Trouble!

With Heroescon quickly approaching, I have been trying to get some new art work done, while in the  middle of working on commissions and working my full time job. I managed to squeeze this in, as it is something that has been in my head for so long. I am so pleased with how it came out, but I am not sure how others will feel about it. My Gotham city pin ups have been my most popular drawings, and favorites of mine, so I really wanted to try drawing Harley and Poison Ivy together, those bad, bad bffs :)

I also have been trying to get into pencil drawings besides simple doodles, and here is a drawing of elektra. I don't know if I will have time to do more in time for Heroescon, but it felt nice to draw again. Ideally I'd have loved to do small paintings to bring with me, but, time ran out.
*pardon the crappy ipod photo!

HeroesCon

Exciting news! I will be at HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina from June 22-24!

 

I will be vending with the fabulous Paigey! and Fenny from Little Asian Sweatshop! I have only ever vended at New York Comic con and that was with Girls Drawin Girls, so I am excited and quite nervous! So many amazing artists will be there, so I am greatly looking forward to that.
I will be selling 8x10 prints, mini print packs, mirrors, original art and more, if I can find time to work on anything. Work has been busy and I have had quite a few requests for portraits which is fantastic and exciting, but portraits can be more time consuming and challenging then my other art.
See you in North Carolina :)

Atomic Cheesecake

Hey I'm not dead! Things got crazy at work for the month of May, so the arts took a bit of a backseat. But I recently got an awesome commission to draw the amazing Action Girl from Baltimore based Atomic Cheesecake Studios. I actually got some photographs taken with some friends a few years ago, and honestly it was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had. It was a great time. So needless to say I am a fan and jumped at the chance of drawing her. We went with a retro appropriate tiki theme :)

I love the way this came out. Drawing that tiki fella was maybe my favorite part! I also liked drawing her tattoos :)
Remember if you are interested in commissioning me, check out the listing on etsy for more information on getting your very own pin up cartoon of yourself.

In crappier news, some of my art was stolen and put up for sale on tshirts on a website called redbubble.com. needless to say I was pissed when I found out. Luckily the thief took the offending tshirts down but redbubble did absolutely nothing but give me a link to their copyright complaint email address. So any young, impressionable people out there--just cause you found it on the internet doens't mean its yours to use to make money. It's literally stealing. To me it was the equivalent of someone breaking into my home and stealing my things and selling them. There is NO difference when you are stealing somebody's art. I have no problem sharing my work online, having people pin it and put it on tumblr etc but please do not ever steal!
Unfortunately I am going to be only sharing work in low resolution and with larger watermarks for my personal work.

Meet the Flintstones!

Back with another post! I have been sick this whole week and fear that my ear infection is coming back, but somehow that has inspired me to do more work because I am back with some new art! I have always loved Hannah Barbera cartoons, specifically the Flintstones. I used to watch it after school every day, along with the Jetsons. I really do enjoy doing fan art, because its nice to put my own spin on characters that have made an impact on me and inspired me. I wanted to do a pin up Wilma and Betty, and I decided to do something a little different with colors and composition. I always like to combine my love for design and typography from the 50s with my pin ups, and I quite like how this turned out! Hope you like it too :)

self portrait

Two posts back to back, wow! So I mentioned yesterday that my beloved cat Smokey passed away, and I got the idea to do a portrait of myself holding him. Unlike most cats this one liked to be held a lot! I have never drawn myself but I have always thought I should. I chose to draw myself in my favorite blue and white polka dot dress :)

Sailor Pin up

Ahoy! It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me, starting with my beloved cat Smokey getting really sick and passing away. It was really hard for me, but he lived a long, happy life. I also keep getting sick which is starting to get on my nerves. I have been sick twice in 2 months! I did manage to find some time to squeeze in a drawing that isn't a commission just for fun! I have been planning to do a sailor pin up to go with my cowgirl pin up (who doesn't love a pin up theme?) and I am proud to say I did it! I think she's pretty cute!

Chronicles of Cashmere

Greetings! I recently redesigned the header for my friends really funny blog, Chronicles of Cashmere. We worked together on a design and we are both really happy with the way it turned out. I love it because it looks and feels a lot like her, and I also like that I got to draw a tiger and that it wasn't "retro" like my usual works (nothing wrong with that, but its fun to change it up sometimes!)
This is my second blog header redesign (the first one can be found at verbal switchblade) and I have a lot of fun with them. If you are interested in a commission or blog header redesign, be sure to contact me!

oops!

wow, March is almost over already? Time is going pretty fast. I haven't done much new art--been quite busy at work, and you know, going outside now that the weather is getting better :) I did finish a commission that I absolutely love, and I have a couple more commissions then I am going to try to get back in the swing of personal work and hopefully painting! (if you are interested in a commission, check out my etsy!)

The client wanted a mermaid pirate with red hair and this is what I came up with. I think she's quite lovely!
Hope everyone is having a happy spring!

Portfolio site

I finally have an online portfolio set up where I can have all of my artwork in one place! I did a bit of research before choosing one and I am happy with my choice. Check it out!
http://mariadanalakis.crevado.com/
I have a free one for now, but may upgrade depending on how much work and galleries I want to add but right now the free version is enough. I find crevado was easy to set up and add artwork to, they offer more personalization than any other free portfolio service I have found, and its very simple and very easy to navigate.

Obviously I will always update my blog and etsy page, but its nice to have a portfolio to show my work without having to go through many different entries on my blog.

Zombie valentine for ZaPow! Gallery

I recently completed an actual oil painting! Painting has always been the thing I have been the most passionate about as far as creating art goes. I took to it in art school and tried to continue but its very difficult to oil paint when you have no studio space. I live in a very small studio apartment and cannot set up any space to paint so when I do, its at my tiny kitchen table and that isn't conducive to oil painting at all. Anyway, I made do with what I have and I do like the way this turned out. The colors are a little off but its pretty accurate.
I created this painting for a gallery I have some artwork in called ZaPow! they are located in Asheville, NC and they focus on comic art, illustration, etc which is a perfect fit for me! They are having a show called Zombies and lusty ladies. If you find yourself in the Asheville area of NC, visit ZaPow! and maybe buy this lovely painting :)
I will definitely be doing more paintings in the future to sell in my etsy store.