Defender

Another piece with colors that are slightly off from the original, but the picture is still decent enough to post here. :)

The Seelie and Unseelie faeries are at war, but the war is starting to affect the kingdom of vampires, werewolves, etc. The vampiress Jaria, their leader, tries to defend her people from the warring faeries.

Another story I hope to write out someday.

Alcohol markers and colored pencils on mixed media paper. Approx. 9 × 12 inches. © Mary DeMauro 2016

Waves of Death

Hey! Remember this? The picture that, for the life of me, I couldn't get a decent photo of? Well, this is as good as it's gonna get for now... and the colors still don't match the original. But it's good enough to share! :)

A ship’s cat named Shadar, who has psychic abilities, teams up with another cat named Claw to do battle with a ghost ship. The ghosts of the ship are after a haunted treasure stowed aboard Shadar’s ship.

Been working on this story for awhile; I’ll probably write it out someday.

Approx. 9 × 12 inches. © Mary DeMauro 2016

Technical Difficulties

Okay, so see this piece?

A photo posted by Mary DeMauro (@marydemauro) on Jul 11, 2016 at 7:08pm PDT

I finished it AGES ago, but I've been having no luck taking a good picture of it! That picture that you see, some of the details in the cats just aren't showing. And unfortunately for me, this piece is 100% colored pencils, which I enjoyed doing but now there's always a glare when I try to take a picture. But when there's not enough light, it's too dark... ugh! This is giving me so much trouble. Well, enjoy the preview for now, I suppose...

And no, I don't want to scan it. I used to scan my art in pieces and put them together in photoshop, but then I not only had to put it together, I had to adjust the colors, etc. I still have to make some adjustments when taking a picture, but not nearly as much. So, yes, I really would prefer to take a picture as opposed to scanning.

Just some sketches

Felt like making a post showing some drawings I've done recently. :)

A photo posted by Mary DeMauro (@marydemauro) on Jul 6, 2016 at 6:05pm PDT

Random cat...

A photo posted by Mary DeMauro (@marydemauro) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:56pm PDT

Fanged vampire lady...

A photo posted by Mary DeMauro (@marydemauro) on Jun 30, 2016 at 10:25pm PDT

Drew this during a recent vacation when I was sitting by the ocean.

A photo posted by Mary DeMauro (@marydemauro) on Jun 19, 2016 at 12:45pm PDT

My idea of an elf woman.

A photo posted by Mary DeMauro (@marydemauro) on Jun 16, 2016 at 6:36pm PDT

A Maasai woman.

Dungeon

Someone has chained this werecat in a dungeon… probably after finding it lurking in his castle. But how long can the beast be contained?

 ...Can I just say that I really really HATE doing chains? Geez...

Watercolor Paint, Colored Pencils, and ink on Mixed Media Paper. Approx. 8 × 10 inches.

Graveyard Guardian

A werecat stands guard over a cemetery. Don’t disturb the dead unless you want to feel her claws!

The cross came out pretty wonky, but aside from that I really like this one. I feel like I learned a lot about acrylics.

 Acrylic paint on mixed media paper. Approx. 8 x 10 inches. © Mary DeMauro 2016

Eyes of the Werecat

Yet another tragic result of wandering alone in the woods at night. Tsk, tsk. You have pissed off a terrible beast.

I didn't really get the perspective I was going for, but I really like the coloring on the werecat's fur!

Watercolor Paint, Colored Pencils, and ink on Mixed Media Paper. Approx. 8 × 10 inches.

Vampire Cat

He’s out for blood… and catnip! D:

So I thought I had this cool idea for vampire cats… but then I read one of Rita Mae Brown’s books (namely Sneaky Pie for President, which is an adorable book btw) and, well, turns out she already beat me to it…

Puzzled over how to color this one. I needed it to look vampire-ish, but I also wanted it to stand out from the background. Finally I picked white, because why not. :)

 Gah, I hate the way the words on the tomb look... but it was fun to use the latin version of that phrase! Thanks for the inspiration, Edgar Allan Poe. ^_^

Watercolor Paint, Colored Pencils, and ink on Mixed Media Paper. Approx. 8 × 10 inches.

The Headless Bride

This bride was mercilessly slaughtered on her wedding night; maybe by a cruel groom, maybe by a vengeful, rejected suitor. Either way, this spectre is now MAD and is out for blood! Mwahahahaha! 

Tried to make her dress feel really old fashioned… LOL I can’t imagine having to wear those puff sleeves.

 This piece owes a lot to the work of Joseph Vargo... one of my favorite artists of all time.

First Blood

…Alternatively titled, “DAMN this stuff tastes good!!!”

A newly created vampiress takes her first sip of blood. I guess the vampire that turned her offered it to her in that goblet. Maybe later she’ll feel horror at what she’s become… or maybe her newfound bloodlust will drive such petty concerns away.

