Punk Rock Princess Peach

I’ve spent the past week in a total frenzy and it just paid off. I was working on a last-minute project for Wizard World Philly and managed to finish it just in time!

My art rep suggested that I create something video game themed this time, so I dreamt up a punk-rock version of Princess Peach from Super Mario Brothers.

I am so SO happy with this image! I think it came out great and it was extremely pleasant to work on.

I used my preferred media: Watercolors, gouache, and Prismacolor colored pencils on watercolor paper (with some ink in the outlines).

Upcoming Events:
Wizard World Philly is THIS WEEKEND! I'll be set up in Artists Alley from June 19th to June 22nd. Come on by Booth E46 and check it out! I'll be selling the originals for both"Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle" and "Princess Peach", so don't miss out! 

Click here for more info 
on Wizard World Philly

Con Season 2014

It's that time again... The snow will soon be melting away and when it does, con season will be upon us. Here's my schedule of events for the upcoming year:

Green = I will have my own table, so (if it's a con) look for me in Artist's Alley.

Orange = I'll be in attendance and might even be selling my work, but I won't have my own table. Look for me at the Stormwatch Comics booth.

Red = I'm attending, but not exhibiting. Chances are I'll be running around on the main floor, pestering publishers and persuading them to peruse my portfolio.

NYCC and Other Assorted Chaos

The Shakespeare Shaken book signing at Stormwatch was a moderate success. I didn't sell as many books as I was hoping to, but most of that was because there were customers who had purchased copies before the event and were bringing those in to be signed. It was a bit slow, but I managed to sell enough prints to keep me from getting too disappointed about the turn out.

By the next morning, we were back on the road again- headed out to New York this time. NYCC was absolutely wonderful for me this year! I kicked off the weekend by landing a book cover job with a legitimate publishing house! I can't say about it much yet, but I am super excited about this project and I hope it's the first of many!

Photo Credit: Robert Hoskins

The first day of the con was spent showing my portfolio to every book publisher I could find. I got a lot of positive feedback, so hopefully some of those leads will turn into new projects within the coming months. After I finished making the rounds as a professional, I was free to kick back and act like a fangirl for the rest of the weekend.

I'd been adding some extra details to my Poison Ivy costume, with the intent of turning it into a Queen Titania costume for Halloween. After I saw another Ivy wearing a velvet cape, the temptation to take my dream cloak for a test drive was too strong to resist and I unveiled it a few weeks early. I am SO proud of how this whole get up has turned out. There are a few things I'd like to add, but the area around my face (the hood and clasp and the way my wig just pours out of the cowl) is exactly the way I wanted it.

I found out about a graphic novel adaptation of the Book of Revelations, illustrated by Chris Koelle. It's GORGEOUS and it does a really good job of staying true to the original text, while at the same time, making the story as coherent as possible. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Photo Credit: Jason Torse

I must've stopped by the Jersey Jack Pinball booth at least twice a day. They had a new Wizard of Oz game that they were letting people try out for free.

As far as I know, there are only two pinball machine companies still in existence, so I'd never even seen a brand new pinball machine before! It was SO shiny! It had a gorgeous video display and surprisingly good voice acting! If I ever win the lottery, I'm definitely buying myself a pinball machine. ...And a copy of Magical Truck Adventure.

While at NYCC, I learned about Red Bubble, which enables artists to sell their work in new & interesting ways and customers to obtain some seriously cool items. I now have a brand new online store that's chock full of lovely prints, as well as some t-shirts and even iPhone cases! There's something about seeing my own work on a cell phone cover that is indescribably cool to me.

On Sunday, I worked a one-day comics show
at the International House in Philadelphia.

While there, I did this Batwoman sketch cover for a customer and reconnected with my contact from Dynamic Forces. You should definitely keep your eyes peeled for new LG sketch covers on their front page!

All in all, not a bad way to spend a weekend.

 

Upcoming Events:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! This year's Punk Rock Flea Market will feature a table manned by yours truly! It'll be in Philadephia on Sunday, December 9th in the "Punk Rock Flea Market Dome", which is a fancy way of saying "the old FedEx Warehouse across the street from The Starlight Ballroom". The building is at 9th and Spring Garden and the event will be open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm.

ALMOST FORGOT! For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a mini-comic about the thoughts that went through my head while waiting in line at NYCC.

Philly/Baltimore Double Feature

The Baltimore Comic Con is this weekend!

I'll be there, selling prints and shirts and eggs and drawing show sketches until

my wrist is ready to fall off. You can find me in Artist's Alley at Table #A309.

ALSO! I nearly forgot to mention this- The print copies of Shakespeare Shaken are finally here! I'll have a stack at my booth, all ready to be signed and dispersed.

But before that- I'll be in Philadelphia, taking part in the Small Wonders show!

Arch Enemy Arts
109 & 111 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

The opening is TONIGHT from 6 to 10 and it looks like it'll be a spectacular event. I hope to see you there!

Post Show Recap: Wizard World Philly

I have my post show recap for X-Con ready to go, but I'm still waiting on some photographs 

before I can publish it... So, while we're waiting for that- Here's what happened in Philly!

I had less than a week after X-Con (just enough time to complete that Luna commission and catch a nasty head cold) to get my stuff together for Wizard World. It was the first time I've ever had an Artist's Alley table all to myself and it ended up being the most financially successful con I've ever attended!

