Friday, December 27, 2013

Nine of Pentacles

11" x14" oil, acrylic, and gold leaf on board
Hello everyone! I'm excited to say that I'm participating in The Hive Gallery's 5th annual 2014 Tarot Show! Two tarot pieces in 2013, how apropos... 

The opening is in Los Angeles on January 4th at 8:30. I won't be able to be in attendance, but if you're in California you should go!

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Month of Fear #6: Scary Story

9" x 15" oil and acrylic on board
I chose to do a collaborate story/illustration with my boyfriend John taking the role of author and me, the illustrator. Here is his short story:


The Lamppost

The inky black of the side street was broken only by a single light. Its amber glow touched down on the recently disturbed side walk. The concrete had within the circle of light only one tenant, a young man who could barely have stepped foot into his twenties. His solid form created an oasis of shadow contained by the light. The lamppost stood above him, a sentinel in the dark. It was doing its job well.

The lamppost’s warm light fell upon the messy mop of hair that capped the still head of the young man. The light slid deep into his increasingly pale skin, and collected on his cheeks and forearms. He was well lit from above, and not a visible inch of him was outside the reach of the lamppost’s light. The mercury vapor bulb continued to shine. Years of wear had done little to hamper its effectiveness. It was a good lamp; it did its job well.

As the night drew on, the ground beneath the young man continued to darken. This was not by fault of the lamp. The dark spot was fluidic, and flared with the reflected amber light. With deep red hue, the darkness continued to spread. It trailed off beyond the faint boundary of where the light met the dark.

The young man began to stir. Tonight, the constant drone of the lamppost’s bulb was accompanied by a soft gurgling. This could be traced to its source, deep within the lungs of the slumped figure. His tensed shoulders loosened against the grey steel of the lamppost’s supporting pole. It was a very sturdy pole, and it had aided the lamp in its years of hard work. Held aloft by the pole; the lamp shone on in the dark night as it had for years and as it would.

Now the gurgling, caused by the dark hole through his abdomen, slowed. The wound was ragged and deep, and well lit on the surface. The depths of the hole were lost to the pervasive dark. The deep red of his blood seeped into his once white shirt. Perhaps a surgical lamp would have revealed more of the grievous wound, but the lamp had done all it was required to. The lamp was not ambitious, nor was it able to be. It was a good lamp, and it did only the job it was made to do.
The cold sweat of the young dying man slid down from his brow to the end of his sharp nose. Illuminated along its path and reflecting tiny splashes of light across his pale lips and sunken cheeks. His unremarkable brown eyes began to glaze, and the light of dawn swept the sky. His breath rattled once more, a soft vapor caught in the constant illumination. His life left him as the surrounding dark peeled away like an orange, revealing a fresh day. The streetlight fell dark. It was a good lamp; it did its job well, and now that job was done. Now left in the brightening world was a warm corpse against a cold grey lamppost.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Month of Fear #5: Trypophobia

2.5" x 3.5" oil and acrylic on board
Trypophobia: a combination of the Greek trypo (punching, drilling or boring holes) and phobia (fear/morbid fear).

This particular phobia is very young--coined 8 years ago--in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This particular phobia is also known as repetitive pattern phobia, in which people become repulsed by looking at clustered holes such as honeycomb, lotus pods, coral, et cetera, or repeating patterns seen in large amounts of grains/legumes, amphibian egg clusters, and the like.

It's a very interesting, unique phobia to me, because it is so out of the ordinary. It is mainly described as a primal reaction relating to visual signs of danger. What that danger could be, who knows!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Month of Fear #4: What Terrified You as a Child?

8"x10" oil and acrylic on board

I had no irrational fears growing up other than the existential mystery of death after losing relatives and pets at a young age. Now that life is a little more complicated than it was in childhood, I have more complex fears that every adult has. My greatest fear is losing hope; losing that spark I work hard to maintain, giving into stress and anxiety and just plain giving up.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Month of Fear #3: My Favorite Horror Story

20"x16" oil and acrylic on board

Most of my favorite horror stories are written by Junji Ito, a Japanese manga artist known for his uniquely bizarre but genuinely creepy horror stories. His most well-known compilation is "Uzumaki"--which was actually made into a live-action movie--about a town that became cursed by an obsession with spirals. One girl's hair in particular began to curl, becoming a hypnotic obsession to her schoolmates at the cost of her life.

