Brad Reuben Kunkle Exhibit at Arcadia Fine Arts!

Brad Kunkle contacted me with news of an upcoming exhibit if his work. His fine art gives me great pleasure. I would like to share his talent with the rest of you. His website is definitely worth the time to peruse.

Brad will be showing five new paintings at his first exhibit at the Arcadia Fine Arts Gallery in New York City from June 18th – July 2nd. Arcadia is a very distinguished gallery in New York, rooted in traditional and academic art. You can meet Brad during opening night on Thursday, June 18th, from 6-8pm.

You can visit Brad’s website here to view examples of his exquisite art. For further details about the show, visit the Arcadia Gallery website here.

Congratulations, Brad. Good luck at the show!

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Super-Con 2009! A Hot Show!

I had a great time at Super-Con! The event is held at the San Jose Convention Center. As with last year, the organizers kept up with their tradition of having an all-star list of guests. Eduardo Risso, Jim Silke, Frank Cho, Joe Jusko, Alex Nino, Sergio Aragonés, Dan Brereton, and Mick Gray are all favorites of mine. It was a pleasure to have an opportunity to talk with these fine gentlemen, and see their latest art.

Each year, a particular artist will provide a pencil piece, which in turn is inked by a number of artists, all of which are put up at auction. The proceeds are given to charity. This year, Mark Schultz provided a pencil piece. I’ve got to say, out of the half-dozen, or so, artists who inked the piece, my personal favorite is the one done by Joe Jusko. He did an amazing job.

It was nice to see a good boost in attendance on Saturday, when compared to last year. Sunday was slow, but overall we had much more people come by the booth than in 2008.

On Sunday, I had the unexpected pleasure to meet a trio of fans in outstanding costumes. One in particular stood out to me for the reason that he was wearing a Flash Gordon costume that was a perfect replication of the uniform worn by Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon in the 1960’s King Comics. I just had to show him our Williamson Flash Gordon book mock-up and promotional banner hanging up at our booth. The pictures above and below will show what a great job all three of these people did on their costumes.

A big thanks goes out to Steve Morger and Steve Wyatt for their hard work to make this show happen each year!

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

New Flesk Books and Updates!

It’s been a busy few months for Flesk. From shipping out our latest two titles, to wrapping up three new books, to events and signings, and starting up on a handful of new projects, it’s definitely time I update all of you with the latest news.

If you haven’t heard yet, Jules Verne’s Twenty- Thousand Leagues Under the Sea adapted by Gary Gianni and, William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals are both available. These books have a trade hardbound edition, and limited signed and numbered edition. Each deluxe edition is reserved to only 600 copies.

Both of these titles also have super deluxe editions available, which contain original artwork and are limited to only 40 copies!

The Gianni Twenty-Thousand Leagues super deluxe book contains original pencil preliminary artwork used in development for the book. The artwork is tipped-in on an extra bound-in page. Pricing and selections can be viewed online here.

The super deluxe William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals book includes an actual piece (trimmed during the murals’ installation) of one of the San Diego Natural History Museum “Fossil Mysteries” murals, hand painted by William Stout. This swatch is tipped-in on an extra bound-in page. A custom slipcase, exclusive to this edition, houses the book. The price is $300.00. You can reply to this email if you are interested.

Now for news on our summer releases. We have three new books at the printer. They will be available in late July. We will debut all of them at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Pre-order any of them by July 15th and get free shipping in the USA by USPS Media Mail.

The three new Flesk titles are:

  1. Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic, collecting acclaimed illustrator Al Williamson’s complete works on Flash Gordon. $29.95 softbound and $44.95 hardbound will be available.
  2. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Four highlights the latest work by this Eisner and Harvey Award winning artist. $19.95 softbound and $29.95 signed limited hardbound will be available.
  3. Major Thrill’s Adventure Book by Gary Gianni, a 32-page collection of Gianni’s adventure art. The Adventure Book will only be available direct through Flesk, and will not be in stores. $15.00 softbound edition will be available.

