't posted it up yet, but I should make it's online debut sometime before Christmas.

I have enough new projects going on right now to fill at least three blog entries with images and updates. But, until I actually find the time to sit down and upload everything, here's a doodle of Batman enjoying a non-fat soy mocha latte.

C.H.U.D. and Another Happy Customer

The C.H.U.D. convention on Sunday was much more productive than I was expecting it to be! I was originally supposed to set up my art on the corner of the Stormwatch Comics table, but when I arrived I was informed that there were some spare tables where I could lay out all my work. I wasn't expecting to have such a nice setup, it was GREAT!

While I was there, I met Gabriel from KING Comics. I'm almost certainly going to be creating a custom pinup for some the characters from his comic and I may even end up doing a custom t-shirt design for him in the near future!

I'll post more about that project when it gets closer to coming true.

Also, Tom located another place on the internet where strangers are talking about my stuff, which is always a wonderful pick-me-up in the middle of the day!

The Scarlett Johansson sketch cover I'd done for Stormwatch Comics finally sold, and the man who bought it is apparently quite pleased with his purchase. I'm looking forward to doing more sketch covers in the future- definitely for Stormwatch and hopefully for Dynamic Forces *crosses fingers*

I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

Wish me luck!

Doctor Who Doodles

Someone has been watching too much Doctor Who lately...

...And her name is Laura Guzzo.

Upcoming Art Shows!:

This Sunday, on the 14th, I'll be at the C.H.U.D. Comic Book Show in Laurel, Maryland. You will find me at the Stormwatch Comics table, selling prints of my superheroine pinups as well as a whole mess of Doctor Who t-shirts.

Keepin' Hope Alive

Morale has been down in the LG camp recently.

Things with Bluewater are NOT working out and I spent my Sunday afternoon working at a small comic convention, where I sold almost none of my work.

Aaaand I got my first student loan bill in the mail yesterday, which means the clock has officially started ticking.

So, feeling kinda shitty. Feeling down. And then, I saw THIS.

The man who bought one of my Wonder Woman Day donation pieces has been blogging about me and all sorts of people liked it and reblogged it.

Here's the link for his blog, Spandex and Sports Bras, as well as links to the first and second blog entries he wrote about me.

It's always nice when someone likes your work and it's even better if that person is a stranger, but it's the absolute BEST when you can eavesdrop on a whole bunch of strangers talking amongst themselves about how much you rock.

When the people involved don't know you and aren't aware that you're listening, they have absolutely no reason to be nice or polite- The only thing they're responding to is your work.

The internet is a mean place full of anonymous cruelty- so on those rare occasions when it smiles upon you, it is a very happy day indeed.

Upcoming Art Shows!:

This Sunday, on the 14th, I'll be at the C.H.U.D. Comic Book Show in Laurel, Maryland. You will find me at the Stormwatch Comics table, selling prints of my superheroine pinups as well as a whole mess of Doctor Who t-shirts.

The Doctor

I've spent the last month on my studio room floor, printing t-shirts the hard way.

So far, I have designed two Doctor themed shirts- both concepts came from Bob Hoskins of Stormwatch Comics, so a big thanks to him for giving me the initial ideas and then encouraging me to actually make them. The first one is pretty simple, and can be seen below.

I've just started producing shirts with the second design, which features Mr. Tom Baker himself! These are much easier to make, so I ought to have a decent number to bring with me to the next comic book show.

A design featuring K-9 will be available soon.

Those of you who follow my blog religiously will remember the Felicia Day incident, and since then I've become cautious with what I post on the internet. However, the interest I've received from the local Whovian population has been really encouraging, so I've decided to start offering them for sale on my Etsy account.

I can also do special orders and door-to-door delivery if you're in the South Jersey area, just let me know the size and color you need. I already have versions of the designs printed on black & white t-shirts, so if you want a particular color, it'll cost a little more.

Honestly, as long as you're willing to throw in a few extra dollars for the trouble, I'll print on any type of shirt you'd like. Long sleeved, short sleeved, colored, you name it.

If you or someone you know is interested in placing a shirt order,

email me at LauraGuzzoArt@gmail.com

Happy Halloween!

Guess who!

Cloak and Dagger

Just finished the Cloak & Dagger piece I was working on and I'm pleasantly surprised at how it turned out.

