12/23/2013

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

so another holiday season and year is about to come to an end. the year flew by pretty fast! it was a pretty big year for me, as I put my apartment for sale early in 2013 and actually sold it for a decent price, moved to a new place in Manhattan, all in under one year! Also did some conventions which went really well, so it was a pretty good year. Art wise I am trying to come up with some new products like maybe jewelry? I haven't done any yet because I am fussy about jewelry and want it to have a certain look and feel. The next thing I am definitely going to be working on is an art book, since my coloring book did pretty well. (only 3 copies left!) I am also thinking about getting a tshirt that I designed made. Of course I'd also love to continue working on new artwork, especially new paintings. With that said, I'd like to wish everybody a wonderful and healthy New Year, and for those who celebrate a very Merry Christmas :)

oh and here's the Christmas card I designed this year!

xoxox

Maria


12/02/2013

Holiday crafting

I restocked my etsy store and am offering 15% off sale on everything in my store, no minimum order required! Hope all who celebrated had a nice Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the time off and decided to craft a holiday wreath for my new apartment.

I have been really into pompoms for a while (I even started a pompom rug a number of years ago) and they seem to be all the rage these days on pinterest, so I decided to try my hand at making a Christmas pompom wreath! I love to make crafty things and bake, but this is probably the biggest craft project I have actually taken on and finished. The whole thing took a while because I made a pretty big wreath. I used craft yarn from Michaels (the cheap stuff works way better than good quality yarn)  and I used this clover pompom maker to make the pompoms. For the base I used a Styrofoam wreath form and I hot glued the pompoms directly on it.  I would recommend slowly making the pompoms over time and then assembling your wreath. I finished it off with a premade bow and some jingle bells and hung it over the fireplace.

I did not use a specific tutorial, I just found things at Michaels I thought would work but here is a pretty good tutorial courtesy of Blue bird vintage

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!


11/18/2013

Paintings

Here are some new paintings I have been working on. Both are gouache on watercolor paper:


11/12/2013

I'm not dead! Can't believe I went this long without posting, but now that the long and extremely stressful ordeal of selling my apartment in Brooklyn and looking for a new place to move to and actually moving is over (so many books and art supplies. so many flights of stairs!) I finally feel a bit settled. It's basically been almost a year of non stop talking to lawyers, real estate agents, banks, and plenty of stress and anxiety. NYC is a tough real estate market, so things got really crazy. But its all done, I got my new place set up and made sure to dedicate a little corner to doing painting and drawing, and I have been busy painting once again. Still getting the feel for gouache--I have been painting in oil paint since art school, but I really enjoy painting more than anything else. Will post some of what I have been working on soon.

But for now, I have restocked and updated my etsy store, and am offering a free 2.5" glass mirror with purchase of any 3 8x10 prints in my store :) I also updated with a Christmas card design and will be working on at least one more.

Check it out and tell your friends:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Mariartist?ref=si_shop

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Mariartist?ref=si_shop


9/04/2013

Baltimore Comic Con

Hello all! its been a really busy few months for me, as I am in the process of selling my apartment and am going to be moving soon! Not to mention some crazy work hours and trying to enjoy summer (wah its over!) but I am very excited that I will be exhibiting at Baltimore Comic Con in Artist Alley tables 244-245 this year for the very first time! I'll be vending with Paigey and Little Asian Sweatshop this weekend, September 7 and 8! So if you are in the area please come on over and check us out! I will having coloring books, prints, mirrors, buttons and hopefully some Christmas and Halloween greeting cards.
So come on over and say hi!




7/30/2013

pin up zania!

Check out this lovely little interview and feature on me and my artwork at the awesome pin up zania blog!

if you were ever interested on how I got into art, conventions and anything in between check it out. also check out and like pin up zanias facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/Pinupzania

6/30/2013

Post Heroes Con and a big etsy sale

Happy summer to all! After a busy few weeks, I am finally able to sit down and update.  I am doing a "post heroes con print sale" at my etsy store. All prints are now $7.00 for one week only. I had a few leftover prints from the show, so decided to have a sale. Check it out! I also finally posted my Pin Up coloring and activity book for sale!  For this week only I am also offering a free mini mirror with purchase of a coloring book.
My coloring book now available on etsy!
First up during this busy June, was Heroes convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was graciously invited by my friend Paigey, her husband Phil and Fenny from Little Asian Sweatshop to share some space in artists alley this year. I had a great time last year, so I figured why not! It was a really fun experience again, and compared to other cons I have been to as both an attendee and as an artist, this one is truly about comics and comics creators. The people from Heroes Aren't Hard to Find, the comic book store in Charlotte that puts on the show were also very nice and accommodating, and made sure it was a good experience for everybody, from the super famous to the not so well known (like me!) I would definitely recommend a visit to this convention if you are a fan of comics and creators with less Hollywood fanfare than the other big conventions. Last years show was a great introduction to Heroes con for me, as it was their 30th anniversary and Stan Lee was a special guest, so there was a lot of enthusiasm going around and lots of people in attendance. This year felt a bit more spread out and low key, but I still got to meet new people, sell some of my new coloring books, which I am glad to say got good reception, and I got to meet fellow ZaPow artist Beck Seasholls, aka Becka Doodles! It was also nice seeing Sarah Dyer and her awesome daughter Emily--she was the little girl dressed as Xena! As well as amazing designer Vivcore. It was also cool having my work recognized from ZaPow gallery in Asheville. All in all a really good time :) Again, I would highly recommend this show.
Paigey, Myself, Fenny and Lorraine Klimowich

