OMGGGG you guys!! I'm getting a burlesque tribute show!!!
Thanks to Kita St. Cyr, my artwork will be coming to LIFE on the stage of the Gemini and Scorpio loft in Brooklyn next month!! I am SO excited!! She's been talking about doing this for YEARS (ever since we both worked at the tshirt company after I first moved to NYC) and then blew up my phone last month with a string of texts telling me she had a venue, a date and a string of amazing performers all set to bring my drawings to life. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. Phil was all "This might be too much stimulation for even YOUR ego..." Haha, which is true- it's hard not to get at least a little bit of a swollen head with all these talented and beautiful women all wanting to dress up as my artistic creations and interpretations. Other than the performers list and what piece they plan to an act inspired by, I am just as much of a spectator as anyone else. (Also in case there was any confusion- NO I AM NOT DANCING. Trust me- you do not want to see that.) There will be a raffle with a prize bag of Paigey stuff to the winner as well as a small selection of my merch for sale at the show.
Omg lookit the ARMY OF HOTTIES that have amassed in my honor! Kita is the Nick Fury of Burlesque for creating this line-up of all-stars!
Me and Kita!
I seriously can't wait to see this show happen!! And already in the midst of so much else going on with both Monster Mania and NYCC happening before and after!! What a week this will be! ::collapses::
This is Amy, one of our heroes. See the rest of my characters here.
In preparation for actually sitting down and doing my fabled magnum opus comic series Pearly Whites, I'm drawing character studies and other fun stuff. I consider this separate from my usual pinup work, so it's all going in here.
The long-winded 'elevator pitch':
It's best described as almost an east-coast version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but from the monsters perspective. (I'm not even gonna pretend people aren't going to make comparisons.) It could also be considered a superhero team book if the superheroes all didn't wear costumes and have no actual mission to carry out. It's got action, horror, comedy, romance, drama, powers, drugs, fashion and pop culture references out the wazzoo. Alot of the stories and characters come from my 4 years of playing/DMing tabletop dice-and-paper RPG's like Vampire and Shadowrun in high school.
The main story follows our main character Amy, an amnesiac who is of unknown origins. She is haunted by two girls, Suzan and Fiona, who could be either ghosts, figments of her imagination or incorporeal aspects of her own personality. Or all of the above. Or something else entirely. She comes to live in a sort of halfway house for the supernatural called the Monster Lodge, which is occupied by a rotating cast of various werewolves, vampires, demons, witches, Frankensteins, mad scientists, fairies, and ne'er do well's. Many who comes to live at the Monster Lodge are there because they're running from something, which results in several character's pasts eventually catching up with them. Depending on the character, this can result in anything from riotous hijinks across the country (and sometimes across the world) to heartbreaking realizations that can shake the characters to their very cores.
As of right now I've got 16 characters down, a bazillion to go. Look for more designs soon! With the summer weather being absolute shit right now, this is basically all I've been concentrating my free time on. It's like I'm in high school again. I'm proud to say I'm further along to a cohesive plot than I've ever been in the 15+ years these characters have been running around in my head, and I'm taking serious steps to organize my thoughts and get my shit in gear to do my own goddamn comic. Woot.
I added an actual page to my blog up above under the title banner of this very blog where you can see my character designs as they progress. Or just click here. Be sure to check it out every few weeks as I plan on adding more characters and concept drawings and who knows, maybe some comic shorts as I get back into the sequential game.
Heads up New York people! I'll be vending at Gemini & Scorpio's GOLDMINE shopping party in Brooklyn this Sunday, May 19th from 1-8pm! I'll have a bunch of fresh merch and some Little Asian Sweatshop hairflowers available for purchase!
Here's a sneak peek of some of the goodies I'll have!
New prints!
Bracelets!
SO MANY MAGNETS!
And a fresh new banner!
Here's the info from the Facebook invite! The address is not public so you HAVE TO RSVP on the Gemini & Scorpio event page. Click here to do so!