Rich Harrington, a fellow illustrator and former teacher of mine, used to say that "Everything looks like the worst thing you've ever done, halfway through" and that's certainly been the case for this image.

I captured Dagger pretty well within the first few minutes, but Cloak continued to look terrible until about halfway through.

Take a look at the animation to see what I mean.

Belated Egg Post

I just realized that I had finished some painted eggs over a week ago and I forgot to show them off. It was forgotten in the excitement of my first Bluewater job.

There is a Chinese Dragon egg and a Phoenix egg. The Phoenix was painted on wood, instead of a real eggshell, since I figured I ought to have a non-breakable example that customers could pick up and examine when I'm at shows.

When I finally get around to selling them, I'm probably going to poke holes in the top and offer them as Christmas ornaments. That way, even if customers didn't want to hang them on a tree, there'd be a much easier way to display them than trying to locate a decorative egg holding contraption.

My studio turns into a total disaster zone whenever I get caught up in a frenzied bout of egg-painting. All of the painted eggs I've completed are now available to view on my website. Look for them in the Sculpture gallery.

Yes, I know they're not really sculpture, but they are 3D art!

In my continued quest to stay busy while I'm waiting to hear from Bluewater, I've been working on more comic character art. You've already seen Ms. Marvel, but there's a Cloak & Dagger image on the way! Stay tuned for more details!

Ms. Marvel

I can't start on the interior art for Bluewater until I receive the script and I've found that if I don't keep myself busy, I go stir crazy. So, to keep me from gnawing my elbows off in anxious excitement, I spent a good part of yesterday finishing up the Ms. Marvel sketch from last week's sketch practice.

I'm quite pleased! I'm definitely adding her to my box of superheroine pin-ups! Here's the step-by-step transformation from last week's sketch to this week's finished product.

Bluewater Update

So, I just got an email from my contact at Bluewater Productions and unbeknownst to him, the Political Power: Richard Nixon job had already been given away to someone who they know can work extremely fast- which they need, because they're under an extremely tight deadline for that book.

This is actually good news for me.

It means that instead of the Nixon book, I'll be working on the interior art for the same comic where my artwork is set to appear on the cover! AND I'll have a little bit more time to finish it (assuming that he can send me the script in the next week or two). I didn't really want my first experience with interior art to be a rush job, so I'm extremely thankful for the extended deadline.

I'm also glad I found out before I spent the day drawing Richard Nixon's face from different angles. Without a project to utilize those images, I've no idea what I'd do with The Many Moods of Nixon.

THIS JUST IN!!!

I just got an offer from Bluewater Productions to do the interior art for Political Power: Richard Nixon and, if all goes well, after that I'll be illustrating the interiors of the comic that I did the cover for a few weeks ago.

Exciting and scary!

Exciting, because it'd be absolutely amazing to hold up a comic book and say that I'm responsible for 100% of the artwork in it.

Scary, because I've never done anything like this before. I think I have the resources to make it work, though. I can probably get some advice from Steve at Rough Sketch Studios about how to layout the page properly.

After that, it's just a matter of getting everything done on time, which will be no small feat. It's due by December and I'm going to have to do the penciling, inking, and coloring myself. YIKES! Guess I need to buy that Wacom tablet sooner than I thought I would!

I'm supposed to get the script by the end of this week, so wish me luck!!!

Show Aftermath and Sketch Practice

The Barrington Harvest Festival was WAY bigger than I'd imagined! We got a ton of foot traffic and enough sales to convince me to sign up for next year's show! I've got my work cut out for me this week- a bunch of t-shirt orders to fill and several potential portraiture jobs to follow up on.

This show was also the maiden voyage of my tent- which is a real pain to transport, but which doubles my display space. So even though it now takes two cars to carry all my stuff, once we were there, the new setup worked splendidly!

I want to get better at drawing quickly, with little to no reference, so that I can do sketches at Stormwatch events and comic conventions without feeling nervous. So I set aside some time to practice drawing comic characters on the spot.

This afternoon's exercise resulted in an odd image of Dazzler (30 minutes)

and a Ms. Marvel pin-up (40 minutes). I've decided to take my time on this one, so that I can add her to my ever-growing stack of superheroine pin-ups.

