Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I did this little cutie to celebrate. She is inspired by my favorite vintage greeting cards. I have some more art to post but that probably won't happen til the new year. Happy New Year to all! thanks for the support by reading my blog, coming to see me at conventions, liking my work on social media, commissioning me to do artwork and all the other ways that you support me. I really do appreciate it and it means a lot to me. Can't wait til 2015. I already have East Coast Comic Con lined up and lots of ideas for new work!

xoxox

Maria

I am having a Cyber Monday sale at my etsy site in case anybody is interested! 15% off everything in my store which right now includes tote bags, lots of prints, pin up coloring book and a Christmas greeting card. Happy Holidays to all!

Post NYCC and new art!

This is a little late but New York Comic Con has come and gone, and it was really fun and productive for me, but a little bit tiring! I would greatly benefit from better planning next year, like coming prepared with food etc. We had a great corner booth on the main floor which got a decent amount of traffic. I met a lot of great new people which is always fun for me. I also really enjoy preparing and coming up with new things to make and sell and new art to create. I work 9 hours a day plus commute creating artwork for a clothing company as my main job and as much as I enjoy drawing, sometimes I just want to come home and watch TV or hang out with friends instead of going home and doing more artwork, which is why I don't create as often as I would like sometimes. A big reason I like doing conventions is because it gives me a deadline on creating new artwork which I definitely need on those days and weekends when I am tired and don't feel very motivated to do new work.
Here's some pics of that weekend! we did fun outfits all three days which was really fun for me as I don't dress up for conventions or halloween very often.

Saturdays theme was retro GI joe

Formal theme! I was feeling a little under the weather that day.

anyway I went to see the movie the Book of Life for my birthday, and I loved it so much I felt compelled to do a drawing of, of course, Maria

 

Please check out my instagram and facebook for updates on art, as I post there a lot more often, and sometimes post stuff there that I don't get around to posting here :)

New York Comic Con is here!

just a friendly reminder, New York Comic Con is upon us! I'll be sharing a booth on the main floor with my friends Fenny from Little Asian Sweatshop and Paigey! so come check us out if you can! I'll have prints, silkscreens, totebags, buttons, mirrors and some other fun new items. I'll also be debuting this Batgirl print I did in honor of the new Batgirl comic by Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr. These NYCC exclusive prints are 5x7 matted to 8x10" and I'll only be selling these at NYCC!

so come check us out on the main floor!

new work

Just wanted to share some new work I have done the last few months!
First, I did this portrait commission as a surprise from one sister to another. Came out really nice and really made her birthday special! I am working on two commissions at the moment that are going to be really fun so watch out for those. I am also open to portrait commissions, please contact me on etsy!

 

Next I did a commission of Stargirl from DC comics! I am very happy with the way her outfit turned out!

also, don't forget! If you will be at New York Comic Con this year, I will be there with my friends little asian sweatshop and Paigey! we have a booth on the main floor this year. we will have adorable stuff for sale and will be in fun outfits all weekend long. hope to see some of you there!

The White Queen

I recently completed this painting for One Shot Gallery in New York City's upcoming show, Daughters of the Atom: An X-Women Exhibit opening in October. I chose to revisit a drawing I did of Emma Frost, as I really wanted to paint her vintage lingerie :) I am also working on a commission of three other X-Women, so stay tuned for that! This painting will be available for purchase through One-Shot Gallery when the show opens in October.

Emma Frost. Gouache on watercolor paper 8"x10"

sale time and New York Comic Con

Hello!
Hope everyone is having a nice summer. For a limited time I am doing a special sale at my etsy store, you can get all three 8"x10"Gotham villains-Catwoman, Harley and Ivy, or all three "Double Trouble"--Ivy, Harley, and Ivy and Harley together for $25 plus shipping! Check it out at my Etsy store. I am also still taking on commissions, I have one I am working on and then I am open.

click the picture to go to the listing!

Also, its still early, but I am going to sharing a sweet booth on the main floor of New York Comic Con with my pals Paigey and Fenny of Little Asian Sweatshop! I am super excited and nervous! Most importantly, I am getting busy making merch! I have some tote bags in the works as well as a tshirt design and some limited edition silk screened prints in addition to the usual merch I sell at conventions. Can't wait to see some of you there :)

Happy Summer!

Happy to kick off the summer with this super fun mermaid commission! I am accepting commissions this summer so please contact me on etsy if you are interested!

