As early as I can remember, I loved to color and draw. I still remember very clearly from my earliest years in gradeschool through highschool,
drawing anything, especially comics and Halloween inspired imagery, or copying art from my favorite album covers. Hours would be lost as I sat
hunched over at my drawing desk, with Alice in Chains or KISS playing in the background and getting lost in my drawings, specifically at the
time when I enjoyed ”stippling”, a technique where you use tiny dots to create a picture. . .I still don’t know how I had the patience to do that. I
never at the time thought it could be pursued as a career, I simply had a passion for it.
Kristen Margiotta is an illustrator and painter residing in Delaware where she was born and raised. She is a graduate of the University of
Delaware where she majored in Visual Communications/ Illustration in 2005. Kristen’s love for the old world, painters as Caravaggio and
Michelangelo, history, music, and childhood interests have shaped and inspired her works today. She is inspired by the past and imagery that is
timeless combined with the beauty she finds in the macabre and bizarre.
“I am a painter and an illustrator, but the two are synonymous for me.
Both explore problem solving, but the problems are either my own or derive from a client. Either way, I utilize my style of large eyed characters
exploring unknown territory or experiencing an emotional response to exterior elements. My paintings are visual stories meant to ignite that
childhood spark in all of us. I have always expressed an interest for Halloween and spooky visuals. I wonder if I am trying to experience the
same feelings I had as a child when enjoying my favourite creepy animation or picture book. Whatever the cause may be behind why I make the
images I do, I want to take the viewer to an imaginary place where they can dream, fear, and laugh.”
Margiotta has exhibited her work regionally and in various states since 2004, and has been represented by the notable Pop Gallery in Santa Fe,
NM since 2009, home to established fine artists as Daniel Martin Diaz, Aunia Kahn, Chris Peters, as well as renown artists and cartoonists as
Dr. Seuss and Charles M. Schultz. In 2012, Margiotta displayed her work at AFA Gallery in NYC, the exhibit also featuring work by Dr. Seuss,
Charles Schulz, and modern visionaries as Travis Louie, Nicoletta Ceccoli, and Kathie Olivas. Margiotta’s work is found in the homes of private
collectors all over the country. She continues to exhibit her work, and especially enjoys participating in music/art events as the Trenton Punk
Rock Flea Market, NJ, where she has the opportunity to meet and talk with people of all ages and backgrounds who have a passion for music
and art. At these events, Margiotta displays and sells her merchandise.
Margiotta illustrated her first children’s book, in 2009, Better Haunted Homes and Gardens, with
Imaginary Books / Raw Dog Screaming Press. She is currently illustrating a series of 6 books in the Gustav Gloom book series through a
division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Margiotta has also been an instructor of art since 2004. She currently teaches private art
lessons and classes at Center for the Creative Arts, Yorklyn, DE.
drawing anything, especially comics and Halloween inspired imagery, or copying art from my favorite album covers. Hours would be lost as I sat
hunched over at my drawing desk, with Alice in Chains or KISS playing in the background and getting lost in my drawings, specifically at the
time when I enjoyed ”stippling”, a technique where you use tiny dots to create a picture. . .I still don’t know how I had the patience to do that. I
never at the time thought it could be pursued as a career, I simply had a passion for it.
Kristen Margiotta is an illustrator and painter residing in Delaware where she was born and raised. She is a graduate of the University of
Delaware where she majored in Visual Communications/ Illustration in 2005. Kristen’s love for the old world, painters as Caravaggio and
Michelangelo, history, music, and childhood interests have shaped and inspired her works today. She is inspired by the past and imagery that is
timeless combined with the beauty she finds in the macabre and bizarre.
“I am a painter and an illustrator, but the two are synonymous for me.
Both explore problem solving, but the problems are either my own or derive from a client. Either way, I utilize my style of large eyed characters
exploring unknown territory or experiencing an emotional response to exterior elements. My paintings are visual stories meant to ignite that
childhood spark in all of us. I have always expressed an interest for Halloween and spooky visuals. I wonder if I am trying to experience the
same feelings I had as a child when enjoying my favourite creepy animation or picture book. Whatever the cause may be behind why I make the
images I do, I want to take the viewer to an imaginary place where they can dream, fear, and laugh.”
Margiotta has exhibited her work regionally and in various states since 2004, and has been represented by the notable Pop Gallery in Santa Fe,
NM since 2009, home to established fine artists as Daniel Martin Diaz, Aunia Kahn, Chris Peters, as well as renown artists and cartoonists as
Dr. Seuss and Charles M. Schultz. In 2012, Margiotta displayed her work at AFA Gallery in NYC, the exhibit also featuring work by Dr. Seuss,
Charles Schulz, and modern visionaries as Travis Louie, Nicoletta Ceccoli, and Kathie Olivas. Margiotta’s work is found in the homes of private
collectors all over the country. She continues to exhibit her work, and especially enjoys participating in music/art events as the Trenton Punk
Rock Flea Market, NJ, where she has the opportunity to meet and talk with people of all ages and backgrounds who have a passion for music
and art. At these events, Margiotta displays and sells her merchandise.
Margiotta illustrated her first children’s book, in 2009, Better Haunted Homes and Gardens, with
Imaginary Books / Raw Dog Screaming Press. She is currently illustrating a series of 6 books in the Gustav Gloom book series through a
division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Margiotta has also been an instructor of art since 2004. She currently teaches private art
lessons and classes at Center for the Creative Arts, Yorklyn, DE.
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| Kristen Margiotta |
| Illustration #5, Better Haunted Homes and Gardens. |
| Illustration #8 from Better Haunted Homes and Gardens. |
| Unknown Fear II. In a private collection |
| The Spider Room. In a private collection |
| Bruce's Broken Lolly.In a private collection. |
| "Spideress", 2006, oil on linen. |
| "Nosferella" , oil on hardboard |
| "The Neitherland Queen". |
| "Cherry in Neither Land". |
| "The Shadow Queen". Oil on illustration board. 12'' x 15'' |
| "Cherry Meets Creeper". Oil on illustration board. |
| Danzig. Oil on illustration board. 9''x16''. Commissioned. |
| "Kiss". Oil on board. |
| King Diamond. 10'' x 10''. Oil on illustration board |
| "Edgar Allan Poe". |
| Alice Cooper. "Alice in Nightmare Land" |
| The Ice Queen |
| Illustration #1 from Better Haunted Homes and Gardens. In a private collection. |
| Illustration #2 from Better Haunted Homes and Gardens. |
| Lee and Kristen Save the Date Illustration. |
