The new Flesk 2010 fall catalog is available for download! Included within is full details and sample art for all of our titles. You can download the latest catalog from the home page of our website, or click here to view it now.
I’ve added details on Jungle Girls by Jim Silke, the new Xenozoic collection by Mark Schultz, The Legend of Steel Bashaw by Petar Meseldžija, and Hallucinations and Inspirations by William Stout, and much more. There are plenty of goodies within the 38-pages. Feel free to pass the Flesk catalog PDF along to your friends!
The new Spirit series hits the stores this week. Mark Schultz writes the first three issues, with art by Moritat. As a treat, Mark sent me this scan of the black and white art for his 1:10 variant cover to the book to share on my blog. Thanks Mark!
Jeffrey Renaud conducted an informative interview with Mark about his writing The Spirit at the Comic Book Resources website, which you can read by clicking here. You can also see an online preview of the comic at the following DC Comics link here.
Brad Reuben Kunkle will be having his first one man show at Arcadia Fine Arts in New York City from April 22 through May 7, 2010. The opening reception, where you can meet Brad, will be on April 22 from 6-8 PM. Brad has created new paintings especially for this event. The painting above, titled “Mistral,” is one new work that will be available. The following text is taken from the Arcadia website promoting the show:
“Arcadia is thrilled to present the world premiere of paintings by this brilliant, new discovery. Utilizing oil, gold and silver leaf, Kunkle’s hyper-romantic-yet-modern homage’s to beauty are unlike any works we have ever seen before. This will be an Arcadia Gallery introduction unlike any other before.”
For more information about the exhibit and to view more paintings of Brad’s you can visit the Arcadia website here.
Furthermore, Brad has a cover feature and article in the April, 2010 issue of American Art Collector. Included within is an interview, a step-by-step process of how he paints, as well as a gallery of his paintings. You can find a copy at your local bookstore, or go to the American Art Collector website for more information here.
To learn more about Brad Reuben Kunkle, you can view a wide range of his paintings and discover more about his process at his personal website by clicking here. You can find enlargements for each painting and be sure to click on the “alter light” button to see how his paintings appearance changes with the simulated increase or decrease of the light projected on the painting. Go on and visit his website for a sensual and beautiful experience.
Left to right: Mark Schultz, John Fleskes, James Walker and Manuel Auad.
We had a good group of guys at the Flesk booth at WonderCon 2010. Mark Schultz flew in for the event. Manuel Auad was promoting his line of books as well as keeping us company. James Walker was also on hand to help throughout the show. (Thanks James!) Next to us was William Stout who had a beautiful display of originals. Then, Stuart Ng books provided the endcap to our row.
I am grateful to say that with each year I feel we are getting busier and busier. Friday and Saturday were non-stop for all of us, with Sunday coming in waves between slow and busy.
Mark Schultz kidding around with Manuel Auad.
The big hits at the show for us was Mark Schultz Blue Book along with all three of William Stout’s dinosaur books from Flesk, Prehistoric Life Murals, Dinosaur Discoveries and New Dinosaur Discoveries A-Z. It helped that Bill was right there doing dinosaur drawings in his books! There was plenty of good vibes and lots of positive reactions to the books and from those who were able to meet Schultz and Stout. Thanks to everyone who came by.
William Stout at his booth next to us. Notice the original for “Hallucinations” and the zombie painting for his 2011 zombie calendar from Andrews-McMeel.The legendary Joe Kubert stopping by to talk with William Stout.
Sunday provided us some rotational time for one of us to break away and walk around for a little while. It’s always nice to see a little of the show to actually feel like you were there. Once outside of our booth my first stop was artist alley. There I had a chance to see Frank Cho, Jim Silke, Thomas Yeates, Geof Darrow, Rick Becker, Arthur Adams, and Sergio Aragones. Also, Craig Elliott had an impressive booth showcasing his latest paintings and drawings. Each of these individuals is a master at their profession.
Thanks to everyone for another terrific year at WonderCon! We’ll see you next year!
