May 2013
4 posts
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The John Varvatos / Chrysler Contest
So over the winter Chrysler held this lovely contest through Behance to celebrate the upcoming release of their limited edition car designed by John Varvatos. Though mine wasn’t chosen as the final design, I was lucky enough to be one of the semi-finalists. This piece is about 70% digital, way more than I would normally use, but it seemed appropriate, and I am pleased with how my...
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Wien
So Vienna is one elegant city. I mean, they have a ball season. They have a dancing school for horses. They hang chandeliers over the streets. They also have the world’s best lamp posts, as far as I’m concerned. Curly, intricate, and too cool for words. I started sketching some, but then it kind of turned into a festive tree sketch. The city is surrounded by beautiful woods. I...
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The Johnstown Flood
Sneak peak #2 of my upcoming chapter book! This one’s of Sarah Beth trudging through the rain to the general store.
Available September 2013 through Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO Group (www.abdopublishing.com) or your educational wholesaler.
April 2013
2 posts
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Cafe Sketch
Sketch of the piece I’m working on for Owl Square Press.
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The Johnstown Flood
Back in January I had this fabulous project — illustrating John and Lisa Mullarkey’s Choose Your Own Ending chapter book, The Johnstown Flood. My hands were grey for weeks from rubbing all that graphite into the tissue paper, but it was more than worth it. Many thanks to the wonderful Stephanie Hedlund for her awesome guidance!
Available September 2013 through Magic Wagon, a...
March 2013
3 posts
11 tags
In Color
http://society6.com/DanaMartin/Vintage-cDg_Print
Interview: Dana Martin
affinityparcels:
A few days ago I asked Dana if it was possible to interview her and I’m glad she said yes. Her work has a colorful sense of wonder, honesty and innocence to them. Read the full conversation after the jump.
“A recent graduate of Montserrat College of Art, Dana Martin works as an illustrator and watercolorist. Her art has been featured in CMYK Magazine and shown in the Boston...
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Spellbound Spring 2013: Changeling and...
Final for the spring issue of Spellbound. Still deciding how I feel about that background color. Believe it or not, it was done with just one ink, a brown that bled out in mysterious ways.
To purchase an issue or learn more about the magazine, visit:
http://eggplantproductions.com/spellbound-magazine/spellbound-childrens-fantasy-e-zine-spring-2013-issue/
February 2013
3 posts
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Feeling Vintage
I hate waiting for things. The deadline for Modcloth’s latest design contest was just yesterday, and I am already gnawing my nails waiting to find out whether I made it even past the first cut (news that won’t be released for like a month). Yeah. I have no patience.
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December 2012
1 post
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October 2012
3 posts
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This is how I amuse myself during hurricanes. The Queen of Spades is one of my favorite stories, as it deals with things like high-stake gambling, exiled Russian aristocrats, and a ghost with a secret card trick. How did you spend Sandy?
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Camels are smug about a lot of things. How hard they are to draw is probably one of them.
Also, Omni Art House’s online gallery opens today. I have a piece in their debut show, Monsters, which is up till the 15th.
http://www.omniarthouse.com/
September 2012
3 posts
6 tags
Plougshares Magazine T-shirt →
My design for the Ploughshares T-shirt contest is finally available for purchase!
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The September Issue
So at long long last the September issue of Art*Throb is being released, with my illustrations on the cover and feature story. Come to the launch party tomorrow at Montserrat Gallery, Thursday, Sept. 6, 5:30-7:30pm to get your free copy.
Prints can be purchased here:
http://society6.com/DanaMartin/France-comes-to-Salem-cover_Print
...
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August 2012
5 posts
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Things I forgot about acrylic over the past year
1. If you seal all your containers of gesso and medium tightly and properly, and even leave in the little paper liners, that stuff will still dry into weird hard chunks of uselessness.
2. There are rules about what will and will not stick to gesso, since it is essentially plastic. Don’t defy these rules! But if you decide you want to, since it is late at night and your judgement has gone...
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Sultan for a Day published in CMYK Magazine
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News! RAW Boston Ensemble Show!
I’m going to be in RAW Boston’s Ensemble show!
