Stephanie Buscema's Blog

2/6 Update

2012-02-06T08:31:00.000-05:00

A few new pieces from the past week or so. I've been working on brushing up my portfolio work for 2012, simplifying and pushing myself mostly. I'll be focusing more on spot illustrations, books covers and posters in the next couple of months. The Paris piece is a collaboration with my husband, Rob (I love when we put our heads together on fun projects), he'll be laying in the lettering, etc. We're aiming to create around three vintage inspired travel posters we'll be selling as limited prints, probably in the spring.

I also had the pleasure of creating cover art for the new Adventure Time comics Boom! Studios is putting out. The image below is for the third issue, I had so much fun with it!

Comics, every Saturday Morning!

2012-01-14T10:41:00.001-05:00

This morning is the debut of Saturday Morning Webtoons, a site full of amazing webcomics! Every Saturday morning, creators involved will be posting new updated content (all ages material) to the site. We've all worked hard to make this happen and I'm so honored to be part of this!

I've been working on writing (a first for me!) and drawing a comic called The Little Tales of Otto & Olive, the strange adventures and life of a little girl and her speaking black cat friend. I wanted to come up with something that looked cute and inviting, but could turn into something a little spooky when I needed it to. This is kind of my curio cabinet of oddities, a way to introduce kids to ghosts, monsters, the bizarre and unusual (without being too scary!). I hope you'll stop by and check it out!

You can visit Otto & Olive on Saturday Morning Webtoons and on Otto-Olive.com!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-04T09:23:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! While I love the holidays, I'm thrilled that December is over-what a whirlwind month. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done around the holidays (both work and personal), even if you get a head start on everything. However, it was a great end to a very insane, stressful and draining 2011. I'm so excited to start a fresh, new year on a positive note!

A few quick updates since my last post:

New website! I couldn't be happier with the new look of the site. Rob (my husband and extremely talented dude) makes me look good, his clean and stylish design really makes my paintings POP! on the site. I've got tons of new art to update on the site, come have a look.

New comics! I was lucky enough to be involved with a project called Shame Itself back in November, for Marvel. I had a short story in the book written by fabulous funny lady, Sarah Benincasa, read more about it here!

I've got a few new things up my sleeve on the comic front. Some really fun cover work that I'm thrilled about, hopefully to be unveiled in the coming months. I've also been hard at work on something of my own (finally!). I'm writing, drawing and painting a creator owned web comic that will be a real thing in about 2 weeks! This is something totally new for me (doing all the drawing, painting, writing and lettering chores) and something I should have done for myself long ago. I'll be posting some little teaser images on here next week, so be sure to stay tuned :)

Picture Books! I'm so excited to have not one but TWO picture books I've illustrated out this year! Both are up for pre-order on Amazon (My First Ghost & Pugs in a Bug) and I will be posting like crazy around the release dates (I apologize ahead of time ;) ).

Conventions for 2012! Not doing too many shows this year, but beyond thrilled to be participating in the ones we are attending! First up will be Boston Comic Con, April 21-22nd then we're off to Heroes Con, June 22nd-24th. Can't wait! I'll be accepting painted commissions pre-show only (for pick up at the shows), up until a month before the cons start. Please feel free to email me (sbuscema@gmail.com) anytime between now and then to get on the list for a painting. Speaking of commissions, the image at the top is a large commission from last month, painted for a very kind and patient gentleman! I had so much fun with this piece, thrilled it went to a great home.

I think that's it for now. Wishing everyone a great start to 2012, here's to a fabulous year! xo

Vintage Hats

2011-11-14T08:51:00.004-05:00

I'm on a fashion illustration/accessories kick! Worked up a few little hat studies for fun this weekend, they kind of came out looking like lady head vases. I'd love to paint a sheet of vintage style gloves and shoes, too. Below are a few neat hat photos, mostly from the 1940's. I just love the structural quality of these hats, the mix of materials and they way they can transform a look.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:12:00.000-04:00

It's finally here! Wishing everyone a very Happy Halloween xo

A Treat (not a trick)! Halloween "Mixtapes"

2011-10-28T08:06:00.008-04:00

This month has flown by, crazy to think it's the LAST weekend in October already. That being said, I've decided to save my last painting for sharing on Halloween instead of today. However, I made y'all a Halloween mix tape! That's right, I slaved over a hot computer to compile my favorite spooky themed Punk, Rockabilly, Reggae, Garage and Psychobilly songs. Click the links below to have a listen:

Halloween 2011 Mixtape, Part 1!

Halloween 2011 Mixtape, Part 2!

If you like what you hear, all songs and albums are available for purchase on iTunes. Happy listening! xo

Halloween Countdown, WEEK 3: The Candy Bowl!

2011-10-21T08:07:00.001-04:00

What would Halloween be without the treats, right?? Had a lot of fun painting this one up, only one more week to go! xo

Halloween Countdown, Week 2: Arachnida!

2011-10-12T16:50:00.001-04:00

Week Two of the countdown!

Posting a little earlier this week, as we'll be at NYCC Friday and Saturday. For this week, I've painted Arachnida, the human-spider! She was played by Edna Tichenor in Tod Browning's The Show (1927). Visually, she scared the hell out of me in this movie, yet she was so cute! I posted a few pictures form the movie below, to give you an idea of what she looked like in the film.

I've posted a few of these Halloween paintings for sale in my Etsy shop, along with some prints for sale. Please stop by and check em' out. Hope you enjoyed this weeks painting, check back next Friday for a new post! xo

Halloween Countdown, Week 1: The Witch!

2011-10-07T08:02:00.000-04:00

The Halloween countdown has started! I'll be posting some creepy art here every Friday until the big day. The witch above was inspired by some old paper Halloween decorations I had come across in a book (I think 1930's era?). The decoration was a bold orange and black haggard old witch wearing some goggles and flying on her broom. I hadn't painted a pinup witch yet, so here you have it! :)

Please be sure to stop by next week for more Halloween goodness! xo

Halloween Countdown 2011!

2011-09-19T08:07:00.002-04:00

With October right around the corner, we've been preparing for the big day...Halloween! Last year, I did a countdown of sorts, posting a monster movie pinup painting each week in October leading up to 31st. It was so much fun and got such a great response, I've decided to challenge myself again this year. I'll be posting a new Horror/Halloween themed painting here each week and can't wait to get started! At the end of the countdown the pieces will be available for purchase and we might have some art prints made as well. Please check back soon! xo

Boo!

2011-08-11T18:13:00.000-04:00

For the past year and change I've been working hard on illustrating a pretty unique picture book. When I got the script a few years ago, pictures started coming into my head instantly and knew I had to work on it. The book is called My First Ghost, written my Maggie Miller and Michael Leviton and will be published with Disney/Hyperion books. The book reads as sort of an instructional on "how to take care of your ghost", and isn't your run of the mill picture book by any means (that's why I liked it so much!).

I've posted a few images of the interior paintings to give you feel for the book. It was a fun challenge playing with the sheet white ghost against pops of color throughout the pages. I couldn''t leave any of the pages white or light in color in fear of the ghost getting lost, so it really challenged my color combination skills-to make each page/spread look fresh, bold, but not too bold. I'm really excited about it and hope you'll check it out when it hits the shelves just in time for Halloween, 2012!

Pee-Wee Herman Tribute Art Show!

2011-08-04T09:06:00.003-04:00

The Pee-Wee Herman Tribute show at Gallery1988 is up! You can view the show online here. A bunch of really great pieces are hanging at their Venice CA location until August 19th. Above is my little vintage Valentine inspired contribution, painted in gouache on watercolor paper.

After painting the piece, I got a few ideas for making a little set of Valentine card illos for February!

1969 Catwoman!

2011-07-28T08:40:00.002-04:00

Quick post this morning! I just wanted to share a commission painting I completed this week, one I had entirely too much fun making. I love Catwoman, and when asked to paint her in one of her outfits from 69' I jumped on it. I adore her bobbed hair and Go-Go girl-esque look, below are some images of her during her appearance in comics during this time. I believe this look lasted from 1969 to the mid seventies.

Art Show & Store Update

2011-07-10T13:05:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

So far this summer been crazy busy (in a good way!). I'm currently finishing up my fourth picture book for Disney/Hyperion and hopping on a super fun comic project in August with one of my most favorite writers! I can't wait to share more info and I'll post some images as soon as I can.

