Andrea Kalfas Paints Pirate Queens, Tennis Zombies And The Martian Sunset [Art]

Whether she's indulging in fanart, creating witty editorial images or illustrating her own comics, Andrea Kalfas infuses her pieces with a warm storybook charm, one that invites us to suspend our disbelief and enjoy the image on its own terms. These images may be as magical as watching the sun set on Mars, as subtly transgressive as a woman's hair peeking from beneath its niqab or as colorfully mundane as women leading their yaks through the crowded streets. No matter the subject, each of Kalfas' illustrations are sure to make you smile, even as you wonder what could possibly be going on inside them.

I'd recommend checking out Kalfas' portfolio site, if only because I've become hypnotized by her animated logo. Her stylized initials are actually an animated gif, and they suddenly reveal themselves as a waggling, dancing monster. It's the perfect setup for Kalfas' illustration style: cute without being cutesy, with a playfulness that suggests a deeper narrative. Of course, sometimes, she's just drawing Ultraman, smashing tennis zombies or painting portraits of the pirate Queen Emeraldas.

Kalfas has her own short comic, "The Jewel of Kurvi Tasch," from Popgun Volume 4, on her portfolio site. You can follow more of Kalfas' artwork on her Tumblr, Leaping Buffalo.