 

I am also taking a silk screening class at my alma mater, School of Visual Arts in NYC and am working on some new very limited edition hand screened poster prints as well as some limited edition tote bags and tshirts. Here is a quick picture I snapped of my first batch of test screen prints. These were just a test to get a feel for the process as well as getting registration down and using a few different techniques like half tones and transparencies. The registration isn't perfect on most of them, but it was a good first try! I may be putting the few of these that came out well on etsy soon as very limited edition prints.

Happy June and some new art

Happy June! let's hope its the start of a fabulous summer! I had this idea in my head for a while and finally got it out! Its Janine Melnitz from Ghostbusters 2. fun fact, that is the first movie I saw in the movie theaters when I was really little and is still one of my favorites, especially the scenes where Janine and Louis were babysitting Oscar. Prints are also available in my etsy store!

Ghostbusters, whaddaya want!?

New Painting and a gallery show

Hello all and happy summer!
I am going to be participating in a group show at One Shot gallery, located inside St. Marks comics here in NYC! The show is called "From Spawn to Saga: Image Comics at 22" and celebrates the books published by Image Comics. There will be an opening for the show on June 14th, I will be there! If you are in NYC swing by :)
So for my piece, I chose a comic I really really love, and is something a little different, Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower. I love this comic because its not only beautifully drawn, but the author really did his research and it is about as historically accurate as possible while still being really fun to read. Not to mention the clothing and hairstyles are really in line with art of the time. I suggest checking it out, you won't be disappointed.
The obvious choice for me would have been a pin up of Helen of Troy but I really enjoyed the story of young Achilles on Skyros. When Achilles was young, his mother Thetis had a vision that he was going to die in the Trojan war. To try to prevent this, she requested that King Lycomedes conceal him in his court amongst his twelve daughters. So young Achilles, the great warrior and Trojan war hero lived part of his life as a girl!
On a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of art I got inspired to base my work on the colors and motifs of ancient Greek Vases, since the comic seemed to take some inspiration from the vases too. I love the way this came out, and would love to do a little series of Greek Goddesses in this style. Being Greek, I have interested in Greek Mythology since I was a child, I have visited most of the major ancient Greek sites during summer trips to visit family, so doing something Greek felt great. For years and years I have had the idea of Goddesses in my head, even working out details with my classics expert sister, but didn't feel ready to work on it. Doing this painting pushed me to do something slightly different and now I feel ready!

asbury park comic con

Hello! As I mentioned earlier, I will be exhibiting at Asbury Park Comic Con in New Jersey this weekend, April 12 and 13th! The convention will take place at the Berkeley Oceanfront hotel in Asbury, New Jersey. I'll be at table A104. clicky for more information!

 

I have been trying to come up with some new fun stuff to sell in addition to my prints and coloring book and I have designed some new magnets, mirrors, wooden brooches, and i'll be selling a couple of framed original mini gouache paintings. Once they are gone, they are gone, I won't be making prints of these! I am hoping to add at least 2 more, while of course, working my full time job with no days off. Nothing like super last minute prep! Hope to see you there!

Here is a little peep at what to expect:

 

original framed 4"x6" paintings

 

wooden brooches

Xena: Warrior Princess

I forgot to share this drawing of Xena I did a couple months back! I used to watch Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess when I was younger, and I really loved both, especially how silly and funny they were. I also liked Xena because she wasn't a damsel in distress, and that kind of character was pretty rare on tv then, and still is! Anyway, here is a little portrait of Xena I did. Its available as a print on Etsy :)

Painting and some updates!

can't believe its been 2 months since I posted!
I have been doing some fun artwork that I have been posting to my facebook page and to my instagram account (follow me there for more updates!) but I recently finished this painting that I am pretty proud of. Its a rework of an older design that never really felt finished to me. I have been wanting to practice my gouache skills more because I was painting in oils for so long that anything else is a little bit difficult for me. I have a ways to go but I am pretty happy with this painting. I am having a hard time scanning in my paintings, as the colors never come out the way the actual painting looks in real life. I  have had even worse luck with this painting, so this is a crappy iphone picture I edited a little in photoshop but its still off. Hopefully I'll get a new scanner soon so I can share my original paintings better.

Supergirl, gouache on watercolor paper 7"X10"

in other news I am going to be exhibiting at asbury park comic con in New Jersey this April 12-13! First convention on my own! I am excited but nervous as well. I will post more details as the convention approaches.