Both of the images above were made with the assistance of stock photography from Marcus Ranum. His work is FANTASTIC and extremely helpful to all you illustrators out there. Seriously, check out his official website and the DeviantArt account he uses for his stock photos.

Living Corpse Pin-up, Pt.2

Digital coloring it is!

This is the first piece I've finished in true comic book style- i.e. pencils, then inked, then colored digitally. I finished the color in 6 hours, which is pretty good considering I was going it all with a laptop touch pad.

I've been hesitating to buy myself a drawing tablet since they're so expensive... but they really are worth the money. If I do any more projects that involve digital coloring, I'm going to need to get a Wacom, 'cause this trackpad nonsense just doesn't cut it.

I can't decide if I like it better with or without the background.

If anyone besides me is reading this, leave a comment with your opinion.

But, yeah, really excited about this piece! It feels really great to bang out a good image in a few days, not because I need to, but because I'm so engrossed in the project that I can't turn away!

UPCOMING ART SHOWS!:

The Barrington Harvest Festival is tomorrow! My table and tent will be set up from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and it'll be packed with goodies- prints, original artwork, t-shirts, painted eggs, you name it! So, come on by if you're in the area!

Living Corpse Pin-up, Pt.1

I spent the day working on a pin-up for The Living Corpse- a delightfully entertaining horror comic illustrated by Ken Haeser. If you haven't heard of it or haven't read it, I highly recommend it! It's fun and campy and surprisingly sweet.

Anyway, there's a goth chick named Lilith who is infatuated with our rotting hero and I wanted to show them interacting with each other. I'm extremely happy with how the piece came together- especially from a stylistic standpoint, since I was concerned about matching my style to Haeser's characters.

I can't wait to show him!

I haven't decided if I'm going to color this with colored pencils or try my hand at digital coloring. Either way, I'll be posting the results as soon as they're finished.

Below you'll find photographic evidence of my mother's sainthood.

(She looks annoyed for the sake of the reference shot.

She was actually an extremely patient and responsive model.)

UPCOMING ART SHOWS:

I will be selling my wares (including eggs for the first time!) at the Barrington Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 9th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you're in the area, come say hey!

EXCITING NEWS!

I just finished my first real

freelance illustration job!

Oh sure, I've been commissioned to do portraits and even some t-shirt design work, but I've never worked on a national publication before! I was contacted by Bluewater Productions to do the cover for one of their "Political Power" comic books and I am so psyched about the project!

I'm really pleased with how the piece came out and even more happy about the amount of time it took me to complete it. When I first got the call, I wasn't 100% sure that I'd could to finish it by Monday without pulling an all-nighter, but apparently I was underestimating myself! I slept well each night and still got it scanned in by Sunday afternoon.

I met the man from Bluewater while I was working as a booth babe at Wizard World 2010. We spoke about the possibility that I might illustrate the cover of another book in their Political Power series, but when I didn't hear from him for months I started to lose hope. A few weeks ago, I heard that the comic book we'd discussed would be hitting the shelves soon and I figured I wouldn't be hearing back from him.

Then I get this email, out of the blue, saying that he may have a job for me!

I had already planned out my weekend- Hang out with Tom, paint some eggs, silkscreen some geeky t-shirts to sell at the Collingswood Book Festival, meet up with the gallery owner I met at my last show and talk to him about selling giclée prints. I canceled all of that immediately as soon as I got the details. I locked myself in my studio all weekend long, with St. Thomas of Mitchell keeping me company. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of working more projects like this.

UPCOMING ART SHOWS:

I will be sharing a booth with Stormwatch Comics on October 2nd

from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm as part of the Collingswood Book Festival.

I plan on selling my comic book themed artwork there, so that means Julie Newmar portraits, comic book heroine pin ups, and the Avengers sketch covers with Black Widow as played by Scarlett Johansson. I'm also making some t-shirts just for the occasion. If you're in the area, stop by! It'll be a great time!

Also, the Barrington Harvest Festival is coming up.

I will be there on October 9th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

EGGS

So, it's almost 2:30 in the morning and I've finally stopped painting for the day.

I've started dreaming about them, so I'm officially hooked. There's just something really satisfying about finishing one and seeing it- all shiny and brightly colored. It appeals to the magpie in me.