September 13, 7-10pm, The Estate
These shows are always a blast. RAW does an amazing job of putting them together, the venue is a welcome change from the whitewashed gallery, there’s a great bar, live music, and a fashion show to boot. And this time I will be on site with original pieces and prints! The last time I went there, it was packed, so...
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Pickering Wharf
One of my recent illustrations, published in the August issue of ArtThrob.
July 2012
4 posts
7 tags
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Sleeping Beauty Ballet
I used this personal project to experiment with a lot of new techniques and to explore a fairy tale that has come to be known through several different interpretations. At first I was determined to focus on the ballet version of Sleeping Beauty (which is where the costume originates), but this immediately led to practical questions such as Was the painting set on the stage? Should I focus on the...
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June 2012
2 posts
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Ploughshares T-Shirt
So excited that my design for Ploughshares t-shirt contest will soon be printed and wearable!
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A sneak peak of a summer piece I’m working on for ArtThrob Magazine.
May 2012
1 post
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Prints of this painting are available at:
http://society6.com/DanaMartin/Ballet-in-Burgandy_Print
April 2012
2 posts
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Women's Wiles
In one of the rare Arabian Nights stories that deals with discrimination against women, a merchant hangs a sign above his shop that reads: Men’s wits exceed women’s wiles.
Soon a beautiful young woman comes to him, in tears, demanding whether he thinks she is hunchbacked, or pockmarked, or one-eyed. The merchant says that of course she is not, and asks where she got such a strange...
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March 2012
2 posts
9 tags
Illustration Friday: Shades
Sadly didn’t have the time to pull a watercolor together for this, but I was so excited about this week’s theme, that I had to do SOMETHING. After a bit of sketching I decided to do some shades (i.e. ghosts) visiting one of their favorite haunts. Perhaps I’ll explore this theme more in the future?
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The Hunchback's Tale
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything from this project, but I am still at work on the Arabian Nights. This scene comes from The Hunchback’s Tale, a comedy of errors in which the sultan’s hunchbacked jester chokes to death on a fishbone while dining with friends, who promptly act to rid themselves of the body — and the blame. A series of people stumble upon...
February 2012
2 posts
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Chinese Lantern Plants
There are few things more inspiring to the creation of artwork than having some other piece of art you should be working on instead.
While I was doing research for this other important project, I came across photos of withering Chinese lantern plants and so discovered that they actually contain little red fruits inside those papery husks; hence their other name, winter cherry. I’m sure...
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January 2012
2 posts
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November 2011
5 posts
1 tag
Dana wanders into the online wilderness . . . er,...
With great curiousity and mild trepidation, I have started experimenting with Society6. Products are now on view (and for SALE) at http://society6.com/DanaMartin
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Beauty of the Beast Show
In preparation for the Beauty of the Beast gallery show (which will open toward the end of this month), I took a break from my Arabian Nights series and started painting animals. Namely insects. The compositions were much simpler than what I’d been working on, but they left me opportunity to experient with some washes and a lot of close-up details.
June 2011
2 posts
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Sinbad
The story of Sinbad covers the merchant-sailor’s seven separate voyages, each of which ended in shipwreck and disaster. Though this is hands-down the most adventurous tale in all of the Arabian Nights, and though Sinbad’s many troubles (cannibals, giant birds, etc.) provided a wealth of imagery, the illustration that resulted is one of the more tranquil pictures in the series. At the...
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The Fisherman and the Genie, continued
May 2011
2 posts
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The Fisherman and the Genie
The next story in the series is The Fisherman and the Genie. It’s about a fisherman who pulls up an old jar in his nets and unleashes a genie when he opens it. The genie had been trapped in the jar for two thousand years, and during this time his character had soured. He was ready to kill the fisherman on the spot, but the fisherman hastily resorted to an old trick: he protested that he didn’t...
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Aladdin
April 2011
5 posts
8 tags
Three Brothers, continued
For some reason my judgement took a leave of absence this week, and the result was that I had to start this painting over twice to get a decent piece. Maybe I was distracted by my upcoming show, and the mountains of matboard that had taken over my room. Maybe it was just that I suddenly ran out of all my most vital supplies, and I can’t sleep easy if I don’t have a sheet of...
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Aladdin
I was also making sketches for Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. The original story takes place in China, but the magician who journeys there to find Aladdin is Moroccan, so I wanted to be sure to show the contrast between these two cultures.
