27 / Lennon

I've been working like mad lately on custom, screen printed wedding invitations (which I can't wait to show off soon!) so I am pretty excited to take a little break tonight and go to the 27 Release Party tonight. For those who don't know (although it seems that's not too many people) 27 is a comic written by Charles Soule, whom my husband and I had the pleasure of meeting a few years ago in New York City comics circles. The story centers on the guitarist of a hugely popular band who suddenly, at age 27, mysteriously loses his talent. 

The covers of 27 have all referenced famous photos of rock musicians, so I thought I'd do my own version on the theme, and present my 27 / Lennon sketch in time for tonight's party. I have been meaning to paint this idea for some time, and I am really looking forward to finishing it, as soon as my brides are taken care of. And then I've gotta do a Strongman piece! Rock on, people!

The Kills

The husband and I are going to see The Kills tonight at Terminal 5 in Manhattan– a pretty awesome blues-rock band comprised of Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince. Blood Pressures, The Kills' recently released forth album, has won a lot of praise from critics for being sexy, edgy, dark and fun. We saw Allison Mosshart play with Jack White in the Dead Weather last year, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing her play with her original musical soulmate.

I did a pencil sketch portrait of the duo that I'll be finishing as a mixed media piece soon. Now, I've gotta go get ready to rock!

For ALL the Lovers, Revisited.

I haven't posted in a while, since I've been working on a few fun things I can't show just yet. Then I realized I hadn't finished up this sketch I had started on Valentine's Day! I had originally wanted to post three Valentine's Day sketches featuring superheroes, one of a hetero couple (for which I chose Big Barda and Mister Miracle) one of a lesbian couple, and one of a gay couple.

Unfortunately there's not a long list (okay, it's crazy-short) of gay superhero characters to choose from, but a recent addition is Kate Kane, aka Batwoman– who's become a pretty major character for DC Comics. She also has a really badass get-up. Also on the DC line-up is Renee Montoya, a former Gotham City police officer and currently operating as the Question. Kate and Renee once had a relationship, and so I thought I'd do a little tribute of what they once had (and may have again...?).

And don't worry, fellas, I still plan on doing a sketch for you, too! <3

For All the Lovers Out There...

...hope you enjoyed this year's mandatory date-night holiday. My celebration of Valentine's Day involved drawing one of my favorite super-hero couples: Big Barda and Mister Miracle. They are pretty damn awesome, designed by the legendary Jack Kirby, and I don't care if they are technically dead right now– their love lives on!

Wolverine!

I've been painting and doing a lot of vector art lately, and felt like using my g-pen and some ink for a change. I've also been drawing lots o' ladies lately, which I love, but I felt like I needed to switch it up and draw some arm hair. Hence: Wolverine!

We all know he's a bad mother, and not one to mess with– especially if you interrupt his cigar break. Wait, what? He doesn't smoke cigars anymore because it's a bad influence on kids? Oh. Well in any case, he could disembowel a baddie in two seconds flat, and if that's not good for the kids I dunno what is!

Capricorn

I am a little late with this next Zodiac piece, and I blame the Christmas spirit! Actually, I did get caught up in holiday hub-bub and getting my new website in order, but hey– it's still Capricorn's time. (Don't pay any attention to that "new horoscope" nonsense.) Gotta get this one painted soon though; I wouldn't want the Capricorns to feel slighted!

Shop Your Closet: Holiday Edition!

The holidays are a time for parties and get-togethers, and those usually involve dressing up. The husband and I usually have a holiday shin-dig at our place, and I'm always happy when awesome people like my buddy Jamie can make it. While all of the ladies at the party were quite well dressed, I chose Jamie to guest-star on Shop Your Closet because it's a great way to illustrate how important personal style is.

Jamie and I go way back– to about 7th grade, and it's safe to say that even then we had very different personal styles. Over the years, as I wore everything from baggy jeans and boy's flannels to red pleather pants and corset tops, and from peace sign necklaces to spiked cuff bracelets, Jamie's style tended to stay a little more grounded.

Nowadays, when home working I'm always in a tee shirt and jeans, but I still have a more flashy style when it comes to special occasions. And while Jamie can certainly rock a cute dress, she's most comfortable in, well, comfortable clothes. Comfortable, of course, definitely doesn't have to mean boring or less stylish, which brings me to Jamie's look at the holiday party: a pair of dark skinny jeans paired with a cozy but flattering red & blue plaid flannel, and to top it all off– a great pair of tall brown riding boots. Plus, the outfit looked great with Jamie's new shorter haircut.

