How's your News?

Mine's pretty good. I have finished up a few projects that I wanted to, shown in my first gallery setting and am set to relax for the rest of the year. I'll be hitting the ground running starting Jan 1, but for now it is time to revel in the company of my friends and family. 2010 has been a bit...full for my liking and I think I need some space to digest it.

Actually, that leads me to my mock-wisdom Thought of the Day:

Take some time for yourself.

I am the worst at this. I am so driven by painting right now that I feel like I should ALWAYS have a brush or pencil on my hand. I start to feel frazzled and thin and needy when I get consumed in my work. The same thing is true for any of your other personal ambitions. I have fantastic, and I mean gorgeously wonderful, folks to share my time with and I get caught in wanting to see them or paint or do everything else. If you start to feel really wonky or you have lost your focus in your work, take some time off. I have pushed myself so hard this year and felt like I had so much catching up to do that now I am a little burned out on everything. I am having to learn that distance and perspective are the keys to longevity and perseverance.

Sooooo, when you feel like an idiot or an ass, take a step back from everything: paint, relationships, whatever. You might not be any more pleasant, but at least you'll be able to see the forest AND the trees.

Thanks to all of you that have been along for the ride and have been/started following this blog. If you haven't checked them out yet, you should head over to http://drawntoday.blogspot.com/ and check out some of the podcasts we have been doing. I will be taking over as Moderator for the near future, so they should be pretty lively. I will also be working on getting more art celebs to hop on and share their thoughts. Again, what a year.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the pics. The comic images will have some digital effects (dundundun) added to them as well as some serious cropping, but otherwise, this is how they have shown.

Take care, g

Wizard World Atlanta

So, wow. What a terrible show. It is hard to even stick to my formula and review this steaming pile of an event. I'll try...

So I attended Wizard World Atlanta this weekend. I wasn't particularly looking forward to the event but it was a last hurdle to overcome in a year of traveling. This is the first year of WWA and they had a solid list of B Stars, Billy Dee, Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree (Shaft((he is still alive!)), Kevin Nash, and a host of some of the best comic artists in the field. At the least I expected around 5000 attendees. As the day got closer I had finished my Sinestro Illo (scanned soon!) and was planning on finishing Hal Jordan at the event. yea yeah, I promised it done last weekend, but heck, you guys know me by now. Plus, I figured it would be a neat draw for the booth to have live painting(I was right!). Some last minute life turbulence knocked me flat, but my best friend Michael Bielaczyc stepped up and rolled down to Atl to keep me company. We packed up Fri, hopped in the sporty Altima, and hauled it down to the Dirty Souf. A lovely lass named Molly put us up in her guest bedroom and we knocked out around 3am.

The show was located at Cobb galleria Centre and had a nice setup. Badge pick-up was easy and my table was easy to find. That is about the end of the positives. The event took place in one giant hall (common to comic shows) but the artists were in the back corner and there was no real organization or signage. Attendance appeared to be around 800-1000 and the lanes felt like a country highway with but a few passersby. Sales were laughable although I had a steady stream of compliments and comments. The on site painting was good, but in the end I sold a few prints and one of my original robot studies. I would have been drunk and punching volunteers if Mike hadn't been there. Instead, I played drawing games with my friend and made some progress on my divorce and painting plans. We packed up and were gone 5 minutes after close. The show was originally booked as a 3 day event, but was cut short to 2 a few weeks ago. I took a cue from all the bailing, angry celebs and cut it further to a one-day event and proceeded to have a terrible dinner but a raucous night of board games and whiskey. We thanked Molly for putting us up and hit the rod early Sunday.

In the end, Mike and I made Lemon Meringue out of lemons.

Soooo.....

WIZARD WORLD ATLANTA DECEMBER 4-5, 2010

Pros: Solid list of guests

Cons:

1.) Most of the celebs left
2.) No real promotion for the event in the ATL area
3.) No interaction or secondary organization from the staff
4.) Incredibly high fees for abysmal services or consideration
5.) Cut out a day of the show without refunding any portion of the fee
6.) Was just lame and un-inspirational. Boo to you WWA

Will I go back? Hell no. Will I even attend WW Nashville? That is a negative Ghost Rider. Did I have a good time? In spite of the event.

Enjoy the pic and get ready for some gallery goodness and a host of scans.

What is up!

So hey there folks. I am still waiting to get my scans back from the printers as well as waiting to shoot pics of my most recent work. Do you think that will stop me from talking about anything in particular? Heck no. This blog is not only about the work but the process. So booyah!

I am currently finalizing my con schedule for next year. This year I attended over 10 conventions with one more to go in 2 weeks. Many of you have attended these shows or lived vicariously through this blog. Either way, you should have a good sense of what has been happening on and off the road. In 2011 I plan on presenting a whole new face to my enterprise. With a completely revamped website and art presentation, I will be focusing more on networking and rep vs on-site sales. I will still continue to offer portraiture and print sales, but will man a booth at very few of these shows. Instead I will be doing panels, demos and shots with/for the attendees. I learned alot from this year's venture; primarily how little I like to be a huckster. I want to talk about art with artists and fans. I want to dive and delve throughout the process. At most of these events you will find me either in the halls with a beer or behind an easel...with a beer. No more missed opportunities for me!

That said, I will post a list of the events I will be attending soon so you can mark your calendars in advance. I have about 5 paintings lined up right now and each will be better than the last. I will be interspersing my illustrative work with personal pieces in an effort to stay loose and fresh. Those of you in the Nashville area will be able to come see my work in galleries across town starting in December. See? I told you I could talk. As a payoff, I hope you enjoyed the sneak peaks of my next 2 pieces that will be completed over the weekend. I have set myself up for a big fall here by showing these, but I love Hal and Sinestro and hope to do these guys some justice. Perhaps the added pressure of time and dignity will help the creative juices. I'll let you be the judge!