January Update

OKAY! I just finished an art project, so it's time for a long-overdue blog update!

Since last we spoke...

- Someone got a tattoo of my work, which is the highest compliment you can pay an artist as far as I'm concerned.

It's pretty much like saying "I love your artwork so much that I want to carry it around with me everywhere I go, forever." I can't wait to see it in person!

- My artwork has appeared on the last page of the Daddy's Little Girl, a campy horror/action story that can be described as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Jersey Shore. DLG is published by the fine folks at Arcana and should be available in your local comic book store.

- I just

completed

my first

full color

pet portrait.

The two lovely shar-peis to the left

are Kaia and Kona, respectively.

- I'm working on images for an anthology Red Stylo Media will be releasing later this year. Here's a sneak peek at one of my contributions to Shakespeare Shaken.

More often than not, planning out projects is a struggle. I spend more time laying out the composition of a piece than anything else. So on the rare occasions when a piece just falls together as easily as this one did, it's a blessing.

I'm SUPER excited to be a part of this project! Enrica Jang and I will be promoting Shakespeare Shaken at C2E2 this April, so if you're in the Chicago area, please swing by our table in artist's alley!

- Photographs of my Halloween costume have been published in one of my favorite comic books! For those of you who don't know, I am a HUGE Witch Doctor fan. It's cleverly written, well-drawn, and has the distinction of being the only Occult Medical Drama I've ever heard of.

I dressed as my favorite character (Penny Dreadful) from the book for Halloween and sent in some photos to Lukas Ketner and Brandon Seifert, which they promptly put in their letter's column! I honestly don't know who was more delighted- Them, to see one of their creations come to life, or me, for being their first cosplayer ever!

- I worked a one-day comics show down in Timonium, MD and drew a Harley Quinn sketch for someone! I usually tend to get show-shy when doing sketches on the spot, but I really want to start breaking myself of that habit. I've got a major convention in Chicago in a few months and I definitely want to be able to do sketches while I'm there, so I'd better start practicing now!

I'll keep you guys posted on C2E2/Shakespeare Shaken news as it develops!

Stay tuned!

Shar-Pei Pet Portrait

Current work in progress...

Lip Balms

So many things have been happening lately that I haven't the time to tell you about it all.

I'll post a more detailed blog entry later on this week, but until then, here's a quick look at a point of purchase display I designed/assembled for the fine folks at Tehacha-Bee Honey, LLC.

Tehacha-Bee Lip Balms are now

on sale at Stormwatch Comics!

449 N. Route 73

West Berlin, NJ

(856) 768-8186 ‎

RAW Video: Holiday RAWk

Two interviews that were recorded at the Holiday RAWk show have found their way onto Youtube. The first is my official interview, put together by the talented RAW video crew. (The dimensions are a bit messed up, but I can't figure out how to fix it.)

This second interview is by Alan Fenstermaker, a roving videographer who was covering the show independently. This one features interviews from another RAW artist (Amber Kane of Fabricated Ends) as well as myself.

The Collingswood Patch

Journalist Matt Skoufalos from the Collingswood Patch wrote up a brief article about last weekend's Second Saturday festivities- which includes the T.A.R. Salon event where I was exhibiting my work! I've even been quoted!

Check it out!

RAW and T.A.R.

Picture this-

It's the last few days before the Holiday RAWk event and I'm scrambling to get everything ready. December snuck up on me and I'm making a mad dash to get everything prepared in time. I'm feeling stressed out and anxious and that's when I hear the voice of my Madness* saying "Y'know what would be really cool? What if we made a sign with our name on it... And then made it glow! It would be so easy! We'd just carve our name into some cardboard and and paint it black! And cover it with paper and put some kinda light behind it. Come on! It would be so easy!" And I'm like, "Shut up, voice. I've got stuff to do."

Yeah, take a wild guess how that ended...

I can't help myself.

The Madness* requires that all my coolest ideas are unnecessarily complicated and only conceived at the most inopportune of times.

It was made out of some spare cardboard (including a lid from one of my comic boxes), rice paper, acrylic paint, tin foil, and christmas lights. Oh, and lots and lots of packing tape. It gets pretty hot, so I brought a fire extinguisher to the RAW show just in case my makeshift creation decided to burst into flames. It didn't.

But enough about the sign...

Despite being a last minute addition to the list of featured artists, I managed to pull together the nicest display I've ever done for any show EVER. I'm really pleased with how it looked and I know that it definitely turned some heads.

Once I get someone's attention, the art can speak for itself, but getting them close enough to see something they like is half the battle.

I made some new friends, met a few people who might provide me with gallery opportunities in the future, and sold enough artwork to make it worth making the trip. All-in-all, a successful night.

I want to send out yet another thank you to Thomas Mitchell for helping me run the booth. In addition to being a spectacular boyfriend, he also fills the role of my part-time event manager and as soon as I make enough money to actually pay him, I'm hiring him on to do this full-time. He's incredibly helpful and almost as passionate about talking to people about my artwork as I am.

Fast forward to December 10th!

The T.A.R. Salon's Second Saturday exhibit was such a great event! It was a packed house. When I tell you that from 7 to 9, you could barely move in there, I mean that sometimes people would go outside for a minute and find themselves watching the show from the doorway because the way in had closed behind them.

The Tommie Griggz Band performed an incredible set (both original songs and a few well picked covers) and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the live CD they recorded of that night.

There was unbelievably delicious food there, also from local restaurants. Cuban food from the store next door as well as what can only be described as artisan cupcakes. My favorite was a banana bread cupcake with creamy frosting that was very subtly peanut butter flavored, topped with a caramelized piece of bacon. It might sound a bit weird, but it was heavenly.

The best part of that event though was the afterparty.

Tom and I were invited to go back to one of the musician's houses for drinks and conversation. We left with them, intending to stay for a half an hour or so and ended up staying out until almost midnight! I met so many wonderful, inspiring, and genuinely fascinating people! One of wants me to tutor her kids. Another is a childhood friend of Ethan Van Sciver (a fancy pants comic book artist, for the civilians reading this blog) and is the person responsible for teaching him how to draw. I am SO glad we stayed out!

* "The Madness” is what makes you want to get out of bed and draw. And then when you are done drawing, draw some more. It makes you miss meals, because you are too busy painting. It's an irresistible, incurable compulsion to create things, and I've got it BAD.

Second Saturday - T.A.R. Salon

Upcoming Events:

I'm participating in Collingswood's Second Saturday event this month, so all you Jersey locals have no excuse for not coming out to see it! My work will be hanging in The T.A.R. Salon at 559 Haddon Ave, Collingswood.

The T.A.R. Salon is usually a hair/nail spa, but the owner is emptying it out for the night and filling it with local artists and musicians! And since the building was originally an art gallery, it has nice high ceilings and good lighting and seems like it'll be a wonderful venue to display my work!

The opening itself is this Saturday, Dec. 10th from 6 to 9. There'll be live music from the Tommie Griggz band, special giveaways (first come, first served- so show up early if you want cool free stuff), and of course, wine and munchies. It's also a great opportunity to help raise money Pennsauken Animal Shelter. So, seriously, come on out and have some fun with us!