My set up for the weekend

dark photo at the art auction saturday night

After heroes con, I went on vacation to Vancouver, Canada for a week with a friend, and had a great time. It was really nice to get away and decompress and take in new sites, fresh air and friendly people, and not worry or think too much about work, art and every day life. Plus the weather was beautiful, the air was fresh and the food was awesome (ok, maybe I overindulged a bit!) We did everything from whale watching to hiking and I have to admit I am a little sad to be back home! People were so nice there and everyone seemed genuinely happy. I would love to visit more places in Canada. Suggestions?

It looked like something out of a movie!

Now that vacation and conventions are sadly over, back to the drawing board to create new art! I feel inspired and refreshed, but that might just be the jet lag talking :)


5/15/2013

New art and my first book!

I have had a very productive couple of weeks, even though things are kinda hectic for me right now. I decided I will be attending heroes con in Charlotte, North Carolina again this year with Paigey! and Little Asian Sweatshop from June 7-9! I still can't believe almost one year has passed since then. Seems to have flown by, but I am very excited to go again this year. I had a blast last time, and this year we will be in artists alley! This also gives me a real deadline to do all the things I want to do, like new art, and something that has been in my head for more than a year now but I finally finished, a coloring book! I grew up on coloring books and preferred coloring to anything else. So I really wanted to do one of my own. I finally got the proof in the mail and I love it. Here is a sneak peek!
Pardon the crappy quality! I will photograph it a lot better when I receive the final version in the mail.

I also finished a new pin up of Silk Spectre 2 from Watchmen, which is one of my favorites!
and Silk Spectre to refresh your memory:


4/23/2013

custom portrait

I recently worked on this custom portrait and I just love the results! This was commissioned as a birthday gift for a girl who likes pin ups, rockabilly, sailor jerry tattoos and all that good stuff. She was very happy with the results, and it made for a really special gift from one sister to another. If you are interested in portraits, email me or contact me through etsy or facebook!

4/02/2013

Space and Time Trifecta!

I did a new drawing for a really fun show over at ZaPow! gallery in Asheville: Space and Time Trifecta; ZaPow takes on Star Wars, Star Trek and Dr. Who, opening Friday April 5

Sounds awesome right? wish I could be there to check the show out, but I do have a piece in the show! I took on a popular Star Trek character. Check it out!
I knew I wanted to draw Uhura but I figure everybody else was going to draw her too--she's a groundbreaking character and the actress who played her in the original series, Nichelle Nichols is an inspirational, groundbreaking woman so it felt right (and she has an asteroid named after her!!!)  I was doing some research and found old Star Trek comic books and knew what I wanted to do :) Hope you like it and if you are in Asheville check out the show! I really wanted to do a Dr. Who piece and a Star Wars piece but like always time got away from me. Maybe I'll work on those as well anyway.

3/18/2013

Huntress

Happy almost spring!
I was recently commissioned  to do a pin up of DC comics character Huntress. I have to admit I would probably never have done this if it wasn't for the commission, but I am so glad I did! I decided to take her in a Bettie Page direction with her costume and hair, and I am glad I did! I love the way she turned out. I love working on commissions because its a fun way to get me out of my comfort zone, although this didn't stray too far. If you are interested in a commission contact me through my etsy page!
 I will be back soon with another new piece I did for an upcoming show at ZaPow! Gallery

1/20/2013

New year, New art!

First off, Happy 2013! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! I am back with 2 new pieces. I am finally back in the groove of creating new artwork. Yay! First, I wanted to continue with my superheroine and villains artwork, so I drew Silk Spectre I from my favorite graphic novel Watchmen. I love that the character is already basically a pin up girl, so I just decided to change her outfit around a bit. This is one of my favorites in the group! What do you think? I do plan to work on Silk Spectre II as well. Contemplating what her outfit should look like :)
Next, I felt like designing a Valentine's Day greeting card, and this time I didn't want to wait until the last minute! I am not a big fan of Valentine's day, but I absolutely love vintage Valentine's day greeting cards so much! I especially love all the silly little puns. I also wanted to eventually design a space girl pin up so there you go! I will be selling this as a little 5x7 greeting card at my etsy store if anyone is interested!
 Lastly,  I moved my portfolio over to Behance, and I am really happy with it. You can organize everytihng into categories, it is free and there are tons of respectable artists on there. I also added some of my work from my "day job" on there if anyone is interested. check it out!