I’ll be heading over to the grand opening of Skyland Gallery, located in California’s Santa Cruz mountains, on Saturday April 17. I pulled the following information about Skyland Gallery off of their website:
Owners Frank Cirocco and Lela Dowling have transformed the first floor of their mountain residence into a warm and welcoming space for the gallery. The Skyland Gallery is committed to supporting and inspiring contemporary artists working in the visual arts. Showcasing “art celebrating nature” as our primary guiding standard, our goal is to foster creativity and artistic excellence while providing exhibition space to an eclectic mix of new and established artists.
This is the announcement Frank sent me regarding this weekend:
Spring is here and the Skyland Gallery will be open to the public for the first time ever next weekend. Winter hibernation time is over – let’s get out and discover the great outdoors!
The gallery carries lots of artwork and unique gift items that are available only here and not online. The gift of art is always perfect for any occasion, so come up, join the celebration, check out some outstanding art, relax, and enjoy the view. If you need more incentive, you can always go tasting at any number of local wineries!
The gallery is located at 25079 Skyland Rd in the Summit area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. For driving directions, go to our website at www.SkylandGallery.com and download the map in the Contact section. If you have any questions, you can call us at 408.353.3465. We’re looking forward to meeting you!
Also, Frank and Lela have been kind enough to stock up on some Flesk books at the gallery store. I’m looking forward to visiting the gallery and seeing those that show up.
I sold our last copies of both the Dinosaur Discoveries deluxe signed hardbound and Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Vol. 4 deluxe signed hardbound books while at WonderCon on April 2-4, 2010. (Softbound editions of both titles are still available.)
If deluxe editions are your thing, you may want to stay aware of the new William Stout: Hallucinations deluxe signed hardbound book, which will be coming out in July, to make sure you get a copy. Hallucinations is at the printer now and on schedule for its July release. We’ll have them at our Flesk booth at the the San Diego Comic-Con International.
Both books are also available to the book trade. Flesk books are distributed by SCB Distributors. Note that the signed deluxe editions of our books are only available direct from us, through Bud’s Art Books and through Previews.
I am pleased to announce that Mark Schultz Blue Book is now available. Contained within is an assortment of Schultz’s preliminary drawings in blue pencil form for Storms at Sea and miscellaneous pieces culled from his personal sketchbook. This paperbound collection is 16-pages at 5.5 x 8.5″ in full color. Blue Book is limited to 1000 numbered copies, each signed by Schultz. This item is only available through Flesk. Order this book by April 15, 2010 and get free shipping in the US.
I first became aware of Petar Meseldžija in November 2009 when I received a copy of Spectrum 16. Petar was awarded a Gold award in the Book category for one of his paintings from The Legend of Steel Bashaw, published as Baš Čelik by the Serbian publisher Zmaj.
A visit to Petar’s website educated me on the fact that he lived in the Netherlands. With my planned trip to the Stripbeurs comic show in Breda, Netherlands coming up in early March 2010, I wrote an email to Mark Thelosen, my contact and host for our upcoming adventure, if he was aware of Petar. With Mark’s help, Petar and I were communicating through email two days later. Within a few weeks of my first noticing Petar’s work, I developed a relationship with him, received a copy of the Serbian edition of The Legend of Steel Bashaw, and we came to an agreement for my publishing his book in the U.S. (Please visit the book details on our website here.) Furthermore, it was a pleasure to meet Petar and his wife, Anita, and have the opportunity to visit their home and see his original paintings a few days after the Stripbeurs Breda show.
Petar’s work is a successful blend of fine art and illustration. I was in awe at how impressionistic his paintings were up close. At a short distance away and in reproduction the pieces appear tight, but then walk up for a detailed viewing and they again become abstract with thick paint raised from the surface, with deliberate powerful strokes. It also turns out that Petar is a wonderful, kind person, who can be witty and humorous, as well as deep and compelling. One thing is for certain; we are all the better for his desire to paint, in that we have more beauty in the world.
I asked Petar if he was willing to write a little about himself, his painting technique and about The Legend of Steel Bashaw. He came back with intriguing and sophisticated responses to each question, proving behind his funny exterior and joy for life, the inner artist is contemplative and tireless in his efforts to improve his work and in producing the stories he wants to share. I have included pictures throughout from my enjoyable visit to his home and our time spent together in Breda.