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Month of Fear #2: What is your recurring nightmare?

7"x5" oil and acrylic on board
This week's theme was: What's your recurring nightmare? Here's my story...

When I was very young--preschool/kindergarten age--once or twice a month for about two years I would relive a very abstract, but very traumatic recurring nightmare. My dream would begin with me, in bed, the house very dark. I would hear the wind howling outside, making the house creak, the windows shake. In an instant time blurred into an abstract movement, all of the trees surrounding my home would grow in enormous size and then succumb to the wind, collapsing onto the house and demolishing it in a cold tangle of twisted debris and tree limbs. I would then manage to crawl out of what must have been my bed, crying, calling for my mom, but hearing nothing in return, not even the wind. I then became overwhelmed with an intense feeling of guilt, and would eventually give up looking for any signs of life between the mess of what was once my house, bawling "I'm sorry" over and over again until I would be woken up by my mom, who would later on tell me she would wake up hearing me crying "I'm sorry" repeatedly in the middle of the night.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Month of Fear #1: What Lives Under My Bed?

11"x20" oil and acrylic on panel
The Month of Fear project has begun! This week's theme was What Lives Under Your Bed?

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Dream Predation and Getting Busy!

Dream Predation 16"x20" oil and acrylic on board
I did this piece for Forest to Shore's Cursed show last month and I have yet to properly upload a photograph of it up on my site. This is actually a springboard piece for a solo show coming up in January that I still need to get off my arse and begin work on the pieces! 

However, I am fortunate enough to say that as of late I have been incredibly busy working on and finishing painting after painting for numerous projects! I have never felt so happy :D


Monday, September 16, 2013

Dragon*Con and IlluXcon


I went to my first Dragon*Con this year, and it was my first con displaying my artwork! It was a gigantic leap into the deep end, but I drove home (yes, drove) with a multitude of positive feedback, ideas, and validation. There I sold two paintings, Siren and Medusa. It was a pleasant surprise for me, not knowing what at all to expect as I had no prior experience before this. I am certainly going back next year!


This year was also the first year displaying my work at IlluXcon! Like Dragon*Con I got a wealth of great feedback, saw old friends, and made new ones. I also sold a bunch of prints and sold my painting of Morrigan! Of course I will be back next year guns ablazing!

Monday, August 05, 2013

Amanda Palmer Tarot Kickstarter!


The project has been launched and already on its first day, at only a few hours old it's been funded well over $6k! Very exciting! Don't hesitate to become a backer and own a set of this awesome limited edition goodness! ;)

Sunday, August 04, 2013

IMC 2013 Piece

Jon and Arya oil & acrylic 24" x 36"

I finished it! I will be making prints, which will be available to buy at Dragon*Con and illuXcon this year!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Amanda Palmer Tarot


Hello! It's been a pretty hectic time lately, lots of art to do, places to go... I apologize for a lack of updates, but I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in the Amanda Palmer Tarot project. I was roped in really really late in the process, so I had to haul ass to get this done in a timely manner in place of another artist who dropped out. This is the Six of Cups, a card which speaks of nostalgia, simple pleasures, and joy.

Now that I'm less than 24 hours done with this piece I do have my qualms with it, specifically anatomy but otherwise I'm happy with how it turned out and especially how as of late my technique of painting has changed for the better after watching a lot of tutorials.

Now I need to finish my Illustration Master Class piece that's been silently screaming at me to finish!

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

IMC 2013 Prologue


So here's my concept for this year's Illustration  Master Class piece. I chose the assignment to illustrate two Game of Thrones characters, depicting Arya Stark and Jon Snow. I chose the two characters because they have this special bond, Jon being the one to nurture Arya's desire to want to be as far from the lady she's being forced to be by giving her her first sword: Needle. The two of them are black sheep in their own right, Jon being sent off to the wall, being the bastard child of the family, and Arya being defiant and free-spirited. As the story progresses the two of them are left to fend for themselves.

Arya I've depicted in a defensive pose, but Needle at hand she is capable of defending herself. As a character she is indeed very strong, but being forced to flee and survive on her own  she has run into situations that are beyond her control being still just a child.

Jon's sword bisects Arya's hair in a symbolic representation of how Arya has lost her innocence and how she was forced to drop her identity and her gender to flee the capital after her father was executed.