My commission list has filled up for the rest of the summer, but I'll be accepting a new list of requests mid September. However, I've reopened my Etsy shop and am offering ten new paintings for sale. Please drop by and take a look around!

On the Gallery front, I'll be doing a bunch more shows with Gallery 1988 (at both their Melrose and Venice locations) in the coming months through 2012. The next show up is a Pee-Wee Herman themed show, flier below! I'm SO stoked and will post the image of the piece as soon as I can :)

In the meantime, my "Little Vampira" painting (above) will be available for sale through the Gallery 1988 website. It was painted for the "Crazy 4 Cult 5" art show, which will be hanging in their Melrose Gallery until July 30th.

Tattooed Ladies & Little Golden Books

2011-06-30T14:38:00.006-04:00

Cindy Ray

Flashback to 16 years old, about to get my first tattoo. I was in the chair, underage, sweating bullets and nervous as all hell. I knew if my mom found out she'd crucify me. When I had expressed the slightest desire to get tattooed things like "How will you walk down the isle with tattoos all over your arms?!" and "Nice girls don't get tattooed!" were said, usually in a very loud and disapproving tone. The shop was wallpapered with 1970's and 80's flash art, cracked skulls, women with huge teased out hair, a plethora Tasmanian devils and garishly colored floral arrangements. But hanging on the far corner wall of the shop was something that seemed to stick out. Two or three pieces of yellowed paper covered with timeless looking images, ladies with flowers in their hair, ships and bold flowers. They were reproductions of some very old flash art from a tattooer named August "Cap" Coleman. I needed to find out more about the history of tattooers and tattooed people.

The tattoo machine hit my skin and a feeling of calm set in. Oh this was bad. Not only did it hurt like hell, but I knew I was going to be hooked.

Betty Broadbent

I started researching and found pictures of Sideshow attractions/performers, lady tattooers and tattooed ladies. Betty Broadbent, Lady Viola, Stella Grassman, and the fabulous Cindy Ray. There was something really empowering, romantic and intriguing about the photographs of these women. They looked confident, exotic, playful, strong and feminine. I felt some sort of connection to the photographs I was looking at. I was always told growing up that tattoos were for men and seeing these photographs proved all those statements to be false. That was it, I wanted to be a tattooed lady.

Over the past 13 years I've gotten my share of tattoo work done, but only in the past 6 or so years have I really made the commitment to myself to be more selective about the tattoo work I would get in the future. I knew I wanted sleeves, but it had to be the right artist. I saved money, did my research and recently found the right artist to work with. During those 6 years I feel like I've accomplished something that I thought I'd never be able to do-become a children's book illustrator. It still comes as a shock and I have to pinch myself once and while. I felt that my next tattoo piece had to be related to picture books in some way!

Stella and Deafy Grassman

My most favorite artists all time go back to the Little Golden books of my youth. Mary Blair, Alice and Martin Provensen, JP Miller and of course, Richard Scarry. I adore the work of these artists so much, without their influence and work I wouldn't have had the drive or desire to pursue illustrating picture books. The colorful images they produced had such warmth and upon viewing, seemed to transport you to another world they had created. Their work and style was/is extremely inventive and you could make up your own stories just by looking at the illustrations alone. One of my very first picture books was a Richard Scarry book, I also had a tiny Richard Scarry library tote that I cherished. I can remember frequenting the local library with my Mom, filling up my tiny tote bag (with Lowly Worm and Huckle Cat!) with picture books to bring home and get lost in. The choice for my tattoo was made, Richard Scarry it was!

I had decided to get an actual Little Golden Book tattooed, including part of the illustration for Richard Scarry's Naughty Bunny (left). I love this book, and sadly, I don't think it would be published today for multiple reasons. I felt it was perfect for the piece. I wanted something on me to be a constant reminder of why I wanted to pursue this field: to make a solid book and piece of art, to push myself and create something the viewer could get lost in. Recently I have made the decision to try to self publish a picture book on my own and these old books have been my inspiration. It may take me a lot of time to reach my goal, but I have a constant reminder on my arm to encourage me to do so.

Tattoo by Grez, Kings Ave Tattoo, NYC

June Update

2011-06-13T08:10:00.001-04:00

Hello! We've been back from Heroes Con about a week now and busy playing catch up with work and projects. I want to thank everyone at Heroes for having me at the show, it was a great experience and we'd definitely like to come back next year! Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to stop by our table and checked out my paintings and prints. We had a blast! Above is an image of the painting I made for the art auction at the con, I'm so happy the piece went to a good home :)

I'm going to be plowing through a bunch of projects the next few months, all of which are really exciting for me! I'll be wrapping up my fourth picture book next month and moving on to a handful of fun comic projects. I'll post more about that as soon as I can.

Below is the flier for one of the two shows at Gallery1988 I'll be involved in this summer. If you aren't familiar with shows at G1988, I urge you to check them out! They always have such a great variety of artists and really fun theme shows running.

Next up: Heroes Con!

2011-05-19T09:37:00.000-04:00

With only about 2 weeks to go, we're gearing up to head to NC for Heroes Con! It'll be our first time there and we're really looking forward to it. We'll be set up in Indie Island for the weekend and will have a ton of prints, original art and some little pin packs for sale. I'll also be painting a batch of little 8"x 8" watercolor sketches, those will be first come first serve over the weekend. Teenage Satan will also be set up at the show! Please stop by the table and check out the project-there will be shirts and art prints for sale, too!

Below are a few of the pre-ordered commissions I painted for the show. Enjoy and hope to see you there! xo

Home Sweet Hell

2011-05-09T19:12:00.003-04:00

Kitchen of Satan (above) gouache/cel-vinyl

Sketches for the Gates of Hell

It's been a little more then a week since our announcement at Boston Comic Con. Marsha Cooke, Candis Cooke and myself announced our upcoming collaborative project, Teenage Satan! A cross platform web comic, app, game that will be updated daily. We've all been working our tails off the last few months pulling it all together. We kicked off the announcement with a trailer of T.S. animated by Darwyn Cooke (click here to view), followed by an awesome night at the launch party, featuring a burlesque performance by the Boston Babydolls! All of the positive response and support from friends, family and fans has just been amazing, and if I didn't get a chance to personally thank you for your support, I send x's and o's! And also a big thanks to everyone who took the time to give us a shout out online, on their blog, twitter or website. Once September hits you will not be disappointed!

I figured I'd whip up a little blogpost featuring some of the paintings used in the animation, etc. I have to admit, I've never been given this much freedom to paint a project from the ground up before. It's been both a learning experience and experiment, one of which I (we all!) really put my (our) heart into. The girls really let me go to town, allowing me to create the sets/backgrounds and characters. When I finally sat down to paint the first sequential comic page after laying out all these little pieces, it was kind of an emotional moment for me! I'm really excited to be able to have the freedom to make art traditionally for this project and have it viewed digitally. I hope you enjoy skimming through these images and please stay tuned for updates (sign up for updates at teenagesatan.com!) and the release this September!

Hades High (above), gouache/cel-vinyl

House of Satan (below) gouache/cel-vinyl

rough thumbnails for the House of Satan, gouache/cel-vinyl

The Family Room, gouache/cel-vinyl

Luc Satan in his room, rocking out!

Go-Go Ghouls!

2011-04-25T13:22:00.000-04:00

I wanted to do a quick post and share these images I cooked up last week. Being inspired by a commission (the blue girl on the bottom), sparked an idea for some creepy burlesque dancer paintings. I could paint these 7 days a week and never get sick of it-expect more soon! I'll be making prints of these three and bringing a very limited number with me up to Boston Comic Con this coming weekend. Hope you dig!

Pugs! And Bugs!

2011-03-29T11:54:00.003-04:00

When I was approached 2009 and asked work with children's book author, Carolyn Crimi, I jumped at the chance! Being a huge fan of her work, I was honored to be asked to illustrate one of her amazing books. The title? Pugs In a Bug (yes, VW bug!). The concept and script is incredibly fun, full of life and really let me go to town with color, landscapes, characters, details, etc. After about 2 years of concept art to sketches to final, it was completed last week!