More details on all of these books can be found on our website.

William Stout has being making numerous signing appearances. Each lucky person who met him has received a free sketch of their favorite dinosaur in their copy of the Prehistoric Life Murals book. I keep my blog updated for news on where Gianni, Steve Rude, Schultz, and Stout will appear next.

Both Mark Schultz and William Stout will be guests at the upcoming Wonderfest in Louisville, Kentucky. The show runs on May 16 and 17. During the same weekend, I will be exhibiting at Super-Con in San Jose, CA. Our booth number is 307.

As for future titles, we have five new books in development. The actual release dates will be announced as soon as they are closer to completion, but you can expect them to come out starting later this year, then through the summer of 2010.

The first two titles I would like to share with you is a yet to be titled James Bama sketchbook and career spanning collection on T.S. Sullivant.

We have a new Stout book currently being designed: The New Dinosaurs: Dinosaur Discoveries of the Last Two Decades and The New Dinosaurs A-Z, written and illustrated by William Stout.

Mark Schultz’s Storms at Sea is also in development. We will announce a release date once Schultz has completed the illustrations.

I welcome you to visit our website, and my blog for regular news and updates. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Best,
John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
P.O. Box 3174
Santa Cruz, CA 95063
info@fleskpublications.com
www.fleskpublications.com
(408) 206-2346
Monday through Friday
11:00AM to 6:00PM PST

Flesk Exhibiting at Super-Con in San Jose, CA, Booth #307, May 16 and 17!

Flesk will be exhibiting at Super-Con in San Jose, Ca on May 16 and 17. Our booth number is 307. The show is located at the San Jose Convention Center. For more information and directions to the show, visit their website here.

I’ll have all of our books, plus some other great titles from publisher friends of mine, including the new Reynold Brown and Norman Saunders books from Dan Zimmer’s Illustrated Press. You can read one of my previous blogs to learn more about Dan’s books, here.

I’ll also have some preview material for our three new books coming out in July. They are: Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Four, and Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic, and Major Thrill’s Adventure Book by Gary Gianni.
See you at the show!

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Mark Schultz and William Stout are Guests at WonderFest, May 16-17!

Both Mark Schultz and William Stout will be guests at the upcoming Wonderfest in Louisville, Kentucky. The show runs on May 16 and 17. Both gentlemen will have original art for sale, as well as great Flesk books! You can pick up our latest release, William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals direct from Bill at the show.

We have two books that are at the printer right now, slated for a July release, that involve Schultz. They are: Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Four, and Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic with text by Schultz. Mark will be happy to answer your questions about them.

Have a great show! I’ll be exhibiting at Super-Con in San Jose, Ca the same weekend.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Marc Davis Exhibit at the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale, CA!

Marc Davis

There’s a new Marc Davis exhibit coming up at the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale, CA. I am eager to attend the show opening this March 7, and thought some of you might be interesting in seeing his work.

Marc Davis is one of Disney’s legendary “Nine Old Men.” He was the character designer for Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Thumper, and Alice in Alice in Wonderland, to name a few. He also designed characters for Disneyland, including, The Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World, and The Enchanted Tiki Room.

For more information and directions to the museum, visit their website here. The show runs from 5/8/2009 – 7/26/2009 (Museum is closed on Mondays). The following details are taken from their website:

Beginning May 8, 2007, the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale will present “The Art of Marc Davis.”  The exhibit will feature drawings and paintings by distinguished artist and original Disney animator Marc Davis, one of the “Nine Old Men;” the core team of pioneering animators that Walt Disney assembled in the 1930s to advance the art of motion picture animation. For more information, call 1-800-204-3131.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

William Stout Signing at the LA Festival of Books at the Hi De Ho Books Booth #318!