Sun May 19, 1pm-8pm, FREE / VIP preview 12-1pm, $10Kickstarter backers get in FREE to VIP preview: http://bit.ly/GS_loftAt the G&S loft in Gowanus, BKAddress with RSVP: http://www.geminiandscorpio.com/events.htmlFB: https://www.facebook.com/events/447177058690897 Have you ever wanted to shop (or at least rifle through) Miss Scorpio's closet? This is your chance. She's teaming up with burlesque bombshell Veronica Varlow, a fellow dress-up addict, for some spring cleaning and fundraising for their respective homes. You already know about the Gemini & Scorpio Loft, our art space project. Veronica's upstate home burned down, and she's rebuilding from scratch. In addition, some of the most fabulous ladies of the burlesque, cabaret, and design world will be opening their closets and displaying their magnificent contents for your purchase -- and sharing their fierce handmade items with you. Think one-of-a-kind vintage, corsets and crinolines, feathers and fascinators, elbow-length fingerless leather gloves, and lots and lots of sparkles. Of course even divas have days off, so there will be plenty of casual wear alongside costume and vintage pieces. Mimosas and music, too; plus lounging on our giant roof. All G&S Loft Kickstarter backers get access to the VIP preview. Featuring the handmade designs of:6362 Metaforce - hip utility belts for festivals and beyond -http://6362metaforce.com/Anne Arden McDonald - lace, sea creatures and natural elements in hand-cast silver - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ardent1Electric Candy - laser-cut blacklight-reactive fierce acrylic party wear -http://www.electriccandycouture.com/Kita St. Cyr - evening gowns, jewelry and rhinestone encrusted shoesLamia Gloves - the fingerless leather gloves of choice for NYC party people - http://www.lamiadesign.com/Liberace Nation - drapey slinky luxe handmade unisex clothing -http://www.etsy.com/shop/LiberaceNationMake Fun Studio - when you need the perfect circus leotard or stilt pants -http://www.makefunstudio.com/Paigey Pumphrey - delightful pinup illustrations enjoyed by ladies and gents alike - http://www.theartofpaigey.com/Pinkitrix - whimsical costumery and colorful headpieces -http://www.facebook.com/PartywearByPinkitrixSarah Sparkles - hand-crafted stone & crystal jewelry - http://www.sarahsparkles.com/Wheylan Dean Ford - Gothic-Victorian gogo couture and leather accessories - http://www.etsy.com/shop/WheylanDesignsPlus Ali Luminescent - representing a handful of international designers whose work you can only get through her directly -http://aliluminescent.com/ ===================To get event invites from us on FB, join the group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/41331183538To get invites directly, get on our mailing list: http://bit.ly/GS_list===================Support the arts in Brooklyn! We're running a Kickstarter fundraising campaign until 5/30 to support major renovations to our events loft:http://bit.ly/GS_loft===================
Holeeeey crap. What a crazy, fun, unexpectedly successful weekend!!
I vended the 5th Annual Psychobilly Luau this past weekend, which is the largest psychobilly get-together on the east coast.
My illuminated table at Public Assembly on Friday! With awesome giant banner action!
What is psychobilly, you ask? From Wikipedia: "Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly. Psychobilly is often characterized by lyrical references to science fiction, horror and exploitation films, violence, lurid sexuality, and other topics generally considered taboo, though often presented in a comedic or tongue-in-cheek fashion. It is often played with an upright double bass instead of the electric bass more common in modern rock music. Psychobilly gained underground popularity in Europe beginning in the early 1980s, but remained largely unknown in the United States until the late 1990s. Since then the advent of several notable psychobilly bands has led to its mainstream popularity and attracted international attention to the genre."
I attended both Friday July 22nd and Saturday July 23rd of the event, at Public Assembly and The Bell House, both in Brooklyn respectively. I never did an even like this, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I had had a bad run of vending at street fairs and flea markets and really wanted to to expand my fan base but wasn't sure exactly what types of events would welcome work such as mine. Then my friend Laura Rebel-Angel get ahold of me about vending the Psychobilly Luau this year, which I had seen posters for in previous years but never had a chance to get out to. I'm always bad at going to shows like these just as a spectator. I don't get out much and when I do and it's a scene I admire but am greatly intimidated by and don't have much personal exposure to I often find myself awkwardly hanging out on the sidelines with friends who have no idea what's going on that I drag with me. So at least having a table set up people can come to me, see what I'm all about and I get this illusion of being involved even though I'm actually a dorky shut-in. Plus it gives me the opportunity to make a little extra scratch on the side. ;)
Meredith and I looove photobooths!!
