Tag Archives: split face portraits

“I’m Am The Magics” a Tribute to Willow Rosenberg by Artist Living Dead Girl Nicole

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Earlier this year, I decided to rewatch the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I hadn’t seen it since high school, back when I was a real-life graduate of the class of ’99, just like the “Scooby Gang.” It was fun revisiting the show for nostalgic reasons, but my main focus was to be engulfed in the “Buffyverse” once again so I could finally check Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg off my art bucket list.

Willow was always my favorite character on the show. Despite being framed as the sidekick or best friend, I was always drawn to her more than Buffy. Maybe it was our shared 90’s fashion sense, her ability to research every monster-fighting scenario Buffy was faced with, or watching her grow into her powers, but I always saw her as the true emotional core of the series and the character I related to most. She always felt less like a fictional character and more like someone I would want to genuinely hang out with.

I really wanted to encapsulate Willow’s character growth from the beginning to the end of the series. An artistic reminder that we all have the battle of good and evil inside of us and that it is ultimately up to us to choose which path we take. With that in mind, I knew this had to be one of my signature split face portraits. One half representing the sweet, quirky and shy Willow, with the other side reflecting cold, broken hearted, “I’m the Slayer now” lethal Dark Willow. A part in the series that even though she becomes consumed by her overuse of power, she finally finds the courage to express so much of what Willow fans had always wanted her to say out loud, unfortunately pushing her toward nearly destroying the world with dark forces.

In the end, however, she recognizes the darkness she is heading toward and learns to control her powers. By doing so, she evolves into her true strength as a white witch, bringing light back into the world by activating all potential Slayers and saving humanity. The underdog ultimately becoming the true hero of the series in the show’s finale.

A storyline worth picking up the drawing pencils for, I completed the piece last week and am excited to share it with my art collectors. Done in pencil and chalk pastels, I call it “I Am The Magics”….

For my art collectors who never underestimate the “side-kick”, “I have made-to-order* prints and wearable art t-shirts listed in my Etsy shop. Apply coupon code BUCKLEUPRUPERT to manifest a spell that will magically take 10% off your order! ✨

Giclee and canvas prints are currently in production with my printer for my art collectors to see in person and purchase at a discounted price* at Closet Collectibles (in Crete, IL.) as well as at the upcoming Unruly Art Market on May 31st.

New to my work? Be sure to check out the other portraits I have masterminded on the Spitting Image page of my portfolio website!

Stay Strange & Magical ✨
LDG Nicole

*Read more about my “never mass produced” creative process and in store discounted art prices here

An Unforgettable Evening With Howie Mandel

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Never let anyone tell you that your art will get you nowhere, because getting amazing seats and going backstage at a Howie Mandel show is a pretty epic place to be! 🤩✨️

This weekend was filled with so much joy and perspective. At one point during the evening I was looking up at the beautiful ceiling of the Genesee Theatre and it hit me that this unforgettable evening I was having with my husband all stemmed from a piece of art that I envisioned and created.

There I was, 45 years old, standing next to Howie Mandel, all because I had picked up my drawing pencils to engage with my 8-year-old inner child. The little girl who fell in love with a movie that made life less scary, because there was always the possibility that a high-energy, baseball-card-collecting, Dorito-munching, home-goods-smashing, bully-revenging, apple-juice-pissing, homework-eating monster of a friend was just a bedtime away.

That’s when I got this overwhelming sense that my younger self would be so proud of where her art has taken her. That she would be so glad she never listened to those who told her that art would get her nowhere. Because although it has not made me rich financially, it has blessed me with so many amazing life experiences that my younger self could have ever imagined. And to me that is somewhere.

5 years in the making, and I truly can not thank Howie’s Manager Rich enough. Not just for an unforgettable evening but for also pushing me to take a risk and ship an original piece of artwork to him because “Howie saw it and loved it so much”. The heart of this “little monster” is now fuller than “an elm tree”😆💗🌳 and you made that happen.

Stay Strange & Magical,
LDG Nicole

*Tattoo featured in reel was done by the incredibly talented Luke Reubelt at Untold Gallery.

Women In Arts Network Virtual Art Exhibition Faces Features Portrait by Living Dead Girl Nicole

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I am excited to finally be able to announce that my work has been selected by the Women In Arts Network to be featured in their virtual art exhibition Faces.