I don't think I can say too much right now, but I was given permission to share some of the painted images/spreads from the book (above, one below). All the art was painted with Gouache and animation paint on heavy watercolor paper.

Below is some of the rough concept art I worked out at the start of the project: some color background thumbnails and a character design. There is a ton more, I'll post in the future! Pugs in a Bug will be out Spring 2012, written by author Carolyn Crimi and published by Dial Books for Young Readers.

Art shows, new paintings and an interview

2011-03-01T18:36:00.005-05:00

To kick things off for March, I was asked to contribute some art for a Tarot themed show over at Bear And Bird Gallery. The opening is March 5th and there are a ton of great artists involved. The flier and info is below:

I'll be involved in a few shows over at 1988 Gallery starting in the coming summer months. I'm looking forward to sharing the themes of the shows and will post more as soon as I can! In other news, the folks over at Heroes were kind enough to feature me on their blog for a Guest Spotlight interview, you can check it out here. I'm so super excited to be involved in Heroes Con this June!

Below is a Spider-Girl commission I painted up recently and at the very top is a cute little owl painting I made for a very special little girl (for her 1st Birthday!). Figured I'd post them up here and share.

Art update and Upcoming Convention info!

2011-02-22T09:36:00.003-05:00

Once again, I've lost track of time and neglected the blog for a little bit. Lots of crazy (but awesome) things are in the go and happening. For one, I'll be attending (and I'll even have a table!) both Boston Con (April 30-May 1) and Heroes Con (June 3-June 5) this year and we've been preparing some great stuff for both!

Boston Con will be VERY special for a bunch of reasons. One being, we'll be announcing a new project-something we've all been working on really hard for the past few months. It's a bit of a baby to me and I can't wait to talk more about it and share some of the concept art. I'm kind of in love with it :)

As for merch and original art available at the cons:
We have a hand full of art prints we've been working hard on, as well as some smaller merch (pin packs, etc). Below is one of the monster model kit art prints we'll be selling, it'll be a small run of numbered and signed prints on fancy schmancy paper. We'll also have a limited ed. "Rockin' Bones" pin pack (below).

So aside from these prints and things, I'll have a few pieces of original art with me. After thinking a lot about it, I've decided I just can't do full color gouache paintings at a con. It's just way too much lugging art supplies (most I'm sure will be taken away by the TSA at airports) and I fear it will be pretty stressful/messy. I MIGHT just do very simple/small sketches with a quick watercolor wash over them at the actual con, but we'll see. It all depends on how crazy (obsessive compulsive) I get ;) For now, I'll be bringing some pre mades with me.

I've got a very limited number of full color 8"x8" bust paintings that will be up for grabs at both cons. I'm pretty slammed/booked with commissions and if you've got a request, please e-mail it to me in the next 2 weeks or so (sbuscema@gmail.com). Below are just a few of the 8x8 color paintings I'll have for sale. Again, I can only paint so many in time for the con, so come pick it up early if you dig em'!

I'll be sure to update the blog as soon as I find out exactly where our table will be! For Heroes Con we'll be in Indie Island. More info soon! xo

January commissions, a quick update & stuff!

2011-01-20T08:42:00.007-05:00

So far 2011 has been awesome (let's keep this up!), the year started off on the right foot with some fun work, participating in a great art show out in LA (pieces are up for sale here) and a ton of new commissions. It's been fun taking on some extra commissions this winter, I think I'll continue to do so until convention season starts for us (we'll be at Boston con and Heroes con this year and we'll have a TABLE! Woo!)! Doing these personal pieces reminds me how much I love my job-I'm posting three of my favorites above and below (Vampirella, WW and Bettie Page). Perhaps someday someone will let me paint Vampi or WW in sequential form? A girl can dream, right??!

Back about eight months ago, I was asked by Fantasy Art Magazine in Asia, if I'd like to be featured in their magazine for a big article. Of course I said yes, I was beyond honored that they thought so highly of my work. I happily did an interview and bio, as well as provided them with a ton of art. Well, I was head over heels when the magazine arrived last week-holy cow! They did a gorgeous job-I'm so blown away

So as of right now, I'm working on some new collaborative projects I can't quite talk about just yet-it's insanely exciting (I don't think I've ever been this excited about a project before)-it's going to rock so much. What I CAN say is, something really special is going to go down at Boston con...I will post more as I can and I'll be posting more about the upcoming cons I'm going to in the next few months, too. I'm still indecisive about bringing my paints along to the cons-so I may take a commission list before the show and bring the finishes with me. More soon! xo

Is This Thing On? at Gallery1988!

2010-12-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

If you're in LA January 7th, please stop by the opening reception for "Is This Thing On?"a tribute show to comedians! With so many amazing artists involved, you'd be crazy not to check out the show. Above is the flier listing all the artists involved, can't wait to see what everyone came up with!

Sadly, I won't be able to make it to the west coast for the opening, but will have a few pieces hanging and for sale. I'll try and post images as the show goes up. xo

Some commissions from December!

2010-12-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

A quick post before all the holiday craziness this week and next! Lots going on this month, between new projects being planned, a truckload of commissions, upcoming art shows all while trying to balance the daily freelance gigs. Above and below are two of the commissions completed this month! The Hank Williams piece (above) was painted for the super awesome artist (and super nice guy!), Jonathon Kimbrell, of Napkin Art Studios. Being a music lover too, this was a total treat to paint. Jonathon wrote a really nice blog post about the piece here.

Another piece which I really enjoyed painting was for Ron Lim, who has one of the best Spider-Man art collections, ever! You can view his collection here. He asked for a painting of Spider-Man surrounded by all the love interests in Peter Parker's life. Really had fun with this and honored to have one of my pieces in his collection of greats.

Next week I'll be posting some info about a big show I'm excited to be involved in, over at Gallery1988 in Los Angeles. Stoked to be kicking off 2011 with an art show! xo

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-08T12:03:00.000-05:00

Wishing all my friends and family a wonderful holiday season! xo

Home Sweet Home

2010-11-15T11:46:00.002-05:00

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted in awhile. Also, I never got a chance to finish up my round of Halloween pin-ups from last month! This is all because we moved. Yeap, we moved into our very first house! We wound up closing on our little house a bit earlier then expected and decided to pack it up and move in sooner rather then later.

The story of our house is a bit strange...well not really strange, more like: right place right timing? We were just looking at homes, mostly to get an idea of what we would have to prepare for. With the housing market being so low right now, we figured we should get our feet wet and look around. If we could find something great-if not, we'd stay put and continue to save everything we could.

Well, in late July we met up with an agent and took a look at a few houses. This was the very first one we saw and we fell in LOVE! Every house we were shown after was compared to the little yellow house. Soon after we put a bid in, it was accepted and that was THAT! It went so quickly and everything seemed to move along smooth. We feel pretty lucky there wasn't much aggravation during the process (I've heard so many horror stories!).

We moved from Brooklyn out to Huntington Village, Long Island, which is a beautiful, quiet and "far enough but not too far" from the city. Everything on our street is super old, which we love! The house was built in 1820 (crazy!) which blows my mind. I posted a few pictures of how it looks right now, we have a few house projects in mind, too. But all in all, we love it! I plan on making a trip to the historical society in town to get more info on the house and property. I'll be sure to post more soon, but in the meantime I'll be playing catch up with work for the next month or so!!

Here are a few photos of the house so far...

Red Skull & Cap paint sketches

2010-10-18T10:27:00.000-04:00

A couple of quick paint sketches I was playing with last night after work...

Halloween Countdown Pinup-Week 3: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman!

2010-10-14T19:43:00.000-04:00

Watch out, Harry!!

Halloween Countdown Pinup-Week 2: The Monster's Bride!

2010-10-06T14:06:00.001-04:00

Ok, here's Halloween countdown pinup for week 2-The Bride. I know she's been illustrated a million times over, but she's still my favorite (and one of my favorite Universal movies) -I even have a tattoo of her:

I think I may have gotten a little carried away with painting, I made the piece so big...I counld't get the whole image in the scanner! It's nice being able to let loose with a larger painting once and a while though :)

Hope you enjoy. Next week=new pinup! xo

Ghouls Night Out!

2010-09-29T10:37:00.000-04:00

Here's a Vampira piece I was playing around with last night after work. I'm going to try and paint one monster pinup girl a week, till Halloween. I'll post them here and after Halloween, they'll in my Etsy store where you may purchase them, if you feel so inclined! xo

Martians...and MOVING!