I had a great spot in Artist's Alley, right across from Red Stylo Media and down the aisle from my friends Ken Haeser (of Living Corpse fame) and Mike Capprotti (cover artist extraordinaire).

Rough Sketch Studios was there in force as well, with Steve, Brielle, and Andy all taking up residence just one aisle away.




Directly across from my table was a talented young artist I've never seen before. Her name is Sasha Yosselani and her work is incredible. Take a moment to check out her website, you'll be glad you did.

I also had the pleasure of running into Alex Saviuk!
I'd been looking forward to showing him my work ever since meeting him in Chicago, but I wasn't expecting to see him in Philly! He did me the honor of looking through my portfolio and was a joy to chat with. I'm looking forward to the next time we cross paths.

I was assisted by my own personal booth babe, Thomas Mitchell. He spent the weekend dressed as Doctor Strange and was, dare I say it, the belle of the ball. If Tom hadn't taken time off from work to help me run the booth, there's no way I would've made it through the weekend. He is the best show partner anyone could ask for, and I suspect he likes to rave about my artwork even more than I do.

Having Tom nearby to take care of customers also freed me up to work on more show sketches than I would've otherwise been able to do. Almost a third of my income from Wizard World this year came from show sketches. I've never done so many at a single event... They haven't gotten easier or quicker, but they have gotten a little bit better.

<-- The first was Black Widow for a
customer who liked Marvel redheads.

The guy who gave
me a tiny zebra print
sketch book in Chicago
made an appearance!
His name is Chris
apparently and he was the recipient of this
(somewhat mannish)
Wonder Woman.

                                                                                                                                                                             Emma Frost as The White Queen of The Hellfire Club, complete with condescending bitch face.

This Octopus Mermaid is my personal favorite from the show! I LOVE how she turned out! I'm planning on coloring her sometime in the future. It's fortuitous that this sketch turned out so awesome, since the customer is planning on getting this tattooed on his body!

And last, but not least, is this drawing of Wonder Woman having a tea party with X-23.
I get the feeling it's some kind of inside joke between the customer and a friend, but she was absolutely delighted when she saw the finished piece and announced that I'd "made at least two people very happy"

Those four days sapped a LOT of energy out of me... I definitely learned how exhausting it is to work a convention when you're sick. I returned home on Monday with a bone-deep weariness that I have yet to fully recover from and had to keep on truckin' since the RAW cosplay fashion show was only a few days away... I'll blog about that eventually when they post the photos/video.

Now, if you guys don't mind, I'm going to go collapse in a corner for a few days.

Good Press

Ken from Heroic Times just featured a glowing review of my artwork on his blog! I can't begin to describe how gratifying it is whenever a total stranger sings my praises online.

Click here to read 

it for yourself!

(scroll down, towards 

the bottom of the page)

WizWorld Philly

Wizard World Philly is this weekend and I'm going to have my own space in Artist's Alley! I'll be dressing up and selling my work all weekend.

My bio is up on the front page, if you want to check it out.

HORROR in Philadelphia!

I've been invited to submit my work to an upcoming horror-themed art show happening at Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art (PhilaMOCA). It's called The Mausoleum Art Show of Horrors and it's a june exhibit that's going to showcase local artists as part of a horror convention that's taking place on the following day.

I don't usually do "horror" images, but that's not going to stop me from trying to get in anyway. I'm always interested in exhibiting my work in the city!

Here's the full submission guidelines for anyone who's interested in participating:

Recap: The MAUSOLEUM ART SHOW OF HORRORS will open at the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art on Friday June 15th alongside a program of short horror films. The exhibit will showcase local artists and lend welcome atmosphere to The MAUSOLEUM HORROR CONVENTION the following day; a one-day celebration of all things horror featuring dealers, performances and other festivities. Should be a fun couple of days.

The art will then be available to view by appointment only through Tuesday June 19th, but PhilaMOCA will be hosting an (as of yet unspecified) event that evening to showcase the artwork once more before closing. More info when we have it.

Our Art Needs: PhilaMOCA has lots of wall-space to fill and we're looking for fantastic horror-themed artwork from local artists. Outside of 2D visual art, there are no medium restrictions. Some work will need to be displayed above head-level and large works are needed to fill those spaces, but all sizes are welcome. 

Submissions: Please send digital files or photos of submissions via e-mail or link. If digital prints of most works in your portfolio are available, feel free to refer me to your gallery instead. Some of the artists want to finish new work in time for the show. That's ok as long as submissions are in by May 18th. No more than 4 pieces per artist will be selected, but feel free to submit as many as you like. Send submissions to jenn@jenniferrodgers.com

Accepted Art Delivery: Drop-offs of accepted art to PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street) can be made Monday June 11 - Thursday June 14 from noon-6pm. They can also be mailed to the space to arrive between those dates, but delivery confirmation is required. Please contact Eric Bresler at ericbresler@philamoca.org to ensure the presence of staff during your expected art drop-off. Work must be framed or otherwise ready to hang.

Artwork will be available for pick-up starting Wednesday June 20th.

Sales: Selling your work is optional. 

PhilaMOCA will handle all sales, but no commission fees will be charged.

Door Charge: Unfortunately, due to hanging and marketing costs, PhilaMOCA is unable to waive the art-show's $5 door charge for participating artists. I'm very sorry about that. I hope the lack of submission and commission fees will make up for the inconvenience.