This exhibition theme focuses on:
Carefully curated virtual rooms, each centered on the power and presence of the human face. From quiet, unguarded moments to bold and commanding expressions, each space reveals a different emotional truth. Together, the artworks speak to identity, vulnerability, resilience, and connection, inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and recognize themselves in the faces before them. The exhibition invites artists to respond to faces not only as visual subjects, but as reflections of emotion, memory, and personal stories shaped over time. Through a wide range of mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, collage, and digital art, Faces presents many approaches to the face. Some works feel direct and familiar, while others move toward abstraction or distortion. Together, they show how faces can communicate feeling, presence, and complexity without needing explanation.
Read more here.

The exhibition runs from February 2nd – March 2nd, 2026 and the great thing is you don’t even have to leave your home to view and support the artists whose work has been selected. Everything can be viewed online via their free interactive 3D art gallery, which allows both artists and collectors from around the globe to enjoy and participate.

So please take a moment of your time to visit the exhibition link and freely scroll the walls of their two virtual gallery rooms showcasing all the mesmerizing art that was chosen, including my “I’m Not Staying On This Farm” split-face portrait inspired by Mia Goth’s portrayal as Pearl. The face of a true dreamer, displayed in Room 2.

And to celebrate, any of my art collectors who visit the virtual exhibition and then shop my Etsy Shop afterwards can use discount code FACES to receive 13% slashed off their order at check out!*

And if you are new here, be sure to check out the Creature Features page of my portfolio website. There you can find this exhibit listed amongst some of the other unique places my art has been featured over the years.

Want to showcase my work in your next virtual gallery exhibition? Let’s connect and chat!

Stay Strange & Magical, ✨
LDG Nicole

*Discount does not include made-to-order, fundraiser, or clearance/sales items.
Offer begins February 2, 2006 and expires EOD March 2, 2026.

“I’m Not Staying On This Farm” a Tribute to Pearl by Artist Living Dead Girl Nicole

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When I first watched Ti West‘s slasher film X, I was blown away by Mia Goth‘s dual performance as both Maxine and Pearl. I was so impressed that when the prequel, Pearl’s “X-traordinary Origin Story,” was released, I had to watch it immediately. That was when I realized that Pearl had permanently axed her way into my creepy little heart and was immediately added to my Art Bucket List!

What can I say? I admire a woman who does not take no for an answer, especially when she is fighting for her dreams. And on a more personal note, I also understand what it feels like to be young, sensitive girl who feels stuck and cut off from the world, while living under the control of a guardian who cannot see or appreciate your aspirations. That kind of confinement leaves you quietly yearning for escape, because deep down you know you were meant for something more.

And it was not just Mia’s extraordinary performances that made me love the X Trilogy, including MaXXXine. It was the way Ti West threads the characters through the three films in such creative and unexpected ways that I find absolutely brilliant. He does not simply tell a story. He visually represents each film’s respective time period beautifully, builds an entire ecosystem of themes (who else caught the Wizard of Oz references in Pearl ?) and symbols that echo from one film to the next. The overlapping identities, the mirrored moments, the way ambition and darkness ripple through each character feels both relatable and unsettling in the most fascinating way.

This piece, which I call “I’m Not Staying On This Farm,” was created in pencil and chalk pastels and is my own small tribute to that messy and magnetic desire to become more than what the world expects. It also echoes the quiet heartbreak that runs throughout the trilogy, the way a person will do anything to reach their aspirations, the unraveling from rejection, and the emotional erosion that takes over you as you start to believe you are settling for “a life you do not deserve”.

For my art collectors who wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to feed a few folks to Theda, I have made-to-order* prints and wearable art t-shirts listed in my Etsy shop. Apply coupon code IMASTAR at check out and get 10% chomped off your order! 🐊

These items are also be available for purchase in my Latchet shop for those who prefer to use that platform to make your online purchase.

Giclee and canvas prints are currently in production for my art collectors to see in person and purchase at a discounted price* at Closet Collectibles (in Crete, IL.) when I do my next art drop!

New to my work? Be sure to check out the other portraits I have masterminded on the Spitting Image page of my portfolio website!

Stay Strange & Magical ✨
LDG Nicole

*Read more about my “never mass produced” creative process and in store discounted art prices here