So along with Meredith, my longtime pal from Maryland up for the weekend as my trusty helper I set up shop Friday evening at Public Assembly in Williamsburg to an overwhelmingly awesome crowd of folks who were super in to what I had to offer. My best friend Fenny even sent up some of the custom-made paper hair flowers she creates for her Little Asian Sweatshop store on etsy to sell for her. Her most popular being roses she crafts from playing cards, like the one pictured below, which were a HIT! Out of the 20 she sent me I have 2 left! Craziness! If you wanna get one for yourself head on over to her etsy store and check out all her goodies!
My BFF Fenny's Sweatshop Flowers- check them out in her etsy store
I also had my iPhone Square card reader for the show, which I still had yet to properly use (as most convention centers are lacking in phone signals). I must say the ability to read credit cards really put my vending success at the Luau on par with some of my best comic convention table experiences! I really hope I'm able to get some wifi at Baltimore Comic Con coming up, because getting that extra business would be beyond awesome, as people are apt to spend more with a credit card as we've been somewhat conditioned to think of it as not 'real' money.
New *rhinestoned* Paigey jewelry in the works!
I have been playing around with 'fancier' renditions of my jewelry, as I am fascinated with all things sparkly- especially rhinestones. I blame burlesque. So I got these super cute cameo frames that I put my artwork in, but I felt they needed a bit of extra oomph and working my dayjob in the Fashion District I'm constantly passing all these stores with excellent rhinestones and beadwork. So I eventually learned that one way to attach them to pieces is by these fun little things called headpins, and thus A NEW SUB-OBSESSION IS BORN. So now I'm concocting a separate 'line' of Paigey jewelry that's gonna be all fancy-schmancy with sparkles n' stuff. I'll be adding these new pieces to my etsy store in the coming month and you can also see them up close and personal once Baltimore Comic Con rolls around at my Artist Alley table .
Awesome setup at The Bell House on Saturday! Now if they could only get that AC working...
*Giant* table spread at The Bell House on Saturday!
More rhinestone Paigey jewelry! Look for it at my table at Baltimore Comic Con and to go up on my etsy store soon!!
Sasquatch and the Sick-A-Billies!!
I'm definitely going to be back next year to vend for the show, it was a whopping success and I'm already talking to Fenny about her coming up to vend as well with MORE hairflowers and even more goodies that's she and I will be creating between now and then.
Wanna see more pics of the event? Papermag has a great photo essay right here and Sailor Jerry (one of the sponsors) has some great coverage of Saturday on their Facebook page!
Back in May '10 I was interviewed over Memorial Day weekend by my good friend Tameeka Ballance, who is a videographer and runs a blog called Tameeka Time that features art videos (including graffiti by my former dayjob boss man Cortes) and Jersey Shore recaps (if you're into that sort of thing).
Give my girl some love and go on over to her site to check out more videos!
Check out the full Paigey coverage over at Tameeka Time here!!
I'll be a vendor at the 5th Annual Psychobilly Luau Weekender in NYC next month, July 22nd and 23rd!! I'm VERY excited about this! I've wanted to go for as long as I've been living in NYC but never got to for one reason or another, so going AND vending is like two awesomes in one! Yay! I'm currently working on a few new show-specific type pieces that I'll have on merch by the time it rolls around. Nothing too crazy, just some cute little stand alone girlies that'll appeal to the psychobilly/hula crowd. I'm very excited about expanding my audience into the psychobilly crowd, I really want to start vending at other subcultural events besides comic conventions. I'm also looking into the Baltimore Tattoo Arts Convention as well!
One of the pieces I'm working on is a little luchadora girl with mask and cape. I think she'll make a sweet magnet/brooch and maybe some stickers.
I also just recently completed a sexy little nurse on a pill, titled '..For What Ails Ya!'
So far I have her on some pillboxes and as a magnet/brooch. She sure is a cutie! ^_^
While at MoCCA Fest last month I had the pleasure of meeting Holly Wilensky, aka The Dress Recycler who is a fashion blogger for The Queens Ledger up here in NYC, as well as The Brooklyn Star, Queens Examiner, LIC/Astoria Journal, Forest Hills Times and Greenpoint Gazette! She really dug my crazy 'convention drag' and my pinup art work so we got together on the phone after the dust of MoCCA Fest had settled and I told her what I was all about for the Local Designer Spotlight!