2010-09-20T14:52:00.003-04:00

A little bit of back story: I was pretty freaked out by Mars Attacks trading cards as a little kid! I can remember my father having a whole set of the cards, he framed them all and hung them in the downstairs living room. They really scared me...but I remember taking peeks of the framed cards from the stairs. It didn't take long before they were moved to the back room (by the laundry room), and were pretty much out of sight. But that first look of them always stayed with me!

Now, years later, I'm a huge Wally Wood/Norman Saunders fan and adore the cards and gruesome imagery of those martians! I decided to make an illustration of the martians invading a dressing room-I'm thinking of laying in text under the piece as well.

On the crazy news front, it looks like we've managed to purchase our first home! Besides being a wreck (what else is new) about packing/work/deadlines/paperwork/etc, we're thrilled to be able to own our first home and have a better quality of life. I truly believe changing to a more positive environment will enable us to create more freely as artists. It will be nice to finally have TREES, GRASS and BIRDS in our yard! Maybe even some fresh air. These things we take for granted, once taken away from us, can really impact our mood and life tremendously.

I'll try and post some pictures of the new place and my progress on some new books soon!

The Rocketeer!

2010-09-02T11:17:00.003-04:00

SO, I'm back to making myself paint at least one personal painting a week aside from work. Here's a piece I painted for my husband, Rob (Who happens to be one of the biggest Rocketeer fans! aside from myself;)).

New listings at my Etsy shop + studio sale!

2010-08-31T12:37:00.000-04:00

The past week or so we've been going through tons of artwork in our studio (boy does it pile up after a year or so!)! Everything from painted comic pages, original illustrations and some sketches/concept art. I'm letting a few of my larger paintings go at a discounted price, as I just can't hold onto all these paintings anymore. I'm listing a bunch of it on Etsy, so I hope you'll come by the store and check it out! xo

Grooves & Sound

2010-06-30T21:12:00.005-04:00

With most music purchases now being in the form of a convenient button click, records are becoming more and more obsolete. If not almost completely obsolete to most people. I have to admit, it's addicting, you press a button and you get sound almost immediately...but what kind of sound? I could get all whiny and write a whole blog post about the sound quality through a digital recording versus the sound quality of a vinyl record, but I'll spare you the rant...for now.

Up until a few months ago, all of my records from when I was a kid were packed away in milk crates. It was an obsession I had as a teen. Growing up in a youth subculture fueled by music, you just had vinyl-and lots of it. I collected everything from early punk, oi!, hardcore, reggae, ska and rocksteady. Bands and musicians big and small made it into my collection, from Sham 69 and Desmond Dekker to local bands like Agnostic Front and Sheer Terror. When I listen to those records now, I remember a time as an angry, snotty kid, sitting in my room with my Doc Marten boots and shaved head, scribbling pictures and drawing show fliers for local punk shows.

Not much has changed sixteen years later *cough, cough*...

Anywhoo-We recently got a new record player-which has not only been a money pit (I have to catch up on all these years I wasn't buying records!), but an absolute joy. Sitting in our living room with no TV, no distractions and just listening to records has been bliss. Being really into Jazz, BeBop, R&B, Garage, Surf, Rockabilly, Blues, Motown, Northern Soul and Latin, this enables me to find TONS of stuff on vinyl that I just can't get anymore on another listening format. The sound is impeccable, the instruments sound clear and alive (esp. w/Jazz records on vinyl!). I really cringe at the thought of buying another itunes song!

Another thing I started to take note of is the album cover art of the 50's and 60's. I've always loved the work of guys like Jim Flora and knew they had contributed a great deal of fantastic art to music fans years ago. But when I really started to dig deeper, I came across some fantastic stuff! The color, illustrations and photos on these record sleeves are just fantastic, from both a design standpoint and an illustrative eye. It's something that's really getting lost with purchasing online music-you don't have that beautiful record sleeve in your hands. I wanted to post some pictures of my favorites so far! Hope you enjoy and GO BUY A RECORD PLAYER, it will change the way you listen to and appreciate music.

Summer, already?!

2010-06-28T15:24:00.000-04:00

How it's already the end of June is totally beyond me-these past few months have flew by so quickly! This past weekend Rob and myself took a much needed break from work and a drive to some neighborhoods outside of NYC to look around at houses. While we enjoy the convenience of living in NYC, we feel it might be time to pack it up and move to a quieter place. The neighborhoods here are changing and we've changed quite a bit since living here for years. As a result, the thought of owning our own house, having trees, fresh air and plants around us is really appealing. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

In the meantime, spring has flown by and now being the end of June, we've got SDCC right around the corner! We'll be out there doing the convention on foot-no table this time around. We're excited to see all of our friends and comic book family out there, and look forward to meeting new friends, as we always do each year we attend.

So, lots of things happening since my last blog entry! Last weekend Rob and myself were invited up to Midtown Comics (our favorite comic shop here in NYC) to do a fun podcast. You can check out the podcast here. We also recently got our first Cintiq screen-which has been both fun and intimidating! I'm trying to learn the basics with the hopes of being able to color appropriate jobs digitally. It's a HUGE adjustment and something that I'm trying to stay patient with, but I'm starting to feel pretty confident using this as an art tool.

On the work front, I'm finishing up the last issue of a project I've been working on since February called SOMETHING MONSTROUS, written by Steve Niles and R.H. Stavis! IDW will be putting out the first issue in the Fall and I'm pretty excited, as it's the first long thread with substance I've worked on. I really love working with Steve, he's a really great friend and a super talented guy. It's been nothing short of an honor to be working with this team on this book! More news on this in the near future!

I'm also illustrating my third and fourth picture books, one of which is with writer Carolyn Crimi (author of "Boris and Bella", "Where's my Mummy?") for Dial Books. I love her work in children's publishing, so it's been a treat to illustrate something written by her!

Needless to say, the next few months will me total mayhem (but a really exciting kind of mayhem!). Aside from work and personal painting projects, I will be taking on a really limited number of commissions for the month of August-so if you've been wanting one, now is the time to contact me through my website! xo

Little Lotta!

2010-06-14T11:55:00.000-04:00

I really heart Harvey comics so much! Here's a Little Lotta commission piece I cranked out last week for the lovely Erin, Owner of Alter Ego Comics in Marion, Iowa. I might have to paint a Little Dot soon (she's my fave!) Thanks, Erin!

Lucha Love!

2010-06-03T11:30:00.010-04:00

Photo comics have become a recent obsession of mine. These photos and collaged images on yellowed newsprint are so appealing to me, something about them is so kitschy and bizarre. While Lucha libre and classic Mexican horror films featuring these masked men have always been a huge love of mine, when I came across these SANTO picture comics, I flipped. It was everything I love wrapped up in one little book. Bliss! I've scanned in a few images to post up here, just incase you've never seen these before. I can't wait to get my hands more issues!

Marvel's GIRL COMICS #2, Out today!

2010-05-19T11:15:00.003-04:00

Some great stuff in this issue, be sure to pick it up at your comic shops today! There's even a little Doom/F4 story in there written and illustrated by...me! woohoo! Hope I get a chance to work with these characters again someday, they're my absolute favorite to draw. ♥

Painting for a little hope

2010-05-13T17:52:00.000-04:00

Here's one of the new pieces I've been working on this week, after working on daytime assignments. I'm working my tail off trying to complete a few new pieces to auction off in the next coming week or so. All pieces will be sold as a way to raise money for donation to the National Wildlife Federation. Due to the horrific oil spill in the Gulf, many animals are dead, dying and need help. Our waters are now so badly damaged from this awful situation, it seems hopeless. Luckily, there are lots of wonderful people out there volunteering and donating what they can. The NWF is accepting donations for animals in crisis, the money will go directly to protecting wildlife and wild places impacted by the BP oil spill. If you aren't aware of how bad this spill actually is, I strongly advise you to do a little more investigating. The videos and photos from the impact of the spill are enough to make you cry.