I usually like to buy a whole new outfit to wear for the party; however, that was not a financially sound idea this year. I went through my closet and realized I had a super-cute green silk tiered ruffle top that I got back in the summer on a super-sale from Victoria's Secret, and that it would be perfect for the holiday party. I had only worn it a few times, and I planned on dressing it up even more for the holiday party. I paired it with black linen shorts, new lace "leggings" (there's that shorts in winter look again!) and of course, my favorite shoes: my grey Jeffrey Campbell booties. So I only bought one new piece of clothing for the party, and it's a very versatile piece.

So the lesson for today is: whether your style is extravagant or classic, make sure you're comfortable in your clothes, and you'll look great! (Unless you're a man wearing "jeggings". Even if it feels good, don't do it.)

Kitty Pryde Kicks Ass!

So, I haven't posted in a while, due to holiday craziness and feeling under-the-weather, but I did want to post the finished drawing for my new Kitty Pryde painting– whoo hoo! I'm super-psyched to paint this– and I've gotta do my next Zodiac piece, and another Shop Your Closet post and bake that apple crumb pie, and wrap those presents, and make those brussels sprouts...and...and...

Shop Your Closet: Guest-Starring Caitlin!

When I married the wonderful Tom Valente, I not only got a great husband, I got his great family, too! And the best part is, after always being the youngest (of three brothers, of all first-cousins) I finally had two younger sisters. Okay, Vanessa is only 6 months younger than me and is definitely more mature than me, but Caitlin is 12 years younger than me. Whoo hoo! Someone to torture and boss around as had been done to me as a child! Except that Caitlin is a super-cool kid and we get along great. Oh, well. I guess I'll have to save the torture for my future children. Anyway, now that Caitlin is growing up, she's getting more sure of her personal style, and I have to say, I approve!

One of the trends I like right now is the shorts-with-tights look, and it's a great way to Shop Your Closet, since you can keep wearing your shorts in a new way for another season. I have a cute pair of trouser-like tailored shorts that are off-black with golden pinstripes. Last year I found a really cute tee at the Brooklyn Flea that's black with a sparkly gold silkscreen of an cartoon child and panda on a rocket (awesome, right?). I cut a wide neck and cap sleeves on the standard box tee to give it a better shape. Add fishnets and my old brown motorcycle boots and bam! you've got a cute fall/winter outfit.

Caitlin's look is also a cool trend right now–the romper–another all-season pick, because as fun as it is in the summer with cute sandals, it's pretty awesome how Caitlin wore it this Fall. She paired her dark grey/black romper with a white ribbed tank, sheer dark hose, light grey leg warmers (another fave of mine) and awesome super-shiny patent leather heels. Perfect! I'm looking forward to seeing what new outfits Cait comes up with, and I'm sure she'll be guest-starring on Shop Your Closet again soon.

*Disclaimer: while I draw myself much skinnier and prettier than I am in real life, I assure you that Caitlin is more beautiful than my drawings of her. ;)

Zodiac Series: Sagittarius Sketch

Here's my sketch for the latest piece in my Zodiac series. From here on I will be doing the pieces as the signs are coming up, and Sagittarius is the sign that falls from November 23rd – December 21st. Sagittarius is a fire sign and the symbol associated with it is the archer. Can't wait to paint!

Meow!

This is the sketch for my new Catwoman piece, which will be completed by this weekend, and you can grab (but not steal!) your very own print of it at KING CON Brooklyn! Hope to see you there, hepcats and cool kittens!

Zodiac Series

One of my next projects will be a series of Zodiac pin-ups, done as vignette-style paintings. I'm doing this project for a few reasons: I love drawing and painting sexy girls with a twist, I get a kick out of the Zodiac and horoscopes (maybe because, as any of my friends or family could tell you, I am *slightly* bull-headed and I just so happen to be a Taurus) and it requires research on animals, nature and fashion.

Sounds good until I start my next musician/band illustration...will it be Peaches, of Montreal, Die Antwoord...or perhaps something a little more classic, like Springsteen, Bowie or the Clash? I dunno, but in the meantime, check your horoscope!