Watercolor Paint, Colored Pencils, and ink on Mixed Media Paper. Approx. 5 × 7 inches.

Thunder

“Let the storm rage on… I am one with the wind and sky!”

Okay I have got to stop relating absolutely everything to that movie.

Whew! I spent sooooo long on this piece… Geez! But i really love how it came out. This is the Jersey Devil, or at least my incarnation of him. I call this character Thunder, because… well, I can. Been developing him since I was around thirteen, so… wow, a good ten years now. Damn.

I made the original drawing back in Inktober, and I’ve wanted to make it into a painting ever since. Really glad I did.

Also, I think I’m finally getting the hang of acrylics. I learned to paint satisfactory pine trees, didn't I?

Acrylic paint on mixed media paper. Approx. 9 x 12 inches.

The Cursed Ones

This picture features two characters that are very near and dear to my heart.

The stars of this picture are the Jersey Devil (this incarnation is named "Thunder" and he's a recurring character of mine), and a girl named Myra, cursed to become a wendigo. She’s a gentle, empathetic soul who was tricked into cannibalism. Now she sometimes transforms into a vicious monster… and she’s just met the Jersey Devil…

I’ve been developing Thunder since I was thirteen, and I first created Myra when I was about eight. I believe she might be the first original character I created, though there are a couple of contenders for that title.

Done in watercolors and colored pencils on mixed media paper. Actually mostly colored pencils, since I've really gotten attached to that medium. Approximately 9 x 12 inches.  SaveSave

Gadara Rising

Time for another horror painting!

Featuring my werecat character Rosamund! As well as two other werecats (in humanoid form), a regular cat, and a terrible demon-thing. The werecat witch Ilse Grimm hates humanity, believing it to be beyond redemption, and wishes to bring about an apocalypse with the demon Gadara—an incarnation of everything evil in the world. Two other werecats, Rosamund and her mate Kasimira, still have faith in human goodness and are determined to fight the demon. But in the process, Ilse has captured Kasimira, and Rosamund must save her beloved as well as humans.

It’s a fairy tale scenery… except this time, instead of a prince rescuing the princess, another princess is doing the rescuing.

 Done in watercolors, colored pencils, ink, and acrylic on mixed media paper. The final painting is approximately 9 x 12 inches.

The Hybrids

Here's another painting of mine.

This is based on the theory that “gray” aliens are abducting humans in order to create human/alien hybrids. Several accounts suggest that the grays may be trying to protect us from some sort of upcoming catastrophe.

Short version of the story: humans and reptilians have been battling for control of the earth, each species simply needing living space. In time, the battles become simply about protecting themselves from the other race. Gray aliens, surveying the earth, are concerned that this war may evolve into a nuclear conflict that will destroy both races. They begin creating hybrids between humans and grays, with the resulting creatures having elevated psychic abilities that can force both humans and reptilians to see how the other side has suffered, and encourage them to both stop fighting at the same time–the only way the war will end.

Now for a longer version of the story, which includes the characters I’ve created. Susan Raven is an abductee who is impregnated with a hybrid child. This child eventually grows up to be Ashta, the bottom-center character. With the help of a gray alien named Prennin, Ashta leads the other hybrids as, from their position on the gray’s space station, they send psychic waves across the entire earth. Through this, they connect the minds of reptilians and humans, including those of Vak (the reptilian with the cobra-like hood) and Hayden (the human in the military uniform), who have both lost loved ones in the war. After coming to a new understanding, both of them put their pasts behind them.

…I don’t think I’m telling this story very well but it’s one of my favorites that I’ve worked on. I’m sure I’ll be drawing the characters more, but this painting more or less sums up the story!

I'm planning on writing out this story as well.

I did this in watercolors, white colored pencil, and ink on mixed media paper. It is approximately 12 x 9 inches.

Dance of Death

Time for some art sharing!

Here's a painting featuring "grim reapers" and other supernatural beings. Juliet is the name of the blonde Reaper. She’s riding on her Steed, Storm, and her Barghest, Racer, Steeds and Barghests being ghostly horses and dogs that assist Reapers. They are battling hellhounds, canine demons that spread curses and death among mortals. They have even captured another Reaper, Markus, and are disturbing the spirits of the dead. With a ghostly army of her own, including her deceased mortal friend Crystal, Juliet and her friends challenge the hellhounds–lead by the infamous Black Shuck in front–in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, England. Juliet is a guardian of the dead, and she will protect both ghosts and mortals from demons. 

I am currently editing a novel based off of this painting, entitled Memento Mori (though that title didn’t really fit this piece). I referenced the background from the real Holy Trinity church, which was allegedly attacked by Black Shuck. I had help from this photo, though I’m sure I got many things wrong. 

This was done with watercolors, colored pencils, and ink on mixed media paper, and it is about 12 x 9.5 inches.