I'm pretty confident in this composition/idea, however my only qualm is I need to finagle a way to cut her hair shorter without smushing Jon into Arya, because to pass as a boy her hair was cut waaaaaaay shorter than I depicted. Winona Nelson suggested to me that I use a shadow cast by Jon's sword further up in the composition to achieve that effect, which is something I will definitely play with until the critique next Monday when the IMC is in full swing!




Friday, May 03, 2013

New Piece: Threads

"Threads" 16" x 20" oil and acrylic on board
This is a new piece I just finished for Forest to Shore Gallery's 2nd Anniversary show! I had a lot of fun with this, I got to experiment with an old grungy brush that's been around since I don't even know when!

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Wh4t5 Ur G4m3r T4g?: The Art of Gaming

Tonight was the opening for Wh4t5 Ur G4m3r T4g?: The art of Gaming show at Plan 9 Tattoo. It was an absolute blast, as can be seen from this awesome cake someone made to be consumed by all!


I actually hadn't documented this show at all here, so I shall in this post. I was notified about the show on February 5th, and had a week and 2 days to come up with ideas, and complete at least one piece for the show, which the drop-off date was February 14th, the show opening to be on the 16th. I set to work, spending one night honing in on which games that would be fun to illustrate, and then coming up with ideas for a piece after I had decided upon a game.

I ended up choosing The Neverhood and ICO, and spent the weekend and subsequent days during and following the nasty blizzard that hit us here painting away to get them done. Both were done, and varnished in the wee hours of the morning on Valentine's Day, leaving me praying they'd be dry by noon to be framed and delivered. I checked my email before heading to bed to see what time to drop them off and found out that the show had been postponed for 2 weeks due to the snowstorm.

Despite dealing with the stress of having to get the pieces done so fast and so soon, it all worked out in the end. The weekend of the original opening I wasn't going to be able to make it due to going up to Boskone. But, because of the rescheduling, I was able to go to Boskone and the opening for the show, and on top of that, able to get Aedan into the show as well! Excellent!

Here are some glimpses of the opening I was able to get in between nerdy discussions about games and movies:





My ICO piece
My Neverhood piece

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Month of Love: Day 26


Today's theme was to put a bunch of your music on shuffle and illustrate the first love song that came up. On the way to and from work I had my good 'ole Zune on shuffle, and Rammstein's Pussy came on. That's a love song, right?.... Right?!

Month of Love: Days 22, 23, 24, 25


Day 22, free theme, decided to paint whit my fingats...


Day 23's theme was I Would Do Anything For Love (but I won't do that...)


For Freestyle Sunday I posted a progress pic of me working on a painting for a Sandy Hook Benefit.


Today, Day 25, was a free theme again and I decided to do a Love Wizard.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Month of Love: Day 21


I was at work all day, and hadn't much to do considering the kids are on February break. I then spent a good while rooting through my supplies and using a set of alphabet stamps I had found, individually coloring and stamping each letter. Originally this was to be the background for something, but I love how this looks by itself. It shall remain the mating call of typographers and graphic designers.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Month of Love: Day 20

 

This is for yesterday's theme Odd Couple. Bam. 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Month of Love: Day 19


Toooooooootally did the wrong theme today. I thought it was opposites attract but it was actyually odd couple. Woopsies!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Month of Love: Day 18


It's been a few days since Valentine's. The last bits of candy are trickling away, and those left just screaming "Eat me!"

Month of Love: Day 16


I was in Boston all this weekend for Boskone, and didn't have much downtime to sit down and dedicate my brain to my duty of doing a daily piece on Friday, so I missed it... However, for today's entry (day 17) Marc, Kristina, Scott and I took a ridiculous picture together forming a giant heart with our arms while we were together at Rick Berry's studio party. Once that's uploaded I will be posting it here.

This piece was for Saturday's theme Tainted Love. I was sitting chatting with Aedan Roberts and Jason Cheeseman-Meyer and whipped out the Moleskine and my travel watercolors which I had forgotten I had in the deep recesses of my bag. I was thankful for that, despite how reluctant Moleskines take to watercolor...

Friday, February 15, 2013

Month of Love: Day 14


A month or two into getting to know each other and building a close friendship, John took me to go ice skating. We were supposed to meet up with two friends of his, but they overslept. After John and I skated around for an hour looking like idiots, he suggested lunch. We ended up at a vegan place, tucked away in a back parking lot a few towns over.

