Latest Posts by andreakalfas - Page 5

AAAAAH I really want one of those Esmereldas prints! Can I do a pre-order???

I'm psyched you like them, and I'm really sorry, but I can't do pre-orders. I have a really limited run of the poster available and it's reserved for SPX attendees :( BUT, if there's any of them left over, I will make them available for sale online, and even if there aren't any left over, I'm hoping prints might go up for sale on inPRNT maybe.

People have responded so well to my Emeraldas (♥) that it's definitely not going away. So don't you worry! Prints will be get-able at some point in the near future at some online venue.

18" X 24" posters of my Queen Emeraldas piece will be for sale at SPX this year in addition to my other offerings. It's rad to see it printed large! If you think so too and might want to put one on your wall, they're just $20, AND only 25 of them will be available.

To find them at the expo, look for me surrounded by the collective radness of Kali Ciesemier (whose handy map I've borrowed from her tumblr), Sam Bosma, and Jimmy Giegerich. We'll see you there!

A few days ago, the Damn Fine Coffee! Kickstarter ended with wild success! I just want to send out a quick thanks to everyone who pledged their support, spread the word, and sent me and the contributing artists tons of encouragement. Thanks!

Now to the grindstone! (I mean the printing house! (I mean the Bookhouse! What?))

A ghost wrote this in my sketchbook I'm pretty sure.

I want to watch the sun set on Mars with you.

A little warm-up piece inspired by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit's photos, which are just incredibly moving, right?

Happy Friday!

& the end to another crazy-busy week amirite??

This is my piece for Jimmy Giegerich's much-anticipated Bits in Multiples of 8 Video Game Fan Art Book (it'll be B&W in there).

"LOOT" tote bags! Get them for $15 from me at SPX!

They're perfect for holding your zines, your sketchbooks, magazines, or LP's. These were screen-printed by the great fellows at Pizza Party Printing in Baltimore. 

The Magician

Meanings: influence, awareness, ability, creative power, confidence, determination, a beginning, ego, desire to dominate, inspiration, focus, taking action, charm.

This is my piece for Light Grey Art Lab's upcoming show, Tarot, Mystics, and the Occult. I pulled The Magician, the card which starts The Fool's journey, which was awesome and intimidating! There are a ton of great artists taking part in the show, and everyone's piece will be compiled into an actual Tarot deck, which you can pre-order here! 

Here's a question: can you guess which fantastically low-budget 1960s horror (?) film The Magician's cloak is an homage to?

It's Ping Zhu's birthday today! ♥ 

When are you guys going to be putting out the second zine? I'd like to contribute to something!

It's more a question of "if" than "when" really. "Damn Fine Coffee!" is the first large anthology-type zine I've made, and I'm undecided about whether I want to put out another issue or to move on! As I've told many other interested folks, if I make another one, it will be an open-call for submissions. I'll definitely spread the word about it if that happens, so keep your eyes open!

Also, I might add, the excitement for the zine and the interest everyone's expressed has been truly thrilling, but all I'm focusing on right now is getting this current issue out. 

<3

After just 24 hours Damn Fine Coffee! is over 250% funded! I'm blown away! Thank you all so much for your support. You've guaranteed that the zine will not only happen, it'll be the best that it can be and will make it to many more hands than I expected. I'm so glad that everyone's excited about this project, has been contributing and sharing it with their friends, and I'm psyched to get your zines and prints and drawings into your hands.

It hardly needs to be said, but I just have to thank all my talented contributors again, as none of this would have been possible without them. There is just so much gorgeous work in the zine. Some you might have already enriched your eyes upon and plenty that will be an excellent surprise. I hope you get the chance to check it all out either by pre-ordering through Kickstarter or by picking up a copy of Damn Fine Coffee! at SPX this year! 

<3

Damn Fine Coffee! A Twin Peaks fan zine - Kickstarter!

Hey all! My Twin Peaks-themed anthology zine "Damn Fine Coffee!" just launched its funding project on Kickstarter! This is your chance to place pre-orders on the zine and also to snatch up screen prints, original drawings, AND paintings of Twin Peaks characters. If you're excited about the book, I hope you can contribute and help make it happen, or just take a minute to spread the word! Every little bit helps and I'm super thankful for whatever you can do or give. Seriously. 

You can read more about the zine and see a few fantastic pieces by some of its fantastic contributors here. 

Visit the Kickstarter project and claim a copy of the zine (which has free shipping for a limited time!) right here!

After all, in the words of Agent Cooper himself:

Recently, I was invited to take part in Scout Books GOOD INK: American Shorts. Their series of small books telling classic short stories are each illustrated by one of many talented artists, and it's exciting to be included among them. My story, The Isle of Voices by Robert Louis Stevenson, entails giant warlocks, disembodied voices, and magic shells. Here are a couple of the illustrations that you'll find in the book. Keep an eye out for it in bookstores soon!