We're working on getting a site all ready to sell these pieces and get the money directly where it needs to go. I am donating 100% of the money from the sale of these paintings to the NWF. I'll be posting a link and auction site information as soon as we've got it up and cookin'! xo

Stuff I've been diggin' on, May 10th

2010-05-10T20:18:00.011-04:00

So, here it is! After much craziness (when is it ever NOT crazy?) this past week, I'm sticking to my vow and writing a weekly post. This past month has been an exciting one for us, in both our work and home life. "What the heck is so exciting?", you ask? Well, that would be my first step into life as an adult...we actually got new living room furniture! Now, I know how L-A-M-E that sounds, but after years and years of living with particle board furniture that has survived many moves (I believe it's been 6 moves!), this was BIG to us!

I'm a huge, huge fan of Mid Century furniture and design, I can't get enough of it. From vintage to repro, I love it all. The clean lines and shapes, use of space and combination of materials used on these pieces makes me way too giddy. While most of the vintage pieces we love were either hard to come by, way out of our price range or on their last legs, we kept looking and looking. Until there it was all along...HERMAN MILLER still manufactures authentic, original Charles and Ray Eames designs (as well as designs by George Nelson, swooon!). That was it, sold, done and DONE!

(above) Vintage Herman Miller Ad

(left) Charles and Ray Eames

If you aren't familiar with Eames designs, you should be! Charles and Ray Eames were prolific designers of mid century modern buildings and furniture. Their whole philosophy and aesthetic behind the pieces they made makes you weak at the knees and in LOVE with their work (They were also a couple working side by side all the time, you wonder if that love carried on into their work!) They created and contributed major, MAJOR iconic pieces of livable art to the world. Chances are you've seen the classic Eames lounge chair and ottoman before, its unmistakable (although there are always those lousy copy cats here and there). That lounge chair makes my heart race...

(From left to right) George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom, each with their iconic designs.

So, from this day on...

2010-05-05T17:55:00.000-04:00

In my attempt to use this blog on more of a daily/weekly basis (Especially after Rob gave it this fabulous make over!), I'm going to start making posts about anything and everything I love, not just finished paintings, sketches and work related Jibber Jabber. There are too many things that inspire me: books I'm reading, artwork I love, records I'm listening to, pictures I'm taking and places I visit. I want to share those on here as well! Without all of those things, it would be pretty difficult to draw and paint everyday. SO, from this day on, I vow to make at least one post a week to start. So there! ♥

Red Sonja! She'll cut you!

2010-04-30T21:04:00.006-04:00

Painted up this Red Sonja today, after being in an awful rut for about a week or so. It felt great, demons were exorcised and I'm determined to put aside one day a week to paint for completely selfish reasons...and mental well being. I've got lots coming up in the coming months, a few comics and picture books in the go. I'll be sure post more info here as soon as I can. In the meantime, more painting!

Marvel's Girl Comics #1 OUT TOMORROW!

2010-03-02T11:36:00.011-05:00

Firstly, can I say how excited I am about this book!? Wow, what an honor to be part of a project as wonderful as this one, with so many talented women involved, it's going to be a beautiful book. Issue number one will be out tomorrow, which will include the work of Colleen Coover, Valerie D'Orazio, Devin Grayson, Lucy Knisley, Trina Robbins, G. Willow Wilson, Ming Doyle, Agnes Garbowska, Nikki Cook, Emma Rios and myself.

I was lucky enough to be asked to illustrate a Venus story, written by Trina Robbins. If you aren't familiar with the Venus character and book from the 1940's, it was basically everything I adore wrapped up into one book! You've got Sci Fi, Horror, Romance, Adventure, the whole deal. Below are a few of the old Venus covers I based the above character sketch on, for the book:

A few of the ladies and myself will be signing tomorrow at Jim Hanley's Universe, which is 4 West 33rd St. here in NYC, from 6-8PM. Hope you enjoy the book! xo

Attention Shoppers...AGAIN! And a quick update ♥

2010-02-06T19:48:00.004-05:00

Finally, I've decided to open an Etsy store for selling off original paintings and prints! It's seems a bit easier to sell and list through Etsy as opposed to having my own store through my website-so here it goes! Click here to enter the shop.

I'll be sure to post soon as there's been lots in the go as of late, especially with the release of Marvel's Girl comics right around the corner in March! Excited for everyone to check out the work of all these amazing female creators and the contribution made by Trina Robbins and myself in issue #1. I'm so honored and excited to have been asked aboard this project! To read more about the book and it's creators, stop by Marvel News!

Puzzles For Sale!

2009-12-23T11:53:00.002-05:00

Excited to find out a puzzle I designed a few months ago for Galison/Mudpuppy has hit the shelves! It's an honor to contribute to their line of puzzles and games, as their list of illustrators are many I grew up with and love dearly (Eric Carle, Maurice Sendak, etc.). It was a fun job and hope kids get a kick out of it. The puzzle can be purchased here.

Sue Storm and Her Fantastic Tree

2009-12-20T19:59:00.005-05:00

Finally got a free day for the first time in a couple of weeks. Lots of really exciting things are starting to happen, from jumping aboard new comic projects to getting started on my fourth picture book. 2010 is going to be good, I can just feel it!... So of course, when I'm not painting for work...I'm painting for selfish reasons. Above is what I cooked up this afternoon. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!

Fashion fades. Style is eternal.

2009-11-19T15:02:00.012-05:00

Upon digging around for some reference and clothing patterns, I started to stumble upon lots of wonderful old fashion advertisements, photos and illustrations. Being a clothing and cosmetics junkie (especially the vintage sort), I wound up spending a little too much time on the internet on a mad treasure hunt. It really got me thinking about making some fashion illustration samples and playing around more with a loser gouache technique. Here's a few Ads/photos/illustrations that pulled me in, along with some drool/swoon worthy items I would kill to get my hands on! Above is a photo of French model/muse "Bettina", early 1950's (Dior).

Mid Century Dior ad, illustrated by the amazing Rene Gruau

1955 Dior

1954 Balenciaga gown (Gasp!)

1960's YSL (Le Gasp! The car and the dress, please. Thanks!)

1960's Chanel Ad

More gorgeous Rene Gruau, above and below

Caramel Apples...And Some Cute Owls!

2009-10-28T12:25:00.007-04:00

Only THREE more days till Halloween!!

Aside from posting the 5 little owls painting above, I want to share the BEST caramel apple recipe I've ever come across. This past weekend, I decided to go a little insane (6 straight hours in the kitchen insane) and make a batch of cupcakes, cookies and these amazing treats:

What you'll need...

1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon robust-flavored (dark) molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt

12 candy apple sticks (you can find these at specialty food stores, candy making supply shops, etc...)
12 medium Granny Smith apples

Whipping cream

*PLUS Any kind of goodies you'd like to use to dress up your caramel apples! We used chopped walnuts, sprinkles, shredded coconut, cinnamon gummy bears and lots of crushed candies.

How to prepare...

Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan (about 3 inches deep). Stir with wooden spatula or spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes.

Attach clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236°F, stirring constantly but slowly with clean wooden spatula and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 12 minutes. Pour caramel into metal bowl (do not scrape pan). Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel; cool, without stirring, to 200°F, about 20 minutes.

While caramel cools, line 2 baking sheets with foil; butter foil. Push 1 chopstick into stem end of each apple. Set up decorations and melted chocolates.

Holding chopstick, dip 1 apple into 200°F caramel, submerging all but very top of apple. Lift apple out, allowing excess caramel to drip back into bowl. Turn apple caramel side up and hold for several seconds to help set caramel around apple. Place coated apple on prepared foil. Repeat with remaining apples and caramel, spacing apples apart (caramel will pool on foil). If caramel becomes too thick to dip into, add 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream and briefly whisk caramel in bowl over low heat to thin.

Chill apples on sheets until caramel is partially set, about 15 minutes. Lift 1 apple from foil. Using hand, press pooled caramel around apple; return to foil. Repeat with remaining apples.

Firmly press decorations into caramel; return each apple to foil. Or dip caramel-coated apples into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, then roll in nuts or candy. Or drizzle melted chocolate over caramel-coated apples and sprinkle with decorations.

Enjoy! xoxo

Attention Shoppers!!!

2009-10-26T15:25:00.003-04:00

I'm excited to tell you that my online store is now open! Thanks to the very talented (and handsome) Rob, we are now in business. I've got some prints up there to start and will be posting lots more goodies in the coming weeks, including more prints, a few original comic book pages and some illustration originals both framed and unframed. I'll be sure to post more as the items go up there!

