Ugly Stepsister: Artwork by Kirsten Ashley

A Very (Socially Distant) Check In

I’ve been spending the last week in my apartment in Delaware completing my library day job from a distance, annoying my chinchillas and fiance, and trying to stay sane. It’s been heartening to see the collective artistic community both locally and abroad connecting with one another. I attended my first virtual drink and draw last weekend. Pictured below is the drawing completed there.

drink and draw- moon goddess — Drawing from M.K. Komin’s Virtual Drink and Draw.

If you’re interested in joining in, information is posted on M.K. Komin’s Instagram. I jumped on the streaming art trend for the first time last week when I hosted a painting party on Facebook Live. If you aren’t already following the Facebook page, you can do that HERE. I will also be participating in the Covid Creative Convention. Created by dark artist Shane Izykowski, it’s a way to connect art lovers to artists in this strange time of show cancellations and shutdowns. You can learn more about that HERE.

How are you holding up?

New Sticker Design: Flower of Naïveté

A brand new vinyl sticker design is available in the shop! Flower of Naïveté is now in a bite sized version you can put on your car, messenger bag, hat, mug, or notebook.

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Want all the spooky girls? You can now get all 5 of my creepy girl stickers in a sticker pack. CLICK HERE TO SHOP. FA1CFB95-AB97-4825-AF3E-C55A10A2DCA1

Spotlight on Spilled Tea

I’m busy cooking up new paintings. In the meantime, here is a spotlight on on a recent painting.

spilled tea watermarked — Spilled Tea- 6×6″, acrylic on canvas.

“Honestly, if you’re given the choice between Armageddon or tea, you don’t say ‘what kind of tea?”
― Neil Gaiman

“Spilled Tea” was a painting created for the Big Little Art Show in December 2019. The original is available for purchase. Visit my ONLINE SHOP to purchase. While you’re at it, keep up with my artwork on Instagram HERE. (Or search @stepsisterugly)

big little art show with art

Festivus for the Rest of Us!

When you’re a “maker” of any kind, the holidays are the best way to add special touches to gifting. For the past few years, I have created original artwork for holiday cards. This year, I got ambitious and created an acrylic painting on canvas that was featured on cards. My favorite part of creating this was adding touches of metallic copper paint.

Now that (most) of friends and family received their cards, I can share the original painting. My inspiration for these winter holidays is the connection these rituals have with nature. Notice the toadstools, red squirrel, fox, and snowy owl. Without further adieu, Creatures in Winter.

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Drawlloween 2019 Gallery

As I posted previously, I participated in the October 2019 Drawlloween challenge. There were daily prompts, but I chose to pick one prompt per week. I posted teaser images on my Instagram and Facebook, but I chose to release the finalized pieces in an online gallery here.

The prompts I chose were “cryptid,” “pumpkin man” (I took some gender liberties here), “”Yokai,” and “haunted forest.” Some of the fun in this challenge was diving into the mythology of some of these creatures. I was completely new to the Yokai, and really dug to find out more about cryptids and cryptozoology. Click through the gallery below.

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Devil Worship & Drawlloween

The spooky season always get my creative blood flowing. Here is “Devil Inside,” a piece created with Micron pen and colored pencil. Prints of her will be available at the Oddball Art Hall show on October 18th. CLICK HERE for more info on that. (Or go back to my previous post.)

I will also be participating in the Mab Graves Drawlloween challenge. For those who aren’t familiar with it, pop surrealist artist Mab Graves creates prompts to create a virtual drawing club in October. (Also referred to as Mab’s Drawlloween Club.) Time is so fleeting in October, so I’ve decided to take on one prompt per week in October. Follow me on Instagram to keep up with my Drawlloween progress. CLICK HERE to follow me on IG.

New Halloween Show and Vinyl Sticker Release!

News, news, news!

It’s my favorite season- Autumn and Halloween! To celebrate, I’ll be making my comeback to vending at Oddball Art Hall in November with lots of spooky art prints, originals, and vinyl stickers. Click HERE to go to the Facebook event page and RSVP.

And speaking of vinyl stickers, 2 new limited edition designs have just been released! There are just 10 of each of the newest designs- Sisters and Pumpkin Spice. Buy a Halloween sticker pack of 3 on the online store, or visit me at Oddball Art Hall to grab yours in person. Visit the online store HERE.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Limited Edition Vinyl Stickers

Big announcement! For the first time, I have launched a very limited run of vinyl stickers! There are 2 designs; the first is from my mixed media piece Elizabethan Librarian, the second is a pre-Halloween witch sticker. The stickers are printed on a rugged vinyl that protects them from scratching, rain & sunlight, and have a matte finish. Each are a limited run of 12 stickers. Get them before they’re gone!

Click on the photo below to go to my online shop.

XOXOXO

A close friend got married this weekend. Her (then fiance) had mentioned years ago that she’d like a piece of art from me for their home. As a wedding gift I painted this portrait of them. Their colors intermingle to create one larger piece. It was a beautiful way to kick off Pride Month!

“The sight of lovers feedeth those in love.”

– Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare

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DFAD 2019: Library of Stories

During the month of February I participated in Delaware Fun-a-Day 2019, a local draw-a-day challenge. This year, my theme was Library of Stories. Each piece was inspired by a book that I have a personal connection with. I used text from the books in each piece. It was part of the group show in early March on display at the Center for the Creative Arts.

The books the pieces were based off of include:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Wicked by Jeremy McGuire

Ariel by Sylvia Plath

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Death and Taxes by Dorothy Parker

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Night by Eli Wiesel

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Diaries by Anais Nin

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Poems by Paul Celan

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

Click below to see photos and a digital gallery of the pieces.

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