I started painting eggs a few weeks ago when a Craigslist ad told me that a man in north Jersey would pay RIDICULOUS sums of money for them. Time went by and the job never actually materialized, but I fell in love with the intricate patterns and the calming sort of repetition that goes into making each one. Plus, I get to show my long-time love of mythical creatures.

I'm hoping to have a basket full to take to my next major art show, and I'm planning on making a few into Christmas ornaments for the holidays.

UPCOMING ART SHOWS:

Speaking of, I'll be taking part in the Barrington Harvest Festival

on October 9th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm! VERY EXCITING!

Now it's time for me to get some sleep, because I can't see straight anymore and my shoulders have been replaced with lumpy rocks- but seeing those first three eggs sitting in the carton makes it totally worth it.

Collingswood and Portraits

I had a fantastic time at Collingswood's Second Saturday event! I sold enough artwork to make it worth packing up the car, made some connections with a local gallery owner, and then danced my butt off with Tom at the end of the night.

At the start of event, we noticed a band (Beyond Therapy) setting up directly across the street from us. At first I was nervous that they were going to be loud and obnoxious and that having them playing so close to my stand would make it impossible to conduct any business, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Some of the people I talked to at Collingswood expressed interest in my portraiture- so in order to clear out the queue, I've finished up the double portrait I'd been working on for Tom's sister and her husband.

Also, I've started painting eggs. For fun and possibly profit. More on this later.

Haddonfield and More

Haddonfield's First Friday was mildly successful- it's certainly promising enough for me to go back and do it again next month. It was the first time I'd done an outdoor art sale at night, which poses it's own set of unique challenges.

My boyfriend Tom is usually the one who helps me manage the booth at these types of shows, but since he was off visiting family for the majority of the night, my mother stepped in to pick up the slack. We sold a little bit of my work and got several offers for pet portraits. Next time I go, I'm bringing a bigger sign and chatting up anyone with a four-legged companion.

And, because I think it looks awesome to see the step-by-step transformation of a piece, I'm going to start posting animations of just that. This one is for Mary, Mother of God- a watercolor and ink piece I completed in 2009.

Pet Portrait - Sugar

Just finished my first pet portrait ever and I was extremely pleased to discover that it's not all that different from people portraits. I'm going to try to do a few more self promotional pieces like this one, and then I'll start posting ads around at pet shops to try to drum up some business.

UPCOMING ART SHOWS:

I will be selling work in Collingswood, NJ on September 11th from

6:00 pm to 9:00 pm as part of their Second Saturday activities.

If you're in the area, come out and see what I've got!

The Amazon's New Clothes, pt. 3

The first one is done. The next one is well on it's way.

But first, re-organizing my life. Again. UGH.

The Amazon's New Clothes, pt. 2

I recently posted some sketches of Wonder Woman with promises of future explanation. This year I will be taking part in the annual Wonder Woman Day charity event! The following information is from Andy Mangels, who runs the website Wonder Woman Museum:

"Wonder Woman Day V is a free all-ages event ... which includes a silent auction of original art contributed by the world's top artists. There will be comic creators and costumed heroes on-site, raffles and prizes, rare memorabilia, and more... The previous four Wonder Woman Day events have raised a grand total of more than $89,000 to benefit survivors of domestic violence and their children."

This event started in Portland, Oregon and has spawned a sister celebration in Flemington, NJ. There will be a Wonder Woman Day benefit on Sunday, October 24th at Comic Fusion. Same as in Portland, they will be auctioning off artwork from both local artists like myself and nationally renowned illustrators (I've seen David Mack's contribution and it's spectacular as usual). The proceeds go to SAFE in Hunterdon, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. I'm extremely excited to be able to contribute in my own way to such an important cause.

Although nothing says the sketches need to be of the lovely Amazon herself, I've decided to tackle her new costume. This has proved to be more complicated than I'd expected, but it looks pretty sweet so it's worth the trouble.

Here are some of my preliminary sketches from the reference shot I took at Rough Sketch Studios. The lovely Emily Suydam modeled for me and as did the ever-patient Steve Sistilli. He has such a wonderful snarly face, I just had to get him in there to be the bad guy. One of my sketches is ready for ink, so I'll post images of that as soon as it's finished.

The Amazon's New Clothes, pt. 1

Very quick preview of a new Wonder Woman image I'm working on.

More information on this project later.