Leeloo

Wow! I haven't blogged in a while. That's pretty lame, but what isn't lame is randomly happening upon a decent movie on TV, especially when you only get 12 channels! I happened upon The Fifth Element on TV the other day and I was psyched. It's such a fun sci-fi/action movie, and it's really visually interesting. So of course, I had to draw Leeloo, the beautiful and kooky "perfect being" (played by Milla Jovovich) that Bruce Willis' character can't help but fall in love with.

The funny thing is, the movie did predict some future (albeit only about 10 years into the future) fashion trends, such as gold lame leggings, neon colors, and crop tops— all of which have been coming back into fashion to some degree lately...for better or worse.

Shop Your Closet! Special Guest Edition!It's another edition of "Shop Your Closet", and it's a special guest edition, featuring my buddy Anna. We recently got together for our friends Rob & Michelle's going away send-off, and I decided to wear an item I've never worn before, even though I've had it for a couple of years!

It's a super-cute Mexican dress that I got at, of all places, Disney World. It's bright red with white flower embroidery, but worn by itself it's a little but too "abuela" for going out to a hip bar, so I put one of my many American Apparel jersey scarves to use and wrapped it around my hips to add a little more shape to the dress. The bright turquoise scarf looked killer against the red and white of the dress. And I had the perfect necklace to match– a really cool turquoise resin "invisible" necklace my hubby Tom had gotten me as a Valentine's Day gift from the MoMA store. Add casual leather flip-flops and I was ready for margaritas outside.

My friend Anna works in the fashion industry, and she's always looking cute. That night was the first time I saw her new bleach-blond 'do, and it looked great with her cropped cut. I'm sure some details of her outfit are off, but from what I remember she had on a cute strapless maxi dress in an orangey-red with an off-white pattern. She wore a white crochet vest over the dress and a brown belt cinching the vest at the waist. The new 'do and the breezy summery outfit Anna had on were also perfect for drinking outside on a hot summer night, and saying farewell to good friends.

So if you have something in your closet you've never worn– get it on! You just might get a few compliments.

Roaring Vamps

So it's been a while since my last post (my bad!) but I'm coming back in style with a sketch of Pearl from the new Vertigo series American Vampire. So far it's a pretty cool story, with cowboy outlaws, Hollywood damsels, old-world Euro-trash and good amounts of bloody gore. Something for everyone! The art by Rafael Albuquerque is pretty awesome, as well.
I certainly love 1920's style (my wedding dress was by Jenny Packham :) so it was lots of fun to come up with an outfit for Pearl. I'm sure I'll be drawing more of her in the future.

Sketch Mondays: It's Hot in NYC!No day off for me! ;) Another ice cream-themed sketch for your viewing pleasure. Maybe I need to get myself a creamsicle. Happy start of summer, everyone!

Ice Cream Season Has Begun!

Just a quick sketch to celebrate the kick-off of summer! Hope you are enjoying the beach, a park, your yard, or at least an ice cream cone this weekend!

Sketch Mondays!

So, I've been neglecting the blog for a bit. Busy with the yard, family, business etc. But in an effort to be more consistent with blogging, I present to you all "Sketch Mondays"! I will be posting a sketch, whether it's just pencil rough, or a more finished Copic marker & Pitt pen character study [such as Snowbird here], every Monday for sure, and hopefully in-between Mondays as well. Let me know whatcha think!
Snowbird is a Marvel comics superhero and a member of the group Alpha Flight. I grew up perusing my older brothers comics, and Alpha Flight was a book that was always around. I guess I took to Snowbird because she's a pretty girl who can turn into cool animals, like snow owls, foxes or polar bears. I just read the Wikipedia page on her and found her origin story completely convoluted (not surprising!) so I won't even try to get into it. But she is sort-of Native American, I think, so I tried to give her features a very slight Native look.

Year of the Tiger!This Sunday is Valentine's Day, but it also happens to be the Lantern Festival, the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations. And it's the Year of the Tiger– and who can deny that tigers are super-cool? That's right, no one. This sketch was done with ink and copic markers.

Sexy Space Cadets!Here's the preliminary sketch for my next piece, a sexy alien babe and a studly space captain. (A tribute to my love of Star Trek, Star Wars, Futurama, X-Men, etc., born from growing up with three nerdy older brothers.) I'm working on the sweet alien-planet background now. Can't wait to start color! This is going to be a really fun one.