My name is Penelope & draw super nerdy stuff! I’m an art major from Upstate New York that wanted to establish my own brand PBarbArt to make Stickers, Prints, Clothing, and more so other fellow nerds like myself can enjoy their hobbies thought everyday life! You can find me in the wild at Comic and Anime Conventions throughout the Northeast, or at home under a heated blanket with a cat and coffee, furiously drawing more weird things ;3

FAQ

Where do you find Inspiration?
I've always found the things I enjoy like cartoons from my childhood, anime, comic books, and pop-culture to be what I want to make art of. Also pepper-in a dash of horror, monsters, the occult, a morbid sense of humor and blunt feminism 

Where did you study Art? Are you professionally trained?
I am MOSTLY self taught (started drawing at a very young age), and then went to school for Videogame Art & Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, with the intention to become a Concept Artist. I now apply what I learned throughout my time in school, to making PBarbArt a fulltime career :)

Tell me about your favorite medium.
I like to primarily use mechanical pencil and computer paper (don't know why, but I prefer the overall feeling of it compared to fancy sketchbooks) & then from there I either ink it traditionally ad then then color with colored pencils OR ink and paint digitally

Speaking of, what Art programs do you use?
Photoshop has always been my go-to on my (I use a Surface Pro 7), but in the past 5 years or so I like to sketch and paint with Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile (on my Galaxy Note phone)

Do you do Art Shows or Conventions?
Yes! For now I only attend local shows, but if you'd like to see me at a show in your area - feel free to contact me!

Do you take commissions?
In the past, yes I have a big history of taken them. But at this point in time, I really want to just focus on my own work & growth as a artist 💜

Any other hobbies besides art? Interests?
I am a hyper nerd - so of course anime, cartoons and videogames (my favorite is playing Mario Kart, Smash Bros, or Mario Party with my family); sewing and other hands-on crafting (like making clothes & cosplay,) and I LOVE to cook & bake 

What is your driving force?
Sometimes things find a way to throw an wrench in the spokes of the bike that is "your life," and then you are careening down a 90 degree hill, without any hope of making it out alive.  All my life I knew I was going to be making art until I couldn't anymore. Two times that ALMOST happened to me. The 1st, was when I was graduating from college in 2010 and I was so sick (symptoms starting a yr before), that I was in a hospital for 2 weeks and was diagnosed with Lupus. The 2nd was in 2021, I had a massive stroke caused by a blood clot in my brain, and I had to relearn again how to speak, to walk, eat, write, anything that requires your whole body. As I write this, I'm STILL recovering. My driving force is, that I won't give up even when my body tries to. And my support system is always encouraging me to see that there HAS been major progress, and not to ever give up. I love art and I love to draw, and all I ever wanted to make people happy with my art. So, even when I have days where I can't make anything, I'll post online the things I've made in the past and hope that they brighten someone's day

What would you to say to any other aspiring artists who want to make it into a career?
I would say KEEP KEEP DRAWING! Always practice sketching (keep a small sketchbook in your bag/purse when traveling; you'll never know when inspiration will strike.) As an artist you have to be willing to learn new things, techniques, and adapt to drawing faster, or making it a point to draw at least 1 thing everyday. When other peoples come in, constructive criticism can come off as harsh, but learn to take it and move on. With that said, people will sometimes say "You can never make a career out of drawing," or "Nobody likes THAT art-style"...Well, there are HUNDREDS, thousands of other people who have, and didn't listen :) And whatever art-style you want to draw in, DO IT! There's ALWAYS a niche that you can tap into and find a plethora of people who your art will "speak to," weather it be lowbrow, anime/manga, or something else. Don't lose your way and stop your passion for others. Art is what makes the world go round, and YOU are a big part of it 💜