Jungle Chick
Well, what a whirlwind it hath been!
Joe Acone, my wife, and I set out from New Hampshire for Indianapolis last Tuesday and arrived at Drew Baker’s home in time for dinner on the evening of the first leg of the trip.
We shared no great desire to travel seventeen hours straight so the stop on the way was most welcome.
We set out early the next morning and drove the remaining ten hours to Indy. We had just enough time to check into the hotel and get the banner on my table before the the exhibition hall kicked us out. That was a long day.
We roomed with Joe, Don Higgins, and Don’s daughter, Meghan ( I hope I have spelled it correctly). We were quite the cozy group at the new Fairfield Inn which was only a short walk to the convention center.
As it turned out, I was given the table nearest the doors to the exhibition hall. I called it the “prow of the ship” as waves of people broke across the table. It was great. I was extremely grateful that this was the year I had nothing but paintings hanging on the panels behind me. Little digital prints don’t quite have the same presence as a large painting. People stopped to look at my work and comment…and buy!
It was a unique experience for me.
I received a great deal of positive feedback on my new work and this proved very encouraging to me. I feel that I am on the right track with my work given the excellent response.
Some pieces did not make the trip home with me. They found good homes with collectors and fellow artists.
In addition to a few prints and a pencil drawing, I sold the following pieces:
Handlebar final
Baleful Monstrosity
Knightwyrm
Coolio
Bag of Devouring
Scrap Golem
It was the best con I’ve ever had and sales outstripped all previous shows combined!
I credit it to the availability of original artwork for the leap in sales. I matted and framed the work that was on display on the panels and table. This helped the presentation a great deal.
Another fun development for me was when Drew Baker introduced me to the joys of painting with M. Graham watercolors. Hoo-Boy! It is a different world than working with the Cotmans I had been playing with for my sketching. This paint handles beautifully and I will shortly be investing in a set for my pro work. An example of this will be posted tomorrow.
I received some valuable critique from Art Directors Kate Irwin and Jeremy Jarvis, both of whom oversee important product lines at Wizards of the Coast ( an imprint of Hasbro Games). One thing I came away with was that I should investigate working in a more painterly fashion and avoid my tendency to include line work in my finished paintings.
I tend to re-establish details in my work with line which can become something of a crutch in the best of situations, and somewhat jarring if improperly handled. This is something I will be very conscious of in future work. Today’s daily warm-up is an examination of that principle. I hope you like it.
Onwards to the day’s work!
