I just made my new site Lotus and Pearl live. I've been working on wedding (and other) invitations recently for a few friends and I'm really enjoying it, so I decided that the custom invitation portion of my work needed it's own name and space. Check it out, and if you need any custom art or invites for your next event drop me a line at erin@lotusandpearl.com

Sleigh F***ing Bells

I'm super psyched to see Sleigh Bells and CSS tonight at the Bowery Ballroom, so I did a portrait of Alexis Krauss and Derek E. Miller, who are both adorable. I've got a pretty sweet tee shirt design inspired by the band that I have to finish– you'll see it soon! Gotta run so I can get ready for the show!

The Kills! 

Here's the final portrait of Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince of The Kills. They played a great show last week– although I definitely get cranky dealing with the jerks at live NYC shows. I'm looking forward to doing more portraits like this– fun and loose. We're going to see Sleigh Bells and CSS perform at the Bowery Ballroom next week, so I think I may do a portrait of Alexis and Derek next...and prepare myself for the too-cool-hipster-a-holes at that show! ;)

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!

I'm glad you're having a baby...

...and I'm not! I am very happy to be awaiting the birth of a new niece or nephew very soon! My lovely sister-in-law Vanessa and her husband Glen are expecting a baby in June. Myself, Vanessa's sister Caitlin, and some of Vanessa's close friends had been planning a surprise baby shower for a few months. We decided on a baby animal theme. Since I didn't want it to be too "pastel" or saccharine, I thought baby jungle animals would be a fun way to go, and then we all realized that was perfect, since Glen and Vanessa played Guns 'n' Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" at their wedding. The jungle colors also worked well since the baby's nursery will be green.                                                                                                                       

I had so much fun looking up the photo reference for this project– I mean, just look at a Francois Langur baby monkey– they're ridiculously cute! I also created Thank You tags for the favors (little foot cookie cutters) with three different variations, and a game for guests to play, which was actually kind of difficult. Vanessa's very talented friend Jenny made a gorgeous and delicious red velvet cake based on the theme as well– if you're in the NYC/Long Island area and you want an amazing cake check out Little Mrs. Cupcake!

All in all I think it was a really wonderful baby shower and an indication that this baby is going to have a ton of love, including from the crazy aunt. ;)

I Heart Brooklyn

Well I've been a bad blogger again– but also again, I've been working on some exciting secret projects. In between projects I was working on this I Heart Brooklyn design. I recently found out about the CitID Project, and thought it was a really cool idea that I wanted to be a part of. The concept is to create a logo for your city or town, so that designers (and others) can learn about each other and the world. 

Obviously, since I'm from New York City, I can't create a logo that would ever come remotely close to being a fraction as awesome as the world-renowned Milton Glaser "I Love NY" design. So I decided to do the next best thing and pay homage to Glaser's logo and represent the city-within-a-city of Brooklyn, where I've lived for almost a decade. 

Plus, I really do heart Brooklyn!

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!

The White Stripes: Inspiration

It was just announced that Jack White's first band, the White Stripes, have officially broken up. The first concert I ever when to with my husband was a White Stripes show in Coney Island. I am a huge Jack White fan, and as much as I love his other bands, I am really bummed that I won't ever see or hear the White Stripes play again. 

Although it was a classic blues song recorded by Son House, the White Stripes' version of "Death Letter" was the first I had heard. It inspired me to make a comic during a really difficult time in my life: my mother's final months fighting cancer. I think creating that comic helped me more than I realized at the time, even though it's a small thing, and I have the White Stripe's music to thank for it. So, for anyone that hasn't seen the comic before here it is, and the song is below.

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!