William Stout will be appearing at the LA Festival of Books on Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26. He will be signing his new book, Prehistoric Life Murals at the Hi De Ho Comics and Books With Pictures booth #318. He will begin signing at 11:00AM on Saturday and at 2:00PM on Sunday. The LA Festival of Books attracts more than 130,000 book lovers each year. For more information on the event and directions, click here.

I will be attending the show as a patron. If you are an exhibitor or attending the show and would like to pick up some Flesk books, please email me at info@fleskpublications.com or call at 408-206-2346. I will be happy to drop off books at the show.

If you are in Santa Monica, be sure to check out Hi De Ho Comics and Books. They keep all of our titles in stock. They are located at 525 Santa Monica Boulevard and can be reached at 310-394-2820. Or, visit their website for more information.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Randall Dahlk Gallery Show at Mill District Arts Gallery, April 17th!

Randall Dahlk

Randall Dahlk will be having his inaugural gallery show on April 17th at the Mill District Arts Gallery in downtown Minneapolis.

For those of you who do not know Randy, he’s the guy who designed William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals, Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic, and the Mark Schultz Various Drawings series for us. He also does all of those great miniatures and promotional items you can find at our Flesk booth at WonderCon and Comic-Con International in San Diego. Besides being a designer, Randy is an artist, does sculpture, and enjoys attending church on Sunday’s.

Below is Randy’s official press release.

Howdy Pardner,

I’m having my first ever gallery art show. The big opening will take place on Friday, April 17th, from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. at the Mill District Arts Gallery. This will be a collection of over 30 pieces of my cowboy (& cowgirl) artwork. I’ll have paintings, sculptures, collage, furniture, wooden boxes, journals, pull toys, etc. For you folks who can’t make it to the opening, the show will stay up until May 23rd. The gallery is located in downtown Minneapolis, at 1023 Washington Ave So. The regular hours, are Thursday – Saturday, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Why not make an evening of it, and enjoy a meal before or after, at Old Spaghetti Factory, Wasabi, Sawatdee, or Grumpy’s? I’ll have some Ritz crackers and beef jerky available, but I’m sure most of you are more sophisticated than that, and would prefer to dine elsewhere.

I’m so looking forward to seeing you there, western attire is optional!

Yer pal,
Randy

Also, you can learn more about Randy at his blog, Retro Randy.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

William Stout Signing at Stuart Ng Books, Saturday, April 18, from 2:00 to 4:00pm

Hello,

Stuart Ng just sent out the following news item detailing the upcoming William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals book signing. The event will be on Saturday, April 18, from 2:00 to 4:00pm.

Stuart Ng writes: We are pleased to announce:

William Stout will be signing his new book in our showroom and for our patrons worldwide.

Bill will be at our showroom on Saturday, April 18, from 2:00 to 4:00pm to sign his new book William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals.  As an added bonus, Bill has kindly agreed to draw your favorite dinosaur or prehistoric animal in your copy of the book.

William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals collects all his paintings for The San Diego Natural History Museum, Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, and The Houston Museum of Natural Science.  He also describes his approach and methods, illustrated with numerous preliminary drawings and small-scale paintings.

Bill is one of America’s foremost dinosaur muralists and illustrators as well as a multi-talented artist, conceptualist, and designer for film (animation and live action), theme parks, comics, books, and more.

He is also one of our favorite artists and this new book is fantastic, so we are very pleased to offer it to our patrons.  In these paintings, Bill captures the excitement, dynamism, and sense of wonder we all felt as kids about dinosaurs and the prehistoric world.

Incorporating the latest paleontological information, these recreations are educational as well as accessible making this is the perfect art book for dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages.  An inscribed copy with a drawing would make a great gift.  (I’m getting a bunch of these myself for that purpose.)

If this book was available when I was a kid, I would have been all over it.  Looking at this book takes me back to childhood memories of poring over dinosaur books illustrated by Charles Knight or Zdenek Burian.

