Selling Art for a Gothic Conference!

Hello, everyone!

I'm planning on attending an academic conference: IGA 2019 at Lewis University in Chicago; to do so, I need to raise the funds before June 1st (which, incidentally, happens to be my birthday).

My abstract has been submitted and I'm on the presenter roster. However, the cost for registering (and accommodation for the entire week, plus transportation) still needs to be paid. It totals at approximately $400 (there is a bursary opportunity, but it is decided on after registration ends). Seeing as I cannot presently afford the registration costs, I would like to try and raise the necessary funds by selling personalized artwork.

My blog largely pertains to Gothic horror in cinema, literature and videogames; I'm also an erotic artist. I primarily draw women from fantasy, horror, and science fiction (or sometimes muscle-bound men like Conan the Barbarian—think Luis Royo or Frank Frazetta). My subjects needn't be overtly sexual, but I do specialize in that particular approach. I like to draw stronger women, with a fair amount of muscle mass. However, I can do different body types—whatever the customer wants!

My goal is to sell $400 worth of commissions by the end of May. If I'm able to meet my $400 goal in time, I'll throw in something extra, free of charge: a personalized "Gothic" drawing dedicated to and thanking everyone involved for helping me make it to Chicago! It will contain an imperiled heroine in a Gothic situation (so, tenebrous, hulking villains and dark, spooky castles, most like). Should be fun!

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Persephone van der Waard is the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). She has her independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing on partially on Metroidvania), and is a MtF trans woman, anti-fascist, atheist/Satanist, poly/pan kinkster, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist with two partners. Including her multiple playmates/friends and collaborators, Persephone and her eighteen muses work/play together on Sex Positivity and on her artwork at large as a sex-positive force. She sometimes writes reviews, Gothic analyses, and interviews for fun on her old blog; or does continual independent research on Metroidvania and speedrunning. If you're interested in her academic/activist work and larger portfolio, go to her About the Author page to learn more; if you're curious about illustrated or written commissions, please refer to her commissions page for more information.