You can see the article in these following papers:
"Paigey embodies fun, flirtatious and fabulous; a true live character who brings her designs to the public on a personal level, where people can really relate to what she is illustrating. “The lines tend to blur between my art and myself,” she said."
So on Saturday 11/13 Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School had a special blowout session at the Brooklyn speakeasy The Red Lotus Room that was themed after Andy Warhol's Factory.
My inspiration for the night
NYC BFF Christy and I, always eager to dress up cute, attended as Warhol print versions of Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. My surrogate little brother and tattooist Paul even came up from Maryland with his girlfriend Chelsea just for the party. Good times were had by all!
Liz and Marilyn scoping out the scene
After a couple drinks channeling Norma Jean got a little too easy...
KingCon Brooklyn was this past weekend, and also marks the end of my big convention year for 2010!
Me at my table on Saturday- rocking my new Louise Black corset!
Another 2 day con (thank goodness- 3 day cons kill me...) I worked at my table and sold all day Saturday. Sunday I sold the first half of the day then took part modeling in a special mini Dr Sketchy's session and afterwards spoke in my first panel ever! Excitement!
I also met legendary X-Men write Chris Claremont! He created Kitty Pryde!! He was impressed by my tattoo! I was also super duper nervous to talk to him.
I was also part of a video made by The Brooklyn Cowboy who asked around the con What makes Brooklyn awesome?
Go ahead and pretend my feathers ain't luxurious...
Sunday afternoon I got to model for Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School, a bi-monthly cabaret life drawing session and worldwide phenomenon I usually attend as a guest artist with my friend Christy. I've been attending Dr. Sketchy's for about 2 years now and have become friends with Sketchy's founder Molly Crabapple, who I practically squealed with glee at via email when she asked me if I would like to wear the showgirl outfit I wore to NYCC to the KingCon Sketchy's session as a model. I was ALL ABOUT IT! I even made a little playlist just for the occasion!
NYC BFF Christy got some great shots from the session (which you can see above on the flickr slideshow) and I had a GREAT TIME modeling! I even got to be in the Dr. Sketchy BLOG!!! XD I hope to have more opportunities to model for life drawing sessions (of the non-nude variety) as I have a TON of crazy outfits and costumes I could utilize. Just sayin'. ;)
After the Sketchy's session, I got to take part in my first ever panel discussion for 'Hips, Lips and Pencil Tips: Sexualization of Women in Comics from a Feminist Viewpoint'. Thought it'd be funny to keep my showgirl costume on, as it was a main part of my talking points regarding my own experiences in the comics medium.
It was a really great panel, I almost wished it had been recorded. Everyone had really interesting perspectives and stories to share about how their sexuality has come into play as a comic book artist.
What I talked about:
~How when I was 12 I was looking for porn but found comics. My story of discovering my first comic while hunting for my dad's vintage Playboys/Penthouse Forums that my brother had gotten ahold of. While searching under my brother's bed I came across 2 comics: Uncanny X-Men #236 and #243, which started me on my lifetime obsession of comics, and Wolverine being naked.
Better than porn.
~Being my own 'booth babe'- Utilizing my past as a cosplay girl as well as my costume/dressup obsession as a tool to grab people's interest in my table/artwork at conventions with choice of dress (what I call my 'con drag'), using sales techniques from when I was a tv salesperson (yet another male-dominated industry I fell into) such as standing 90% of the time, eye contact with customers and starting up conversations with total strangers. Putting on the 'Paigey' persona at conventions which is basically just a friendlier, more outgoing and energetic version of myself than say, when I am at home in my sweatpants actually creating the artwork I hock at conventions.
~Alot of my pinup artwork has helped me embrace my own sexuality with more confidence, especially as I myself have become more 'womanly' in my proportions over the years. And since I've moved to NYC I've gained an exposure to and ultimately a fascination with burlesque and it's history, which has served as an amazing resource of inspiration not only for my artwork but to myself as well as that is a community which is accepting of women in so many shapes, sizes and colors.
I'm sure there was other stuff I went on about, as I tend to ramble when put on the spot, but I'm very excited to see what 2011 has in store for me convention-wise.
Check it out! MY NAME's on the poster!!! Sweeet!!!
So this upcoming weekend is my final convention appearance for the year- King Con Brooklyn on Saturday November 6th and Sunday November 7th at the Brooklyn Lyceum!