Recipe for Halloween

2009-10-22T11:59:00.010-04:00

It's almost here! Just nine days away!!

To celebrate my favorite holiday, I'm painting up a set of Halloween illustrations. Above is the first of the lot. I've started to experiment with sea sponges for painting textures (as opposed to just straight up dry brush on everything)-it seems to take a bit longer, and LOTS of layering (esp. with cel-vinyl)-but the textures you can achieve are great. I'll have a few more posted up here in the next few days, mostly little doodles and mock up halloween cards inspired by the great vintage halloween decorations and cards I've seen over the years. Below are some old Halloween images I adore. Why don't greeting cards/decorations look like this anymore!? I say we bring them back!

October...already?!

2009-10-07T15:08:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's October, already! This is by far my favorite month-the weather change, autumn colors, baking autumn treats and of course, Halloween. Speaking of Halloween...I've got only a few more of the little monsters prints available (see blog post below), if you'd like em' just in time for Halloween-drop me an e-mail! Only 50 of each made, I think I've got about 5 or 6 sets left.

It's been awhile since I last blogged, it's been a crazy (but exciting) past couple of months. There's a few new projects I've got in the pipeline that will be blogged about in the near future, but for now...two new picture books up for pre order on Amazon: Maybe I'll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight: and Other Funny Bedtime Poems and Name That Dog!

I'm super excited for the release of these books and I hope you'll enjoy em'.

On the comic book front: October 14th be sure to head to your comic shop and pick up Web Of Spiderman #1! Sean McKeever and myself have a fun story in there entitled "Your New Partner, The Fabulous Frog-Man!". Hope you dig it!

Convention Creeps!

2009-07-13T13:38:00.010-04:00

With the San Diego Comic-Con in a little more then a week, it's crunch time! Been busy polishing up the portfolio, making plans to spend time with our comic family and FINALLY making new prints for the con! I wasn't going to-but I gave in and decided to make preparing for the con even more chaotic ;)

I'll have a limited supply of signed and numbered monster prints with me for the Con. 100 beans gets you three art prints (printed on archival WC paper) and includes the pieces you see here ("Pumpkin Patch Twist" , "Mummy's Little Monster" and "Full Moon Beat") OR you can get an individual print for 40 beans. This is a limited run, once they're gone, thats it for these little guys.

Hope to see you at the convention! xo

Holy Cannoli!

2009-07-07T15:22:00.006-04:00

It's back to the drawing board after a long weekend, bangin' out some new samples for the ol' portfolio to bring to this years San Diego Comic Con. We decided against getting a table this year, so we'll be cruising the con on foot. I've been working on a set of foodie inspired pin-up girls, so far this week I've gotten two completed. I absolutely love painting girly illustrations, there will be a lot more in the coming months. I hope you enjoy!

These will most likely be available in a 4 or 6 print set up for sale-along with more prints and original art. Like most of the pieces you see up on the blog-originals are always up for grabs while they last, please contact through my website if interested in purchasing originals and/or commissions.

Any kind of chicken! Boiled, chicken fried, chicken pot, pickin' chicken!

2009-07-01T15:14:00.007-04:00

I really don't know how this piece happened, it just kind of did. What started out as a joke idea lead to sketches and then a final. However, the colonel is really, really fun to draw! Hope you dig :)

Pig Out!

2009-06-30T11:07:00.005-04:00

With the rain coming to a halt this past weekend, I was able to actually get a large painting done! Here's a the piece I finished up on Sunday. Been kind of obsessing over the idea of parties lately. The kind of parties you have as a kid, complete with all the little details-decorations, games, colorful treats. I think a halloween party painting is in order next! Below are a few little sketches and color doodles made before diving into this larger gouache piece.

In other happenings:

I was lucky enough to be asked to answer a few questions for an interview with Forces of Geek! You can check it out here. Out tomorrow is a 1o page story written by Tom Peyer and illustrated by moi, for Spider-Man Family #8! Be sure to pick it up, I'm so excited to be part of the issue.

Rob and myself will be cruising over to the San Diego Comic Con next month, really looking forward to see all of our friends and artist family (and picking up a few new books ;)). In September, we head over to Spain! There will be an exhibition in Palma, Majorca showcasing my Grandfather's artwork. We're thrilled to be able to attend the opening and I will be posting more info about the exhibition soon.

Where there is a sea there are pirates!

2009-06-05T10:42:00.008-04:00

In our apartment we have lots of books. I don't mean 40 or 50 books, more like 700+, big ol' art books. We're book junkies. Both old and new, in pristine condition and falling apart at the bindings. But there are those select books we have that we hold close our hearts, the ones we've had since we were kids. They're priceless to us.

For me, one of these includes the Giant Golden Book, "Pirates, Ships and Sailors", By Kathryn and Byron Jackson, Illustrated by Gustaf Teneggren (above is my personal copy ;) ). This book had such a huge impact on me as a kid-just looking through the pages makes me think of when and where I read those stories. I grew up within walking distance of the docks and beaches-which seemed to make the stories and pictures more "realistic" in a way. We even had a "Pirates Cove" in our town, and of course, there was a little story in this book with the same name. It sounds silly now, but back then it felt so personal and close.

This book had a home at my grandparents house and had been forgotten for years. When I started painting and started to establish a style, I immediately thought "Where the heck is that book with the whale on the cover?!". I asked my Grandma, but she didn't remember it or where it might be. I thought it was gone forever. Sure there were new reprints (with a different cover I might add!), but it wasn't the same. Years later when my Grandma was moving, she called me to tell me she'd found it. I was ecstatic.

Lately the feeling of nostalgia has been visiting quite often. I feel like I have to dig deeper for ideas in order to grow and really let them come from my heart-as opposed to just "banging out" images, pages and illustrations to keep myself afloat. Image making can be such a powerful tool, especially in picture books. Above is my little tribute to my precious Giant Golden book and all my favorite salty stories that continue to inspire me. I hope you enjoy! xo

"I never try anything. I just do it." -Tura Satana

2009-06-01T12:29:00.006-04:00

Haven't blogged since March-what a bum! But in turn, I've been working like crazy, trying to pump out as much new work as possible. A few exciting things are in the go the past few months: Finished illustrating my second picture book, "Name that Dog", written by Peggy Archer! Really excited for the release of this book-it was an absolute blast to illustrate! Other fun projects completed include a couple of puzzles for Mudpuppy, some spots (yay, my first Highlights illustration job, loved that mag when I was a kid!) and a really fun lil' Spidey story for Marvel.

Now that I've had a chance to catch my breath, and with 3 more books in the go for the next year-I'm trying to pump out a bunch of new pieces for some art prints. These will be up for grabs on my website-which is bring updated and polished by my talented hubby, Rob. I'll be sure to post when it's all up and running this week. In the meantime, above is a new sample I worked up this past week (in honor of one of my favorite flicks of all time)-enjoy! xo

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls Night Out!

2009-03-02T23:42:00.004-05:00

FINALLY got to finish this piece tonight! I started it last week and it was driving me crazy not being able to work on it. My love affair with cel-vinyl paints is growing...man, I love this stuff! Working with it on big pieces is so much quicker then gouache-and like I've said previously, it lays solid and smooth. This measures 9"x12", something I definitely wouldn't be able to do with gouache for the amount of background color used. And to fix a mistake with this stuff is cake- making a fix with gouache, for-get-it! Might add more ghosties in the background in the future...I'm still mulling it over. Ok, back to work!!

Off with her head!

2009-02-25T13:53:00.007-05:00

When I was in Paris a couple of years ago, my family and myself visited La Conciegerie (where Marie Antoinette was held before being executed). That being said, I was of course interested in all the grim details the rest of our trip there. Anyway, last week I decided to try my hand at a painting of Marie Antoinette-what fun! The clothing of the time was amazing-the colors, the furniture, just about everything was so decadent.

I've been really trying to make more involved paintings as of late (as opposed to my 2 paintings a day craziness). I recently rediscovered an absolute LOVE for cel-vinyl while making these paintings. Not only do the colors lay solid-they actually work quite well with gouache. It's much easier to make larger paintings on nice, big, pieces of Arches paper with this stuff and it really works wonders for background painting as well.

