September Art Roundup: Dragon Con Special Delivery!

Before I get to the art, a quick recap. Feel free to skip!

I rave about Dragon Con's artist alley all year, but I gotta say, this year's DC artist alley selections were kind of lackluster. DC turns away dozens of mega-talented artists each year, so it's not for lack of options; I think they just tried to put more of an emphasis on original indie comics this year, since technically it IS called the "Comic & Pop Artist Alley."

As a result, more than half of the artists in AA were pitching their own indie comic books, and another 30% were the typical "T&A" comic artists we lady geeks have come to know & loathe. (Think the new Spider-Woman cover, but more explicit.)

I actually like a lot of pin-up art, don't get me wrong; there's just a line most older comic artists tend to cross, to the point even John was pointing them out in horror. ("I thought Supergirl was a superhero, not a porn star?")

That left about 20% of artist alley with stuff I actually wanted to shop, which made it easy on my bank account, but still disappointing.

Fortunately, DC has *two* art areas; next to Artist Alley is the Art Show, which features more fine art styles and paintings, no indie comics, and an enormous art auction display area, set up in aisles. That's where I found most of today's picks, and I'm excited for you guys to see!

So let's get to it!

My favorite new find in Artist Alley was Autumn of Daydreams & Giggles Studios. Take a look at all these amazing originals:

My favorite was Rainbow Brite, but the diva from Fifth Element gets major points, too:

And more from Autumn's Facebook page:

Sadly the originals were out of my price range, and Autumn only had prints in a whopping 11X14 - too big for me! If she'd had 4X6 prints I'd have picked up several, so I hope she'll offer smaller sizes some day.

Autumn has an empty Etsy store, so watch that and/or her Facebook page (both of which she shares with another great artist, Mark Dos Santos) for updates.

In fact, I've featured Mark before, but here's one of his latest:

It has a fun Norman Rockwell feel to it, right?

Tom Taggart is an artist & sculptor who had these fabulous ornaments for sale:

 They're big - larger than my closed fist - heavy resin, and utterly charming. These photos don't do the paint jobs justice, either:

My favorite was the squid, which comes in several different colors & has an awesome splattery fade to it. They're $75 each, and watch Tom's Etsy shop for listings, since I'm guessing he'll restock there soon. (Or follow him on Facebook for updates.)

Now from the Art Show side:

 Justin Gerard was sold out of this one completely, and it's easy to see why:

 

"The Seahorse" 8X10 print, $15 (or 11X14, $20)

SO PRETTY. And luckily you can still buy one online!

This one seriously tempted John:

Justin had this print there for $20, I think, but I don't see it in his online store. Keep an eye out, though; maybe he'll list it.

He also had a companion print in reds & oranges of a little dragon reading a comic book and dreaming of being a big bad, but I can't find it on Justin's site yet, either. Maybe soon? I hope so, since that was my favorite!

Keri Ruediger was also sold out of all my favorite prints by the time I reached her booth - and again,  easy to see why!

 WOW.

Two more:

Keri has such a rich style & vivid color palette that her prints practically jumped out at me coming down the aisle. This is the kind of fine art you can display in any room of the house, too, not just your fun/geeky office!

Check Keri's DeviantArt for the rest - so much eye candy! - and while she does have a print shop at Storenvy, it's currently empty. Boo. I guess watch that and/or her Tumblr for updates. (Also, how's this for confusing: her card says Keri Ruediger, but all of her online sites say Alice Chan. Um... ? o.0)

Caralyn of Mystic Reflections draws the CUTEST little dragons:

3 Dragon Doodle Cards, $4

LOVE.

In addition to that general cuteness, she also sells geekier versions as prints:

Each 5X7 print is $10, and comes matted to fit an 8X10 frame. Nice!

And THEN, Caralyn also has this:

Fairest Of Them All, 8X10 print (in an 11X14 mat), $20

Steampunk Snow White! Suh-WEET! Head over to Caralyn's Etsy shop to see the rest.

More dragons, this time by Stanley Morrison:

 He has dragons themed to all different kinds of drinks and fruits, which is fun, but I like this colorful mushroom dragon the best:

 
Head over to RedBubble for all of Morrison's big prints, starting around $22.


I've featured my friend Jasmine Becket-Griffith before, but I have to show this off: it was actually selected as the art Dragon Con used on all the room keys at the Hyatt!

"Clockwork Dragonling"

(Hit the link for all the different print options, starting at $14)

Jasmine & Matt gifted me with a canvas print of this - STUNNING - so then I immediately turned around and bought the canvas companion piece:

"Wind Swept"

These two are possibly my favorites of anything Jasmine's EVER done, and that's saying something; I've been following her work for over 10 years! Can't wait to get them on the wall in the dining room... just as soon as I find space. Heh.

Oh, and Wind Swept is limited to just 25 canvas prints, so if you want one, act fast! The canvas is $100, or you can get an open edition print for $14.


That's all I have for you guys from Dragon Con, amazingly enough, so lemme plug in one more find:

While searching Etsy for Soul Eater art I stumbled across Sarah Ellen Cheney's adorable Chibis, and, ah! IN LOVE.

 She has full sets of all the characters from Korra & Soul Eater, too.

And here's a super sweet Corpse Bride:

 Everything in Sarah's Etsy shop (aka Star In My Pocket) is surprisingly cheap: lots of button sets & key chains in the $5 range, or jewelry for around $15. GO NUTS.

 Or you can do what I did and pick any 3 of her 4X6 prints for $12.

The prints are gorgeous in person, and come individually packaged on sturdy foam boards. Color me impressed!

There's lots more where those came from, too, so go see!


K, that's it for now, so... GIVE-AWAY TIME!!

This month I'd like to clear out some of the older pieces on the give-away board, SO, if there's something you've been pining over for ages, tell me which one in your comment! 

In addition to one general winner - who will be free to pick something new -  I'll randomly pick a few extra winners who want some of my older prize selections. You don't *have* to tell me which one you want to enter, of course, but it'll up your chances if your choice has been on my board a while! (Keep scrolling down on the give-away board, btw; it refreshes & adds more!)

And as always, I'll ship anywhere, so BRING IT, internationals! I'll announce the winners in a few days.

Happy commenting!

The give-away has ended, and I picked TEN winners, listed here! Congrats, everyone!