Here are two murals that are in the book: http://www.williamstout.com/gallery/murals/

And additional information on the book: http://www.fleskpublications.com/publications/william-stout/

Our showroom is located at 22910 Crenshaw Blvd. in Torrance.  We are open Saturdays from 12:00 to 4:00pm.  For directions and further info, visit http://www.stuartngbooks.com/showroom.html

If you can’t come to the signing or are outside the Los Angeles area, you can pre-order your copy and have it shipped to you anywhere in the world.  Be sure to tell us what dinosaur or animal you would like Bill to draw in your book!

The Hardcover Edition is [SN25610X] $40

The Deluxe Hardcover Edition is limited to 600 Signed & Numbered copies, has an extra pen & ink illustration of a Tyrannosaurus rex on the limitation page, and is [SN25611X] $50

S&H within the U.S. is $6.  (S&H for additional copies within the U.S. is $1 per copy.)

Priority Mail S&H for one copy to the U.K. or Europe is $38.  (Priority Mail S&H for 2-4 copies to the U.K. or Europe is $46.)

To place an order, go to our order page http://www.stuartngbooks.com/order.html

Please help us spread the word about this signing.  Feel free to post this message to your blog or appropriate message boards.

Thanks for your interest and support!

Stuart

Stuart Ng Books
www.stuartngbooks.com

William Stout Murals Presentation and Book Signing at the San Diego Natural History Museum, Saturday, March 21, starting at Noon!

Stout

The San Diego Natural History Museum is hosting a special presentation and book signing by William Stout. Come celebrate the release of his new book, William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals on Saturday, March 21. Stout’s presentation begins at noon at the main theater, followed immediately by the book signing in front of the museum store.

The William Stout program and lecture are free with Museum admission, either General Admission or with tickets to the BODY WORLDS exhibition which includes General Admission.  Admission tickets may be purchased in advance online at www.sdnhm.org or at the Museum.

The primary focus of a new art book, William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals, is on the California painter’s recent creation of the twelve murals for the San Diego Natural History Museum’s Fossil Mysteries exhibit. The book also includes his mural work for the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

This lavishly illustrated new art book features paintings that reconstruct life from its earliest appearances on this planet on up to 2000 years ago.

“I believe that murals are one of the scientists’ conduits to the public,” said Stout. “Artists can translate difficult scientific concepts into powerful, easy-to-grasp visuals for the public. They can function as a great teaching tool.”

In addition to featuring the finished murals unobstructed by their exhibit settings, Stout’s roughs and color studies illuminate in fine detail the thought processes and visual steps that went into the creation of each finished mural.

“I want the public to embrace each mural that I paint with a sense of regional pride,” said Stout. “One of the ways in which I accomplish this is by including well known local landmarks in the paintings whenever and wherever possible. My goal is to have my depictions change the way people see their familiar surroundings.”

As an example, Stout pointed out that some of the Fossil Mysteries murals include Cuyamaca Peak.

The highly readable text is surprisingly personal; Stout even makes mention of the cancer that delayed his completion of the San Diego murals. Stout generously credits all the scientists, artists, sculptors, craftspeople, museum personnel, photographers, institutions and family who helped him out with the murals; there are several reproductions of drawings by SDNHM staffer Jim Melli.

“I wanted to make it patently obvious that large murals depicting prehistoric life are never the work of just one person,” said Stout.

The museum is proud to present and support William Stout: Prehistoric Murals as the perfect book for budding (or even professional) artists, people with an interest in prehistoric life and dinosaurs, as well as folks with an interest and pride in the San Diego area’s rich biological legacy.

Stout, William William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals Santa Cruz: Flesk Publications, 2009, 144 pp., $39.95. Introduction by Ray Harryhausen.
The copies of the book for sale at the San Diego Natural History Museum include an extra full color book plate signed by the author. It was created especially and solely for the museum by Mr. Stout.