In other news, a new website is going to be up soon and I can't wait! I've been getting lots of e-mails inquiring about art for sale and commissions...well good news! Upon cleaning out our studio and art files, we came across a bunch of both framed and unframed artwork that will be up for sale. I'll also have a series of strange little paintings up for grabs. I'll be sure to post when we have things up and running!

The boys around here call it "The Black Lagoon"

2009-02-11T16:45:00.003-05:00

I'm really loving the free time I've had the past couple of days in between jobs. I could really sit and paint monsters all day and night! There's a certain freedom in sketch-booking too, it becomes so very addicting.

“It's as much fun to scare as to be scared.” -Vincent Price

2009-02-10T22:44:00.006-05:00

So with some free time tonight, I decided to paint some monster lady thumbnails in my sketchbook. So much fun to play with the color on these. I think all the bottled up crazies from drawing children's books all day makes you just want to draw monsters constantly. I'd love to paint a horror comic one of these days!

Touch Of Evil sketch session

2009-02-09T21:32:00.004-05:00

Here's a few doodles made this evening while watching Touch of Evil. Quite possibly one of the most visually appealing movies ever made ( and really fun to draw from). I'm thinking I might put an hour or so aside a night to draw from some of the classics. It's good for stretching the brain muscles and keeps me away from watching bad T.V.

Baby Trunk Fish=cute? Who Knew?!

2009-01-19T23:49:00.005-05:00

Recently while searching for some fish reference, I stumbled upon a photo of a tiny baby trunk fish. These are quite possibly some of the cutest fish I have ever seen. They're plump, polka dotted and not much bigger then a marble. I had to draw/paint one out in my sketchbook...along with a few other sea friends (I'm told sea friends are now called "sea kittens?"...really???).

Saturday Night Breather!

2009-01-17T22:18:00.005-05:00

No better way to spend a Saturday night then to painting and sketching for yourself. After working, I decided to start playing around with a few colors. Here's a few little thumbnail paintings I made this evening in my sketchbook. These little moleskine watercolor books are AMAZING. They hold gouache like a dream and the pages don't buckle! (I tend to be a little too generous with my paint, so this little book proves to be a champ!) I just wish they made these books a wee bit bigger!

3 Is The Magic Number

2008-12-11T11:23:00.003-05:00

Getting stuck on pieces is something I'm always going through. I think it has a lot to do with making a large quantity of work in a short period of time, the gears stop working and you have to oil up the machine. Something that helps me tremendously is going back to the basics, doing 3 color paintings and putting no limits on the materials you want to use. In this case, gouache, ink and pen. As long as It involves 3 colors. Seems weird, but it always works and gets me out of a bind. Working this way also starts to inspire me to make more limited color pieces and focus more on composition.

Birthdays at the Buscema house

2008-12-09T12:00:00.006-05:00

Every year when our birthdays came around, we were always excited to see what our Gran'pa would come up with for us. That's because he would always (never missed a year!) draw us our birthday cards. It was by far the best present and something we always looked forward to getting. Here are two cards he had made me when I was in my teens:

At the time, I worked at a local bookstore...we would ALWAYS get customers (mostly on senior discount day) in the store trying to return books they had purchased eons ago!

If you know me, you know that I love my monsters dearly. You also probably know how what a pack-rat I am with my collectibles!

Meet...Easy Bake Bear!

2008-12-08T12:27:00.004-05:00

Last night I was finally able to finish customizing my teddy trooper toy! He'll make his debut at Genuine Artikle's custom toy show, December 20th. I really underestimated how much time and patience these little toys require to customize. After he was finished we had a party to celebrate his completion!

Thanks to my husband, who gifted me with the amazing tiny Re-Ment treats this weekend (serious obsession with these overwhelmingly cute and addictive toys!). The party was a hit :)

I Scream, You Scream!

2008-12-04T10:00:00.004-05:00

With the cold weather setting in, it's a lot easier to stay inside! That being said, there is a lot more time to put into projects and paintings. Lately I've really been trying to focus on writing (that's right, I said it...) and illustrating my own picture books. With so many ideas going on in my head at once, I feel by completing a rough outline and a bunch of character designs/concept drawings for now will prove to be helpful in the future. Above is one of my little sheets for a cute (and gross) monster story idea. Who would eat such horrific treats you ask? More sketches to come :)

Behold...

2008-12-02T11:19:00.006-05:00

When my doorbell rang today I knew exactly who and what was here! It was UPS with a box of amazingness....

The Janome Hello Kitty sewing machine! Not only is it the perfect shade of sea foam green, it's light weight and easy to use (and not just for kids!). Recently I've gotten the itch to sew again. The machine I have is really nice but VERY heavy, cumbersome and a real pain to drag out of the closet and set up every time I want to use it. Not to mention tough to use. This little guy is lightweight and perfect for smaller sewing projects. The product reviews are ace and for the price, (and what the machine is capable of!) it's well worth it!

"The best color in the whole world, is the one that looks good on you!" -Coco Chanel

2008-11-26T18:36:00.012-05:00

Hmmm...I wonder if the same goes for ingesting the best color in the whole world? I love the color red. I also have a very weak spot for red velvet cake. With Thanksgiving tomorrow and a gathering at a friends house, I decided it's the perfect excuse to whip up one of these confectionery delights. But how do you get that really RED (not that weak strawberry colored cake) batter for red velvet cake?

Growing up, my Mom baked cakes professionally for years. I always remember these little jars of pigment that she would add to cakes and icings. The color was always extremely vibrant and unachievable with your every-day store bought food coloring. She was using Wilton icing dyes. These little jars literally perform magic when making sweets with color. If you haven't tried them and use dyes in baking often, prepare to be blown away.

This stuff in red velvet batter=amazing. Go with the color "Red,Red" as opposed to "Christmas Red", it's not as severe when baked (the red deepens as it's baked in) and looks a lot more appealing with cream cheese frosting.

Good night my little cake. I love you now. But tomorrow night when my dress size goes up after dessert, you will be a sworn enemy.

Freshly Baked

2008-11-25T17:38:00.007-05:00

Here's a few little studies done today from my sketchbook. I got really inspired to start a new project of my own and wanted to get ideas on paper asap. Who knew the Williams Sonoma catalog would not only empty my wallet, but provide me with endless reference!

Tag, You're It!

2008-11-24T13:09:00.004-05:00

Alright, so I'm a sucker for the holidays. I love it. Plus, it's the only time of the year when my Grandma makes her world famous rolled pizza. This year we really wanted to do a little something extra for our friends and family. We have an amazing group of friends and family who were absolutely amazing (and patient!) to us when we got married this past September. So, the plan is to make a ton of treats to go along with our gift giving...but of course it wasn't that easy. I started to think about the packaging of these treats. After a lot playing around, I came up with these little gift tags...one kind of led to another and so on. A little collage, a little pant, some card stock, a really good exact-o knife and voila! I have a ways to go, but here are my favorites so far.

2008-11-23T14:51:00.003-05:00

All work and no play makes us cranky (see above). I've decided to expand upon my blog more to make things a bit more interesting. Expect more posts about fun finds, a few rants, projects involving things other then paint (collage, sewing...) and a recipe here and there!

2008-11-21T17:37:00.006-05:00

When asked to paint a short holiday comic for Marvel recently ("Werewolf By Eve" written by Ben Morse), I approached the project with shouts of joy! Not only do I love the holidays and comics...but werewolves were involved!!! How could I refuse?!? Above is a little sneak peak panel. The Marvel digital holiday special debuts December 17th! Check out the article on Wired!.

2008-11-11T11:45:00.005-05:00

Another breather. Here's a fun Illustration made for the Genuine Artikle custom toy show. The finish is all painted up and almost ready to be turned into pretty promo posters.

2008-11-07T14:51:00.010-05:00

So I've made an attempt to venture into the world of custom toy painting. When asked to be in a custom toy show for December, I agreed...not knowing anything about painting these little guys. I picked up my toy (a teddy trooper) and just kinda stared at it for awhile, completely intimidated thinking "where do I start?". I have no experience with acrylics or enamels... but acrylics seem a little more forgiving. Medium chosen. Now what.

