Happy New Year!

Ok last post of 2011! i know i made the New Year spiel in my last post, but I wanted to share a new drawing in my superhero pin up series and a fun little inspiration board I put together.

I wanted to work on DC comics batgirl/Barbara Gordon because I just love the fact that she is a librarian, and that she uses her knowledge as well as physical skill to fight crime! I really wanted to make her look like a sassy librarian from the 60s/70s and this one is my personal favorite in the whole series. I like the way her outfit and her hair came out the best!

I have always loved working on inspiration boards and trend boards (I still get to do that stuff at my day job, just with kids clothes and fashions--still fun!!) So i wanted to put together a little board of artwork and people and images that inspire my work, most specifically inspired the superhero pin up series.
Pin up art of the 30s-50s is probably my number one inspiration, I have always liked the popular artists like Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas, but I am really drawn to the work of Enoch Bolles most of all. I love the way he draws their faces and their poses are dynamic and lots of fun. I also have been looking at the work of Peter Driben, most specifically his covers for girlie mags like Titter, Wink, Eyeful etc. I have also kind of recently discovered the work of Bruce Timm. Not that I am a comic book expert! (I like comics, but mostly I love how ingrained in American history comic book characters are. What's more American than Superman?) The rest of my inspiration for the series is definitely kitschy "big eyed girl" art which was started by artist Margaret Keane. Another favorite of mine is definitely French "graffiti" artist Fafi. Her work is so creative, cute, fun and playful, I'd love to see some of her works in person. I also love old Disney cartoons and comic books (I have a little collection of Disney comics from the 50s-80s) I am not into dolls at all, but I think Blythe is so cute! I love her big eyes and serious expression and her fashions are so crazy! The other images up there that I love are paper dolls from the 70s. I think they are amazingly designed. I love their fashions most of all!
and who could talk about pin up art without mentioning pin up queen, Bettie Page?

So that's a little peek into whats swimming around inside my head. Among thousands of other things I love. I can talk about my influences and art I love all day long.

Hope everyone has an awesome New Year! Can't wait to see what 2012 will bring!
xoxo
Maria

Comics Alliance!

Hope everyone out there has had a wonderful holiday season and is gearing up for a fabulous New Year! Its no secret I love this time of year, but I am ready for 2012! I have had some ups and downs in 2011, and I am ready for a brand new year to start! I don't really do resolutions (too much pressure!) but I have some personal goals I have been working on for a few months, and as always, one of my main goals is to keep going with my artwork, and to do more of it and branch out with different styles/commissions etc. I am working on some new pieces in the superhero pin up series that I am excited to share with everyone. (if you are a "fan" on my facebook page, you will have seen a sneak peek!) Another artistic goal of mine is to finally finish my pin up cocktails recipe book! It's almost done I just have to find some time and motivation to finish.

But some exciting news! I was featured on the super awesome blog comicsalliance.com! it was a huge surprise to say the least, and the write up was really sweet. Needless to say I was greatly honored. Click here to check out the article!

and thanks to friends Paigey and Fenny of Little Asian Sweatshop for calling the article to my attention! Check them out!

Again, I hope everyone has a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year! Out with the old in with the new :)

VIntage Circus art

Greetings! I started this piece a few weeks ago but forgot to finish it. I blame all the Christmas festivities! anyway, I decided to revisit it and finish it because I knew it had potential and I am glad I did. I have wanted to do some vintage circus/freak show poster inspired art because I always love to combine art with typography. Anyway, I think she came out pretty cute! In case you want to take her home, she is available for sale in my etsy shop. There is still time to pick this and anything else in my store up for Christmas. I ship priority so get your domestic orders in by Dec 19 for Christmas delivery! Also my BLACKFRIDAY coupon for 25% off on anything in my store expires tomorrow!

Happy Holidays

Ok, I know its not Christmas yet, but I am a bit of a Christmas nerd--no not a bit, a lot! I love it all! I started decorating my apartment and got inspired to design this years Christmas card. I actually love the way it came out! I put this card up for sale on etsy if you'd like to send your friends and family a naughty Christmas pin up. Grandma would love it! :)

Holiday sale!

Wow almost Christmas time already? Christmas is my favorite time of year and I love all the decorations, the smell of Christmas trees, the baking, the yummy food and of course the presents! So I am restocking my etsy page throughout the month, and offering 25% off all sales, and of course, all orders come with a free gift (its a surprise!) so use code BLACKFRIDAY at my etsy store for 25% off and bring home some unique gifts for yourself or someone you love, while supporting a small business :) Check it out!

Harry Potter!

I have been sick with an ear infection--in both ears :( for the last week, so I have been laying low at home this weekend trying to recover... It has been playing a Harry Potter marathon all weekend long on TV, and inspiration to do a Hermione fan art piece struck! I have always liked Hermione she's--smart, good in school, she likes reading, cats, has curly hair and is brave and a bad ass. A great role model for young females in a day and age where there are so few! I know Harry Potter is very special to many people, and I hope I did Hermione some justice with this drawing :)

Happy Reading!