Queen Emeraldas.

___

HOW DID I NOT KNOW PING WAS ON TUMBLR. FORGIVE ME, PING! I'm super late on the game, so everyone is following her by now, right? Because everyone loves beautiful things, right?

life is better with colors.

!!!!!

Jimmy's video game fan art book "Bits in Multiples of 8" went up on Kickstarter last NIGHT! Amazing. Now look what you've done, guys! He's gonna have to print more books!

Way to go, Jim Jams.

Tag! You're it! The rules are to state 5 random facts about yourself. Then, go to ten blogs and tell them that they are it!

get out of here with that noise.

fools' gold / painted gold

I really love bats. I love bats so much.

"Severian and the Undine" a scene from Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.

I painted this piece for Seb Mesnard's upcoming gallery event in Paris "The Book Show." Thanks, Seb, for inviting me to participate! You can check out some of the other awesome work on the show blog here.

Book of the New Sun may be my favorite book series of all time. It's so astoundingly good, I don't really have adequate words. It transcends science fiction, fantasy, novel, whatever you want to call it, and is more an epic prose. It's just gorgeous, riveting, mind-blowing imagery and world-making by Gene Wolfe, a writer whose stories change and only get more amazing with each read. Just wow. You guys. You guys need to read it. Jimmy Giegerich introduced me to it. Check out his Severian!

A new little piece for the New York Times Op Ed about disparity in taxes, which just went up yesterday evening. I enjoy suit-guy's ape-like arms. Thanks to AD Alexandra Zsigmond. You can read the article online here.

Say! Thanks for the love! For Freddie. Obviously ♥

___

Get on your bikes and ride!

Freddie Mercury illustrated by Andrea Kalfas :: via andreakalfas.com

I decided to paint a little Japanese beetle tonight. They have furry stripes on their bellies! #gouache (Taken with instagram)

Somehow at some point my blog passed 1,000 followers (1100!). Wow! What are all you people doing here?? 

Me and my fox friend want to welcome you ♥

Mad Max for the Silver Screen Society's May gallery. Thanks to Trevor Basset for the invitation!

Hi Andrea, I was in Greg's Monday class this past semester and I found your Tumblr by chance. I didn't know you had graduated MICA already, I assumed you were still a student because you were Greg's TA. It's so cool that you've done illustrations for NY Times! How did you get such a big client like that? I guess I'm just kinda gushing now. I guess I'll leave this message by saying I really admire your work =]

Hey miss ma'am! Haha I'm...glad? you thought I was a student. But no, that youthful glow and non-jaded outlook on the bitterness of life left me when I graduated MICA....Counterpoint: did I mention how I think Sailor Moon is super fun? And did you see? Kali turned me into a sailor scout! wee!

Anyhow, I actually got contacted by the NY Times rather than the other way around, which was (is) a hugely exciting thing, but probably not to be relied on as a typical occurrence. My best recommendation is to do what I do too little of and promote yourself as much as you can. Be friendly, make contacts, and send your promos out to all the people you want to work with. But most importantly, just keep making work, even if it's just for you. Try not to get seduced by trends, always aim for making yourself proud, and put some soul into your work (by loving what you do)! You never know who'll notice you. 

Thanks so much, Shirley! Best of luck!!

What brand of gouache do you use? Have you tried using student-grade gouache, particularly Lefranc & Bourgeois Fine Gouache? I am always told to stay away from student grades, but I was also told that if they worked for me (color-wise), I should be fine. I am worried about "permanency", or that my gouache paintings will break down in the future.

I enjoy Winsor & Newton a lot. I've never used Lefranc & Bourgeois before, but I used Daler Rowney throughout school. (Is that considered student grade? I don't know. I still use it occasionally and I like them ok, but oh man, their yellow ochre! what happened? s'not good.) About the worst thing I've experienced with "lower-quality" gouache is that there will be more variation in how the paint dries, so that you'll get some colors that dry with an annoying semi-gloss for some reason. But my older paintings done in said "lower-quality" gouache are still holding up just fine! I think you should be good so long as you mix (mix (MIX!)) your colors, look for a nice even consistency in the pigment of your paints, and be mindful about storage. That way, your works should last you a good while!

Good luck!

___

HOLY HELL KALI YOU ARE AMAZING (she got my colors right and everything <3)

Not only is Andrea Kalfas an amazing artist, but she’s my best buddy, all-around lovely lady, AND IT’S HER BIRTHDAY TODAY! THIS IS FOR HER! I wanted to pay her back for her bootylicious gift to me, and I’m sure you can guess what we’ve been watching a lot of, lately. Happy Birthday girl! Thank you for protecting us all with your powers of love and justice and badassery!!!!

Mad Max

Toecutter!! #madmax (Taken with instagram)