Conventions

For those who know me, they'll know that I am very interested in the anime/comic/sci-fi community. I love to go to conventions all over the United States, and on occasion I sell my artwork at them. Although at the moment I am taking a short hiatus from cons to rebuild my portfolio and items for sale, I decided I would make a short list of conventions I have been too that I felt where very accommodating to professional and hobby artists alike, in the community. Most of these are anime/Japanese culture conventions, seeing it hasn't been till recently that I have been expanding the cons I go to.

Anime Central
Link:ACen Website
Location: Rosemont Ill. ((20 minutes outside of Downtown Chicago and near the O'Hare Airport))
Description of Artist Alley: First off let me start out by saying that the artist alley at Acen has always been well set up, it has always been very close to, or has led up to the dealers room. The staff is knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Although anime artwork is the primary focus of this AA the would be buyers are very open to fantasy and sci-fi artwork alike and I have seen both these style prosper here along side the anime art.

Otakon
Link: Otakon Website
Location: Downtown Baltimore Maryland, in the Inner Harbor
Description: The largest convention of its type on the east coast. The anime convention is massive so naturally it is a big draw for artists. The convention's alley is run very well but their rules are a little stricter then the casual artist alley. The rules though do not discriminate against the hobbyist and still keeps the alley pen for professionals and amateurs alike. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and other art are very welcomed here and do very well. The big thing with this convention is that it is VERY hard to get a table; it sells out within one-two hours of applications being open. The few times I have sold here, I was still very fresh yet still made money well into the triple digits. If you have any chance of getting a table at this convention, DO IT.

Ohayocon
Link: Ohayocon website
Location: Downtown Columbus Ohio, Greater Columbus Convention Center
Description: Ohayocon's artist alley has made huge changes in the recent years. With a brand new set of rules they are pushing for a more professional alley. Over all they are pushing the hobbyist and amateur artist scene out and trying to bring only professionals in. The convention could be considered medium and going on a large size. In most cases trying to have a more professional alley would be good but from word of mouth the professionals don't do as well as most would intend. Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Artists don't do as well at this convention as others, thus isolating the professionals even more. Although the convention itself has much to offer, I'd advise avoiding the artist alley here unless anime artwork is the only thing you create and are willing to go through the ridiculous application procedure.

SPACE
Link:SPACE website
Location: Greater Columbus Ohio area, Easton Ohio
Description: Although I have not gone to this convention with an actual table, I will say this convention happens to be great! It appeals to the independent comic industry, which means the range of topics can be open to anything. The con itself could be considered one artist alley with a few events to help you create better artwork on the side. Never the less, if you create comics I definitely suggest coming here for a day or two. Even if you cannot get a table, from my experience the convention is an amazing place to network and get to know other local comic artists!

Dragon*Con
Link: Dragon*Con Website
Location: Downtown Atlanta
Description: Although I have not been to this convention myself I will write about what I have heard from others. This convention and its artist alley makes your jaw drop. The convention itself brings will over 50k+ attendees every year. It is a massive draw to fans of Sci-fi, Fantasy, Movie, Comic, Anime, and everything that has a fandom. It is huge, and the Artist Alley is apparently incredible. It is said to have a CRAZY amount of talent, bringing in comic creators, professional artists and illustrators and everything from here and there. This is DEFINENTLY not an artist alley for hobbyists and amateurs. Professionals come here with the strict purpose of making money and networking. If you are at that point in time where you make your living off of entirely your artwork, this is the convention to try and go to.

Making painting textures with hot glue.

I have been working on a small series of paintings recently that involve the city Chicago. It happens to be my favorite city in the states so I choose to to use photos I took in the city as the source of my inspiration.

The second of the three painting series, I choose to use hot glue to literally draw an image onto the canvas. With how quickly it dries and how well it holds its shape, I think this is a great method to get interesting patterns for paintings.

The process to make this kind of painting is not too complicated.



The picture above demonstrates the three steps that I took in creating the type of painting below. First off, the demo up above was made on paper.
Now the first step was to cover the surface in the desired color I wished to show through hot glue. In this case I choose a layer of black. I used acrylic just because of how quick it also dries.

Afterwards, I draw directly onto the black what I wished the pattern to be then hot glue the pattern onto the canvas. The painting below took 4 bags of glue to make. It was completed on a 30x46" canvas.

Afterwards I covered it in a layer of oil paint and wiped the paint off the hot glue in the areas I desired to create the effect below.


Something to keep in mind concerning what types of effects you would like to use with the hotglue. Hot glue does not set completely clear. As you aply more layers of hot glue atop each other, the cloudier the glue gets.

Visionaries and Voices

http://www.visionariesandvoices.com/content/vv-home

I had the lucky chance to visit Visionaries and Voices in the north-side of Cincinnati this past friday. This studio was a wonderful community supported studio space for outsider artists. The organization is run completely by donation. They often have shows too along side other artists.

On the 3/5/10 from 6-9 they will be having a black and white show. It is open to everyone. I will also insist on donating to the organization or if you are a fellow artist volunteer your time there. They love to have artists come in to create along side the artists that work there.

Interesting finding for producing 3D textures in painting.

A personal finding for myself, and something I'd like to apply to future projects.

Hotglue makes a wonderful tool to create 3D texture effects in painting. I'll provide images of part of the process tomorrow along with the finished product in the near future.

If you choose to use hot glue also in the future, be aware it's not for those who want a very steady and flawless outcome. If a project requires something a little less controllable, it is probably a good material for you to experiment with.

Work of Marguerite Sauvage

I love the Stumble button. Me and stumble are best of friends, I'll say that now. I also think it is a great way to discover art and artist's websites out in the world wide web. Right now, the illustrative works of Marguerite Sauvage grabbed me!

Her illustrations seem to focus on the female form. They are delicate and soft, and though colored, they colors do not seem to be the primary focus, they only seem to bring more attention to certain features she wishes to have the viwer focus on.


http://www.margueritesauvage.com/


Visit her website and have a look around!

Going to be at ACen!

There is a chanc that I will be able to get an art table at ACen. I will keep all of you posted. At the moment I am taking a break from the artist alley to change my portfolio and what I like to seel, essentially starting out fresh.

I will know within a few weeks how this will go.

If you are interested in learning more about the convention here is a link...

Anime Central website

Starting Up

Heading back here, I think this would be a good time to update this post with a few current pieces of artwork that I have been working on!

Much of my artwork is in paint. Recently I have been working with oils. I also have a deep love for ink, the felt tip pen and india ink. I adore it.

For now though, here are a few images of paintings I have done. The first two being from a series of creatures I am making. I hope to adapt these two into little figureines in the near future. While the other three are created from class projects from the past.