As I got out of the car, he sat down on the hood, and after a moment of looking out into space, he asked me out. It caught me by surprise, but the moment was perfect. To this day I still think our friends flaking out on us was all part of the plan for John to woo me. Regardless, we started dating two days later. The rest is history.

Since then the car has been a staple in our lives. We have gone on so many adventures, whether they started off with a destination or not--sometimes the trips just resulting in the two of us driving around for hours for the fun of it. All I can say is I hope the adventures never end :)

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Month of Love: Day 13


While my brother was off in California, John, a coworker of my brother's, would take me on late night trips to our 24-hour diner. Up until that point I had only spent time with him in the company of my brother and his group of friends. I always felt like an add-on, and not truly integrated.

At the diner we would sit for extended periods of time until the wee hours of the morning drinking cup after cup of coffee, getting to know each other better and better. We talked about video games, books, movies, television, art, anything and everything. Slowly but surely, a mutual love was brewing...

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Month of Love: Day 12


So for the next three days, our challenge is to illustrate a love story from our lives. Here's my part 1 of 3:

After I graduated from college I made the decision to move back home to Connecticut. I had left my college friends behind, and the friends I had in Connecticut from high school were elsewhere, living their own college and post-college lives. In essence, I was marooned.

Within two months of moving back, my brother, the only person keeping me sane and entertained at the time, went to California. I was bored, lonely, and needed someone to rescue me from going insane! (to be continued...)

Month of Love: Day 11


Lovetopusssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Month of Love: Day 10/Klaymen Buddy


Decided to dedicate the day to working on one of two pieces I'm submitting to a show this weekend, well, Thursday. This is Klaymen from The Neverhood. I have a lot to do the next few days!

Saturday, February 09, 2013

Month of Love: Day 9


Today's theme was A Face Only a Mother Could Love. These little monsters are all over my classroom, they're fun :)

Friday, February 08, 2013

Month of Love: Day 8

A few days ago I was down in my basement and saw a woodlouse spider ambling his way across the floor. They're frightening looking things with large fangs and rusty red in color. I named him Peanut :3

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Month of Love: Day 7


Not the most original idea, but hey. Today's theme was Love is a Battlefield.

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Month of Love: Day 6


Today's theme was open again, so my theme was Caution: Drowning Hazard. This is a reflection upon how many hugs I get when I'm at work on any given day!

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Month of Love: Day 5


Today's theme was Love at First Sight. To quote what I wrote on the group blog: The first time I met John was about 4 years ago. I was home for the weekend from college, wandering around the house, when my brother brought home a group of friends to sit around and watch movies and play video games. I shuffled in, sketchbook in hand, and sat in the corner of the room and drew him a few times.
It wasn't until 2 years later we started dating, but I'll never forget the way he glanced at me every now and then as I sat quietly sketching him. 

Monday, February 04, 2013

Month of Love: Day 4


Cats do strange things to show you affection... Oil and acrylic on 5"x7" masonite, available for sale.


Sunday, February 03, 2013

Month of Love: Day 3


Day three of the Month of Love. Sundays are free choice, not having to revolve around love, but I decided to do it anyway. This is a study of how I might want to stylize the wings in a painting I'm doing for a Sandy Hook benefit.

3.5"x8" acrylic on wood.

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Month of Love: Day 2


So far so good. Because of the time restraint, my pieces for the Month of Love will be mostly experimental. Today's theme was Love is Blind, and the concept behind this piece is how some people are blinded by materialism and have their eyes on one thing only.

5"x7" oil and acrylic on masonite available for sale for $100.

Friday, February 01, 2013

Month of Love: Day 1

Cross-posting from Month of Love, a group blog with a slew of other awesome artists. Check it out!

This is 4"x4" oil on masonite, available for sale for $100

Sunday, January 13, 2013

A Kick Ass Art Show!

Wooooooooooow it's been a hectic past few weeks. Christmas and New Years is over, day job has resumed now that school is back in session, and lots of painting done and preparation to be done for the upcoming show. Here's a video we all did for it, done by the awesome Mike Falzone!


I've been chronicling some of my latest pieces here, but am going to wait to upload them until after the opening, which is January 26th. If you are in the area, or are able to take a train in Forest to Shore Gallery is located just steps away from the Stratford, Connecticut train station! Hope to see you there!