“Busy” is a word that is used often around here—especially by me. Any time someone asks me how I’m doing or what’s going on I reply, “Busy…” I know this isn’t a good answer and only solicits more questions that I’ve been too busy to respond to. I promise the word “busy” will not appear any more in this post. Instead you will get answers. This is a small attempt to share some of the news that’s going on around here.
The Art of Brom Kickstarter Event
If you are unaware of Kickstarter or how it works, in brief, it is a vehicle that allows creative projects to receive funding through the backing of individuals who can pledge support. When Brom approached me about publishing his The Art of Brom book, he was looking for a publisher who was willing to look at some non-traditional approaches to marketing, promoting and creating a book. He brought up the idea of using Kickstarter. The more I researched Kickstarter (KS) and as we discussed our ideas, we found KS to be the perfect opportunity to potentially produce a very special edition with some extra goodies that wouldn’t normally be possible. This approach has also allowed us the opportunity to better connect with the fans. With how well our KS campaign has been received and supported, we are honored, humbled and excited about all of the positive energy. It’s going to be a blast to produce and pass along the multitude of KS exclusive goodies to our supporters. They truly deserve the bonus items and I’m happy to get the extras into their hands.
If you haven’t seen Brom’s KS video yet, you have got to take a look. Besides seeing a master painter at work, there is a funny clip right at the end. My video was put together by our very own Jonathan Leveck. He filmed me during an unscripted discussion, then he set it all to music and pictures. Jonathan is working on an extended version of this session which we will post in a few weeks on the new Flesk website.
New Videos
Speaking of Jonathan and videos; I have hours upon hours of video that I have shot over the last ten years of many of the artists I know and have worked with. I’ve asked Jonathan to start digging through my archives with the idea that he would make five to ten minute clips to share on our website. It will be a slow process at first, but you can expect to start seeing new video posted soon. As an example, I just remembered that I have three separate Steve Rude painting demos that have never been shown. It’s time to share. The footage does no good sitting in a box.
New Website
Woo-hoo! A big thank you to Stan Yeung for his hard work and excellent fresh design on our new Flesk Publications website that is now live! This has been in the works for a long time. Providing Stan with all of the content, images and pictures has been a lot of work—but well worth it. There were many hours spent on photography sessions and inputting book content, but we got it done. Stan did a phenomenal job. Jonathan played a role in taking care of many small details. And an additional thanks goes out to Lazuras Potter for his help with the back-end security to help keep all of your private information safe and secure. A newsletter announcement will be going out in a few days about the new site. We’ll have a special 20% off sale to celebrate. It will last until September 12th using this code to get the deal, “fp20”
New Books
I have approved the proofs for the three new Flesk books that will be available in early November. They are James Bama: Personal Works, Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume 1 and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition. Jonathan filmed me while I was going over the proofs. I spoke about the process and what I was doing. We’ll share a clip when the book comes out.
Future Books
I have already discussed The Art of Brom. This will come out in summer 2013. But what else am I doing?
This month I am working on packaging an exhibit book for a museum. I will make you all aware of the title, topic and museum once they make the announcement publicly. It’s a fun project.
I’ve also started work on a new Steve Rude book. This collection will be an art book compiling Nexus stories that were penciled and inked by Rude himself—direct from the originals. We will be showing a few stories in the pencil form and there will also be an unpublished Nexus #99 comic reproduced. Steve had completely finished penciling Nexus #99 “The Root of Evil” when Dark Horse cancelled the series. When Steve and Mike Baron later revived Nexus they abandoned “The Root of Evil” storyline and started with a new Nexus #99 epic. The original #99 will be published in this book for the first time. The release date is not set yet, but I expect it should be ready by spring or early summer 2013.
I’m talking with three artists, all of whom I’ve been discussing a book project with for the past couple of years, and all who I have not published prior. I know by not saying their names it’s a bit of a tease, but my point is I want to let you know there are many new titles in the works that excite me, and I hope will be welcoming to you as well. Furthermore, new Gary Gianni and William Stout books are in development.
Mark Schultz
When is Storms at Sea coming out? It will be released when Mark is done with the drawings. I know that is not a good answer. All I can say is it will be well worth the wait.
When will the next Various Drawings come out? I spoke with Mark a few weeks ago about this. We’ve decided to start a new series that will collect his work. The title, look and feel will be revealed next year and the collection will have a July 2013 release date.
The Next Event
APE! I have three tables this year at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. This is one of my favorite shows. I always look forward to going. Craig Elliott, Mark Schultz and William Stout will join me at the Flesk booth. This will be our first and only Bay Area appearance this year. We’re looking forward to seeing you there. The show runs the October 13th & 14th weekend.
Warren Chang Lecture in Monterey, CA
Warren will be giving a lecture on September 12 at 10:30 at the Monterey Museum of Art. There will be a book signing following his talk. Stop on by if you get the chance. I’ll be there, too.
Magazine Features
Imagine FX #86 has a Mark Schultz article and gallery and a Craig Elliott sketchbook feature. Plus the new International Artist magazine (#86) has a process article by Petar Meseldzija. Then issue #80 of American Art Collector has a piece on Craig Elliott and our friend Brad Kunkle regarding their show at the Arcadia Gallery in New York City. I believe you can still find these at your local magazine rack.
I’ll have some more updates on current and future books soon. Until then, thanks for reading and for your support.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
Links:
The Art of Brom on Kickstarter
James Bama: Personal Works
The Alternative Press Expo