Earlier this year (2012) I went to the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo aka C2E2. Once in a while I would go to the Artist Alley and just walk up and down the aisles and stop at tables that catch my attention for a split second (think of “ooooo shiny”) and if there is something at a table that I rather like I would walk away and wait a few hours or a day and I’ll either go back to the table or contact the artist directly for a personal commission.

Such a thing happened this year when I passed by a table and saw a watercolor painting of Sailor Moon. Yes, I am a Moonie, I was introduced to the anime by a couple of girls I used to be babysit for back in high school / college. I was drawn more into the mythology that the author created for her characters to live in, and that really struck me as something worthwhile. The most I read about the background of the manga series, the more I realized just how much of it related to Greco-Roman mythology and Western Astrology, two realms that I have been interested in for quite some time.

Now that I was sold on the watercolor painting… I sifted through to see what I could be interested in purchasing. Being a lover of art since I am unable to paint, watercolor, etc (I much prefer sculpturing and crafts and knitting/crocheting but that’s a different story) I’ve been collecting artworks for the past decade. Seeing nothing that caught my attention entirely the artist and I agree to swap emails in hopes to find something I would be more interested in.

From the comfort of home (or my office), I glanced through Carla Wyzgala’s website and came across this lovely piece of art:

Which gave me the idea of seeing the Sailor Senshi in their “Princess forms”… starting with my personal favorite: Sailor Neptune.

After a few more emails, I convinced her to work on a series for all the Sailor Senshi (sans Sailor Moon) and for an added challenge, I asked her to work on a piece involving Tuxedo Kamen, aka Chiba Mamoru (or Mamoru Chiba according to the western context of naming schemes). In response she did a quick series of pencil sketches for all the senshi in their “princess forms” and is just as excited as I am in completing the series for her portfolio.

I seem to be doing a lot of this lately, supporting and challenging the artists of my friends into stretching their limits. =) This is going to be a fun year.