Here is a bookplate I designed over the summer that was given as a free gift for pre ordering the girls drawin girls vol IV book. There were lots of beautiful bookplates designed, and I wonder who got mine? Anyway, I liked the illustration so much I wanted to share it on my blog. I am also selling it on my etsy as a 4x6 print or bookplate. Check it out and happy reading!

New York Comic Con

Its that time of year again! girls drawin girls will have a booth at New York Comic Con in the Javits center. The convention goes from October 13-16. We are going to be located in Artists Alley, booth O1

I will be working the table on Sunday afternoon so come and say hi! I will have my super hero girls and some other prints for sale, and our book The Way Nature Made Her will also be for sale, not to mention lots of other art and products from everyone in the group. NYCC is always a really fun time so come on out.

Great Big Book of Fashion Illustration

Hello all!
Despite a personally trying and tumultuous couple of weeks, I am back with some great news on the art front! 4 of my illustrations are going to be featured in this book and I am very excited. It's a great fashion illustration source book with 416 pages of full color illustrations from illustrators all over the world and I am honored to be included. I was first contacted by the publisher in April 2010 and I remember thinking how far away Fall 2011 was but now it is finally here! So check it out! its is available on amazon.com but the official release date is October 4 in the US.
click the cover to get to the amazon.com listing.

wonder woman!

I can't believe summer is almost over! This one went by really quick! I have had a pretty productive summer art wise, and I am taking an interest in doing a bit more with jewelry (dabbled a little bit with some rings and brooches), but more on that to come. I have decided to keep going with my super heroes and villains pin ups, and this time around, everyones favorite, Wonder Woman! I like the way she came out! For this one, I felt there was a lot going on already so I left out the words.

What do you think?

urban scarlet

Wow August already? time goes so fast! anyway check out this awesome blog I just discovered, Urban Scarlet! Its not only a beautifully designed blog with lots of great content, there is an awesome little store too! I picked up some heart stickers and red and white paper straws (always wanted them, although I am not sure what to do with them yet) so check out the blog and the store. I loved the site so much I decided to become a sponsor!
In art news, I am almost done with my retro cocktail art and recipe book, and still working on artwork and adding new work and designs my etsy shop!

Super Villain Pin Ups continued!

I got a suggestion from a lovely person on etsy to do a catwoman pin up, and I am so glad she suggested it. I love the way she turned out and I loved the challenge. She's definitely more saucy then my usual girls. I am really enjoying reinterpreting these characters in my own style and having fun with the costumes.

Drinks anyone?

I wanted to share a sneak peek at a new project I am working on that I am very excited about! Don't want to give away too much but it involves retro cocktails and lovely pin up girls. Here is a little preview :)
I am also still working on more of my superhero pin up girls so stay tuned!

Super Villain Pin Ups

Greetings!
Ever since returning from Philadelphia comic con a few weeks ago, I have been super inspired. Saw a lot of great artists and bought some fabulous art and a got a very cool commission done by the Fraim Brothers!
I have tried my hand at comic book characters before, but this time I wanted to do a series. I was originally going to do 5 but as of now I only have 3 done that I absolutely love and they all happen to be female villains of DC comics. I would like to continue and finish up the series, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to do it. I am also working on my fruit girl series and of course my snapfish cards! So here is what I have so far for my super villain pin ups fan art.


And a Happy July 4th to everyone!

Girls Drawin Girls Vol IV-PRESALE!!

Hello! The latest and greatest book from the talented ladies of Girls Drawin Girls, Volume IV:
The Way Nature Made Her, is available for presale!! This beautiful hard cover book features over 80 artists, and has 173 pages total-- every piece of art has a full page, so no little thumbnails, just page after page of beautiful full color art, including art by yours truly :)

The best part of ordering before July 10, 2011? You get a unique 3"x4"bookplate by an artist of the group for free. So please check it out, and support this group of talented ladies and independent artists. Here is a teaser of what you are in store for when you pre-order.

Click the picture to order.

And here is my piece in case you forgot (which i doubt)

Thank you for your support in advance, and enjoy the book :)

happy memorial day!

Happy almost memorial day! I whipped up this little summer drawing to celebrate the weather getting warm and summer finally arriving!

I've also been hard at work at adding more cards to my snapfish page, so check that out too! I have started adding coordinating cards to my assortment! So far I have a few matching thank you cards to go with some invitations I already had in my store. Going to add more coordinating sets based on the popularity of the ones I already have on hand :)

Hope you have a happy and safe memorial day!

Let them eat cupcakes

I've been on a bit of a roll with creating new artwork and feeling really inspired lately.
I'm going to ride this wave of inspiration til it fizzles out, which it inevitably will. Here is a new drawing I am really really proud of. I feel like I opened a door with stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying some new things, and I am happy with the results! I've had this idea of a girl with cupcake hair for a while, and decided that would be a cute idea for a Marie Antoinette inspired girl. so here she is! I am thinking she needs to be painted, but I guess we'll see if i could find time to start painting again. She's definitely going to be a Mother's Day gift for my dear Mom. She shares an affinity for pin ups and cartoony girls too!