I started thinking about the toys that make me tick. I love old Suzy homemaker toys and easy bake oven type stuff. They always had this great toothpaste color to them. I also love the idea of taking a toy and transforming parts of it into another type of toy. So it turns out, the helmet of this bear will make a fine oven. Some little wooden pieces for oven dials. This bear obviously needs some fine baked goods too. So I started sculpting little cookies from sculpty, then baking and painting em up. Cookie tray? No problem. Back to the sculpty.

Everything seemed to be going alright...bear painted, oven sprayed up nice, cookies baked...oven mitts painted. Then...the mitts won't go back on?! Not cool. I wound up making a bit of a disaster out of the arms and had to re-do them. At this point I wanted to throw my little bear companion off the fire escape. Or worse...give her to the cat to decide her fate....

I felt bad and fixed her up. Her arms seem to be doing alright (a little bit of patchwork was needed with some brown paint) and hopefully she'll make some friends at the opening. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the finished product, completed oven and all.

2008-10-21T18:03:00.005-04:00

I have been slacking with the blogging! But in turn, I have been working on lots of new and exciting things. After completing "Maybe I'll sleep in the Bathtub Tonight", a book of bedtime poems, I had about 5 days to PAINT before starting another book. Not just paint, but actually PAINT, whatever I wanted. Usually I can cram in about a finish a day. In this case, I decided to really put my best foot forward and take a full week to complete a large piece. It felt wonderful, I finally felt a little bit of growth and progression. Above is the result.

2008-10-02T10:50:00.008-04:00

Fall is here! And so are some upcoming art shows:

*Dia De Los Muertos Halloween show-
October 25th, from 8:00-11:00 PM @ Genuine Artikle Gallery

*Wreck the Hallz (Custom toy show)-
December 20th, from 8:00-11:00 PM @ Genuine Artikle Gallery

Be sure to come down and support the artists and gallery! Hope to see you there xo

2008-07-21T16:49:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again! It's been fun preparing samples for this years San Diego comic con, I'll be wandering around with my little portfolio of paintings from Thursday to Sunday. I'm looking forward to getting some inspiration from this trip! (either that or a panic attack from being around so many people).

2008-07-17T14:02:00.003-04:00

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Be sure to check out the T-shirts I had the pleasure of painting for Reverend Horton Heat! Up for grabs now at http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/merch.php

I'm excited to be finishing up a fun little children's book for Sterling Publishing. The book of bedtime poems (Maybe I'll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight) written by Debbie Levy and illustrated by moi, will be out in 2009. I'll be sure to post more as the date approaches.

Back to work!

2008-07-10T09:47:00.007-04:00

More playing around with color and different ways of stylizing all the elements. Here's a little mock-up of a record cover idea I was messing with.

2008-06-26T12:08:00.003-04:00

After painting cute stuff all day for kid's books you start getting a little crazy...or maybe it's just me (probably just me). I started drawing a bunch of little zombie characters for some Halloween illustrations to clear my brain. Here's a quick gouache sketch of one of them. More band mates to come.

2008-06-16T20:15:00.005-04:00

Here's a few sample sketches made for a really exciting upcoming kid's book project I'm working on. They were a blast to draw up and I can't wait to draw and paint the finals. I had absolutely no idea how many different breeds of dogs there were until I picked up some serious reference to draw from. Their shapes, posture and size really make for a fun exercise in gesture AND there's so much room to exaggerate!

2008-04-21T20:45:00.004-04:00

May 10th, be sure to stop by the opening of "KISS the canvas", KISS tribute art show. The lineup of artists involved in the show should make for some amazing, fun and unique pieces. I'm anxious to see what everyone comes up with! Hopefully I'll be able to get one more little painting done in time.

2008-04-20T22:05:00.005-04:00

The new website is up!

www.stephaniebuscema.com

Please stop by and check it out, as we've completely redone everything. The merch. section will be fully stocked and ready to go, so be sure to check back shortly. I have some new prints in the go as well as a limited number of originals I'm selling off.

2008-04-15T10:42:00.004-04:00

Yay Spring! Season changes always bring new ideas and beginnings, making it much easier to get paint on paper! Lately my brushes have been moving themselves and the pictures forming in a looser and more energetic way. Growth is happening and it feels wonderful. As of May 30th I will no longer be holding down a day job in the office. I'll be taking the leap and start my journey as a full time illustrator. It's scary, wonderful, exciting, nerve wracking and about a hundred other things I can think of. In short, I can't wait!

The next few months are jam packed with a hectic balance of personal projects, freelance work, lots of traveling (From San Diego to Venice!), planning our wedding and many trips to the ocean. I look forward to collecting inspiration from the next few months and will be making a lot more posts and new work.

2008-03-24T10:32:00.005-04:00

Being a huge fan of the band, I was super-duper excited to paint these t-shirt deigns for Reverend Horton Heat. The amazing Mr. Harrigan helped out with the computer end of things, as I live back in cave times. They're being printed now and soon available through the band for purchase!

2008-02-25T12:55:00.004-05:00

Wow 2008!? 07' flew and I still can't believe March is right around the corner. Since the start of 08' I've been lucky enough to have a slew of fun jobs and projects roll my way. I'll be posting a bunch of new things in the coming weeks!

Recently I was asked to paint a little children's book for Make a Wish Foundation. It was an honor to be apart of such an amazing project! Here are some of my favorite samples from the job...

2007-12-09T21:18:00.001-05:00

There's something about the way comic characters looked years ago, maybe it was the awesome hair (or the art style at the time). Sue always had this great bouffant-y kinda thing going on in the old F4 comics. Why they decided to change it, I'll never know. Anyway, I decided to play around with her a little bit. Maybe next I'll paint Thing with hair plugs. Endless possibilities!

2007-11-26T14:03:00.001-05:00

It's been almost 3 months since I updated this! I wish it was because I was on vacation somewhere really nice, but things have been nuts as usual (but good!). I have a bunch of new pieces updated on my website (go look! now!), I am now being represented by Shannon Associates! I strongly encourage you to go to their website and look at all the amazingly talented artists they work with! (www.shannonassociates.com). I'm honored and excited to be working with them.

Here's a taste of one of the new pieces I've been working on...

2007-08-29T08:04:00.000-04:00

Been a little while since I updated this! Much going on and lots of new pieces in the go. We're in the process of revamping my website, so expect cool things soon. Here's a piece I did for the Ave. A skate deck show! Opening is Thursday night~

In other big news...meet Figaro! Our new family member. We found him in Brooklyn, he wasn't looking so good and his mama abandoned him. After about a week of medication and constant bottle feedings (along with lots of playing and kisses) he's running around like a madman.

2007-07-29T20:54:00.000-04:00

Here are two paintings I whipped up to submit to an upcoming art show. The black borders are a stonehenge paper and will have little tools and oil cans painted on em' in the corners. It's been a little mad lately. Aside from painting the pair this week, I've started another piece to submit (much larger), I'm wrapping up my sideshow banner project for the Scallywag Sideshow (my first large scale sideshow banner!), another skateboard to work on for another deck art show and making more samples for editorial spot work as well. I also got a pretty sweet case of strep throat this weekend (weeee!) which lead me to my adventures at the E.R. this morning. ANYWAY-less ranting more painting...

2007-07-06T07:47:00.001-04:00

Nobody likes peas. It's true. Finished this last night.

2007-07-04T18:09:00.001-04:00

Best Fourth of July ever: mid week break, away from most humans and at home painting. Here's what I cranked out-a big tree.

2007-07-02T09:57:00.000-04:00

The new website is up! www.stephaniebuscema.com
check back for show updates, prints and originals up for grabs in the near future. xo

2007-06-05T21:18:00.001-04:00

An idea I was throwing around tonight for a new pinup painting (One of my favorite alien invader ladies to grace the movie screen), I have a feeling it's going to be another late night. Progress to come!

2007-06-05T19:47:00.001-04:00

A little guy from a gang of beat chicks I drew in my sketchbook last week. Figured he'd be fun to do in color. I think he may need a few friends, looks kinda lonely all there by himself.

2007-06-03T19:27:00.001-04:00

This is a piece I just completed this evening. Being new to acrylics, it was a little bit of a challenge working in something other then gouache or watercolor-but a lot of fun (and sanding and layering!) . There are tons textures and things to play around with in this medium, which I hope to experiment with more.