studio1482 – Despina Illustration

Walnuts, autumn, textures and squirrels

So I’ve been a busy making this fall. It’s been a while since I’ve posted or since I’ve been involved with any social media. A few weeks ago I made walnut ink with my son from wild walnuts that we scavenged and collected. I’ve wanted to do it for years but never went through with […]

Nutracker at the SOI

Girls night for the ladies of Studio 1482 included drawing and wine and French food. The theme at the Society of Illustrators sketch night was The Nutcracker. Having a former ballet dancer play the role of the little dreamer girl was a treat. Here are a few images of my drawing from the night click […]

Drawing with the news on my mind

I was with my friends and colleagues of Studio 1482 the other day. We get together to draw the model every once in a while. Drawing from the model is such a way to stretch your legs and explore and experiment. And if you have music and good people around you , even better! Here […]

The Mayflower

I joined Dalvero Academy on a trip to Mystic Seaport again and this time we had the pleasure of drawing the Mayflower. Replica of course but it’s lovely none the less. Much smaller than I would have imagined. I think that was the coolest part about it- imagining being those people in that ship. crazy. […]

Napa Cellars

Recently I was commissioned for a really fun job. I was asked to do a full illustrative exploratory based on the existing Napa Cellars brand. The idea was that the new art would be used as one of a series of special artist’s labels. The project wasn’t realized in the end, but I really enjoyed working […]

Wine Label for Nolita

A few months ago I was commissioned to work on a wine label for the Limited Edition of Nolita, an Italian wine. I was happy to spend my time drawing the bucolic scene of a hillside village in Italy with the cypress trees and terracotta rooftops of the houses that I’d so love to spend […]

Tattoos at the SOI

Great night drawing at the Society of Illustrators.

Concept illustrations

I was recently commissioned to create a series of concept drawings. Each illustration involved digital media and its interaction and impact with the real world. I love creating line drawings so this job was a real pleasure to work on.

Lady Beetle

These illustrations are part of a bigger project about beetles. Here I had fun imagining a hybrid of a woman and beetle.

59th Street Bridge

This drawing is of the beautiful Ed Koch Bridge. A.k.a- Queensboro Bridge. But it will always be he 59th Street Bridge to me. I grew up in Astoria, Queens, and this bridge always represented the passageway to an adventure. Going across that bridge, to this day, I love it. I once was stuck in traffic […]

Japanese Buddhism

I’ve been studying Japanese and Zen Buddhism on and of for some time. So, yesterday when I took a trip to the American Museum of Natural History, I found myself wanting to visit the Japanese section. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. What a beautiful spot. I sat down and made a few […]

Mystic Town

Here is a drawing with watercolor of the Morgan, the crane and the town of Mystic behind it. The history of this town is incredible. This scene is after the heavy mast was erected onto the ship, when the crane was dropping cement weights into the hull as ballast. See my previous post for a […]

…notre dame from memory

I made this drawing 10 summers ago. It’s part of a drawing book that I hold very dear to my heart. One that is never too far from my drawing board. I’ve moved 4 times since I filled it with drawings and notes. With every move, I packed it with the “Fragile” and/or “Important” cargo. […]

…little leaves that are so dumb

A great poem is City Trees by Edna St Vincent Millay. Love how she talks about the importance of context. I read it often and recently felt like making a few drawings. This is the first. ~Despina The trees along this city street, Save for the traffic and the trains, Would make a sound as […]

…book jacket

Here’s some book cover art that I recently made for Ohio State University Press. The subject was the suppressed rage experienced by many members of Jewish communities throughout the world. I think it’s an issue that should be addressed by many cultures of the world. I believe that some of the biggest world issues stem […]

…metropolitan opera zen

My husband and I went to see Verdiâ€™s Macbeth at the Met last night. On our way there I watched a guitar player performing on the platform of the subway. Later, while observing the sculpture at the top of the stage inside the Met, I decided Iâ€™d draw it like Japanese calligraphy because my thoughts […]

…etsy night was great!

Had a great time last week at the ETSY Hands-On: Drawing. Thank you to everyone who came out to draw with us. Hereâ€™s a drawing of you all drawing the great Kika

…a meeting in the park

Here are the drawings of the girls we met in Brookdale Park today. I promised I would post them, so here they are. (click on them for larger images) Candice, Classy, Kyasia, Shania, and Naquiasia all enthusiastically came to model for me. Besides being super cute and having some sassy hairstyles, they were also very […]

…Utne Reader illustrations

In the July/August issue of the UTNEReader:

…seasons of 1482

Fellow Studio 1482 members Michele Bedigian, Greg Betza and Dominick Santise and I have been working collectively on a series of prints and promotions titled “Seasons of 1482“. The project began last year and weâ€™ve just launched Seasons 2010 with our spring promotion and a new website. Please stop by and read more about the […]

Thank you Old Man Winter

The poor guy’s been getting a lot of flack here in the NE coast these days. Thought I’d give him a shout out. We’ve been having a snowy winter and people are complaining. What an ungrateful, whiny bunch! Hey, myself included. I just CANNOT WAIT for the Spring, and more importantly, the Summer! If it […]

First Jazz Night: at Dizzy’s

Yes, that means that there will be a second night! I am so excited to go back and draw some more music! But for now, here’s a few drawings I made at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, at Jazz at Lincoln Center. It was dark, the city skyline was the backdrop, and the music was so […]

Send a Prayer

THE 1482 CARE FUNDRAISER for HAITI is still going. Click here for details. Many thanks to all who have participated!!

St. James Day

So, as you’ve maybe noticed, most international holidays are just that, holy-days. Today in Spain, and many other countries, is the day to celebrate St. James. Again, I did some quick research and found some fascinating things. St. James was, among other things, a pilgrim. The symbol for pilgrims and people with no permanent home […]