I also submitted a drawing of Elektra I did for cornered blog. I did it really quickly and was surprised with the results. Check out the blog post by clicking the picture:
I also did Brooklyn Artists and Fleas with my friend Paigey, while it was a fun time and good exposure and experience, I don't think I would do that particular venue again. But i definitely want to do more craft fairs in the future, I just have to figure out which ones and where. Doing lots of research. I am also revamping my etsy page because I have some sweet merchandise that I made that I would like to sell. Will post about that in a separate entry soon!

Zatanna art and some updates

Hello all!
I recently completed a piece that I have been wanting to do for a long time. It's my first foray into drawing comic book characters, but I love this character so I wanted to draw her. It's a drawing of DC comics Zatanna. I was inspired by some beautiful posters at the Houdini: Art and Magic exhibit at The Jewish Museum in NYC about a month ago. I knew I wanted to do an old timey feeling magic or freak show poster, and also wanted to draw some fan art of DC comics Zatanna, so there you go. :)

So Fruity!

Happy April!
I have been busy working on lots of new art! I am participating in Girls Drawin Girls upcoming book, which i mentioned in the last post. The theme of the book is flora and fauna and I got apple. That drawing inspired me to work on a series of fruit themed pin ups! My loose inspiration was vintage fruit crate labels. I have four completed which I plan to sell as a print set. I love the way they turned out! Check em out! what do you think?


I am working on another series, which I don't want to talk about yet, but is different for me, but also a lot of fun.

Artist Spotlight and Wondercon

Hey look at that, my artist spotlight is up over at the girls drawin girls blog. yay! check it out!

also, I won't be there, but girls drawin girls will have a booth at Wondercon this year, and I have shipped them some fresh new merchandise, including new 8x10 prints and some 5x7 prints as well! So if you are in the area, check it out. I really need to make it over there for some conventions soon... so far away!

Wondercon 2011

April 1-3

Moscone Center South, San Francisco, CA

Girls Drawin Girls will be in the small press area, booth #1339

New Art

I have spent most of this year experimenting with new drawing techniques and themes and styles, and so far I am very happy with the result. I have also been revisiting my paper cut out artwork, which I have always loved to do and seemed to be my most popular. I still enjoy the more realistic style of artwork that I have been working on for many years, but I feel I am ready to try some new things while staying true to what I love. I have to say, my new gig with snapfish really helped me start to think outside of my usual style and I have enjoyed it a lot. I have amassed quite a collection of designs, and right now I am working on getting some products together to have a table at a craft fair! I am definitely interested in doing Brooklyn artists and fleas, and am pleased with what I have so far.
I also mentioned I am going to be participating in my very first book with Girls Drawin Girls, and I felt inspired to try something completely new, yet still recognizable as my own. The theme I had for the book was apples and here she is:
What do you think? I am loving her!
I've also been looking over my artwork past and present, and there doesn't seem to be much racial diversity :/ its not intentional, I just usually draw the same people (Bernie Dexter most of all) but its definitely become a priority to focus less on specific people.

I'm excited about doing new work and changing things up a bit! Maybe its the impending warmer weather?

Tumblr and some updates

So I am on tumblr now. I really for the life of me could not figure out how to use this and what it was about, but now I am finally getting it. For me, I am using it as a place to gather inspiration images and also display some of my artwork. It's nice to have a page to go to to look at all of my favorite things, especially when I am in need of some inspiration! I am very visual and looking at pretty things makes me happy!

check me out!

http://mariartist.tumblr.com/

Also, I will be participating in a Girls Drawin Girls book! Yay! Won't give away too many details yet, as I am still working on ideas and inspirations for what to draw--I want it to be really good, as it will be the first book my artwork will be featured in. Needless to say, I am very excited!

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all!
xoxo
Maria

February already?

Hello out there!
I have been neglecting my blog and I feel terrible about that. I have been pretty busy lately, and I haven't had a chance to do much new artwork! Any free time I have has gone to designing cards for my snapfish store. I added some new prints to my etsy, but they don't seem to be doing very well at all--Anybody out there have any tips and/ or suggestions on selling on etsy?
Anyway, I wanted to share some of my most recent designs for snapfish, because it seems I haven't ever really posted my designs on here, and I am quite proud of them. So check them out, and hop on over to my snapfish page if you want to see more, or even purchase one (some? hahaha)
For Valentines Day:
I am quite proud of this little owl design! It is selling so much better than I expected, as it is the top selling non-photo valentines day card on all of snapfish! I have also been selling 8x10 prints of this design on my etsy.
Here are some more Valentine's Day cards I designed.
there are, of course, many more cards in the works! I really wish I could be as successful selling my cards myself as I am on snapfish. Maybe one day!