Saturday I will have my usual Paigey merch for sale at my table- including prints, artbooks, buttons, magnets, toys and jewelry.
Sunday however, is actually the first time I will have direct involvement in events for a convention-
3:30pm: DR. SKETCHY'S ANTI-ART SCHOOL KING CON EDITION (bring your own drawing supplies): Dr. Sketchy's is what happens when Cabaret meets Art School. Artists draw glamorous underground performers and compete for prizes. In our KingCon special edition, pinup artist Paige Pumphrey poses as a MiniComics Showgirl, with Syd Bernstein hosting.
VERY EXCITED! Been going to Dr. Sketchy's for about 2 years now and I am beyond honored that I get to be counted amongst the plethora of gorgeous women who've modeled for Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School over the years! I've had a little experience as a life drawing model before and know it is VERY HARD WORK, so I hope to do it justice!
6:30pm: HIPS, LIPS, & PENCIL TIPS: The Sexual Female as Feminist Focal Point a conversation with female artists Paige Pumphrey, Laura Lee Gullidge, Jennifer Hayden; moderated by writer Rachel Kramer Bussel.
THIS SHOULD BE FUN!! I've never taken part in a panel and speaking in front of alot of people makes me nervous, and I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be playing the Devil's Advocate on the whole idea of the sexualization of women so if anything maybe I'll just keep my showgirl costume from Sketchy's on and fully embrace my role.
So yeah. If I have my way, I am never doing what I've done to myself these past few weeks again. Double-stacking projects, weird experimental shit, insanely tight deadlines, my inability to tell people 'No.'. Yeah, hopefully. I mean sure, it's nice to be busy. But when I'm doing all that and have a full time day job it gets to be a bit too much at times. It can lead to be getting a little... TENSE.
Much like this:
LOL- I've always identified with that bit, even as a kid.
But anyways, enough whining! Onto the art n' stuff. :D
Finished the bout poster for Charm City Roller Girl's upcoming June bout, that's an homage to Savage She-Hulk #1's cover by John Buscema. Rather happy with how it turned out. It was fun to get back into doing comic covers, this time with added 'special effects' of pages to add to the validity of it being a comic cover.
Also some progress on the bodycast of Rachel Kramer Bussel for Fancy Sexy Me's launch party next week at Shag.
Almost done! Gotta do a couple more little filler tats, spray it down with a matte enamel and Gorilla glue the pasties on.
Then it gets to be presented at the Punk Rock Peepshow at Shag next Friday May 14th. I'll be coming out for it, maybe I'll see you there?
Holy cats there's so much going on in the next couple months I think I might have a brain aneurysm trying to do it all.
The Mode Merr Spring Spectacular went AWESOME! I had SO MUCH FUN and it was so EFFIN' COOL to hang out backstage with some modern burlesque legends, and I was beyond honored to be able to share the stage for even just a minute with them. Also grabbed some dresses on the cheap- word to the model discount. And bonus awesome-I got asked to draw the flyer for the next Mode Merr event! OMG!
My friend Maria got some real quick video of my modeling (careful it's WAY LOUD):
Also some pics from the event:
Me n' Ballsy in the photobooth at The Bellhouse
Me in the bathroom after getting my hair done
In other news, been working practically everyday on these 2 projects that are due next weekend. The bodycast for FancySexyMe's launch party is coming along. I need to pick up some printable decoupage paper and start laying the images on, hopefully this weekend when I put myself down on art-lock. The other piece of art I'm simultaneously working on is a new Charm City Roller Girls bout poster for when they go up against teams from Texas and Missouri in June.
This is a work in progress shot:
It's going to be an homage of the classic Savage She-Hulk #1 cover, which I've always thought was awesome.
So both of them are due next weekend, which is also when I'm doing the Vs Project 4 person art battle, which yeah I'm kinda terrified about cuz that competition is stiff, yo. I'm the only one of the 4 who isn't a published comic book artist or animator. I just design sub-par shirts for mass market consumption of the lowest common denominator during the day and boobies at night. But hey, it's cool. I'll be the underdog. I'm like Rudy! :D
Really, I'm just excited that there are people who actually think I can compete on a scale with these other 3 mad talented folks. Even if I totally crash and burn (which I'm fully expecting to), it's still awesome exposure for myself and my art.
