Category: Events

We had a solid thirty-foot long booth at the Strip Festival show in Breda, The Netherlands on October 26 and 27. Terry Dodson, Petar Meseldzija, Mark Schultz, Jim Silke and Thomas Yeates joined us for signings during the duration of the weekend. I would like to express a special thanks to our hosts, Mark Thelosen and Guido de Bue, plus De Stripspecialist. And to the Strip Festival Breda organization and volunteers, plus all of those at Eppo for their help and support and for making our visit a pleasant one. We had a wonderful time!

Here’s a batch of pictures that I took at our booth. Captions fall under each picture.

Starting from the front, here is Terry Dodson signing a collection of his art on Spider-Man, Mark Schultz doing a drawing in his Xenozoic Artist’s Edition, Thomas Yeates pulling out some of his Prince Valiant original art, Petar Meseldzija adding a sketch to his art book, with Petar’s wife, Anita, keeping us boys in line.

Mark Schultz, who writes the weekly Prince Valiant Sunday strip, was discussing an upcoming storyline with Thomas, who happens to be the artist. Throughout the weekend you could overhear them working out the details for the coming months. In this case, Mark decided to sketch out what he was thinking for one particular segment.

Petar Meseldzija does the best sketches in books! All are different and they serve as a necessary challenge to keep him sharp. Petar does not compromise. I respect that trait.

Terry Dodson adding a quick headshot into one of his books. Terry had the largest lines each day. Fortunately this Dutch show has short hours and is only two days so none of us got worn out. It was quick relaxing, actually.

Thomas Yeates talking with a fan. Thomas is a delight and has an infectious laughter.

Thomas poses for Mark Thelosen, the new owner of this particular Prince Valiant original. And, I’ll add that Mark shuttled us all around the city and back and forth to the airport. For this, and many other reasons, Mark is an official lifetime member of the Flesk team.

The legendary Jim Silke signs a recently sold original.

Petar is all smiles, except when he is focused on drawing.

Jim signs his Jungle Girls book.

Petar snuck behind our booth wall to focus on this drawing commission that he wanted to make extraordinary. It’s quite the experience to watch Petar work.

A pulled back shot of Petar working on the same piece. See, no smiles. He’s creating.

This is a shot of Mark Schultz from the perspective of being in front of the booth. Mark was adding a Hannah bust drawing to his Xenozoic Artist’s Edition.

Mark, who very rarely sketches at shows, adds a Hannah sketch to his new art book, Carbon.

Thomas finished up four convention sketches that were ready to be picked up by his fans.

Remember when I mentioned how steady Terry’s line was? Well, here’s proof.

Terry was only able to finish one or two art commissions at the show. Here’s Terry working on the first one.

This is an alternate angle of Terry working on his commission.

Thanks for looking. I’ll be sharing more pictures soon. Check on back here next week to see them.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Flesk Publications on Facebook
Spectrum Fantastic Art
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live on Facebook
Text and photographs copyright © 2013 John Fleskes. All Rights Reserved.

Here’s a three minute video of the action at our Flesk / Spectrum booth at the Alternate Press Expo in San Francisco on October 12 and 13. This footage includes our special guests Terryl Whitlatch, Shelly Wan, Iain McCaig and Craig Elliott! Thanks to the Helpful Bear Productions crew for putting this together for us!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Flesk Publications on Facebook
Spectrum Fantastic Art
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live on Facebook
Helpful Bear Productions
Text copyright © 2013 John Fleskes. All Rights Reserved.

Hi, all,

We had a fun time at the Alternate Press Expo on October 12 and 13. I’m on the road in the Netherlands for two events, which will keep my writing brief, but I will say this is one show I would not want to miss. APE is all about the artists and it attracts a sophisticated and highly enjoyable audience.

Terryl Whitlatch was with us all weekend. Everyone who bought a copy of her book Real and Imagined received a free unique drawing in the book. This kept Terryl’s line steady throughout the show. Pixar Sketch Artist and Spectrum 21 jury member, Shelly Wan, joined us on Saturday. Shelly proved popular and her good spirits was welcome at the booth. Craig Elliott was with us throughout the weekend. Craig gave much of his time by providing a live painting demonstration from a live model for four hours on Saturday and Sunday. We’re pleased at how popular these were and the visitors that hung out to learn and observe. Iain McCaig, legendary artist and Spectrum Advisory Board member, stopped by Saturday for a surprise visit and signing. Even with his presence being unannounced, a line quickly formed and kept Iain engaged during his entire stay with us. My friends James and Josh managed the book sales and answering questions. We had a fun time. APE is much like showing up to a good friend’s house and hanging out for a few days. None of the experience feels like work.

Enjoy the following pictures that were provided by our friends at Helpful Bear Productions. (Thanks guys!)

Our full line of books were on offer, plus a sample copy of Spectrum 20 that was viewed with much delight.

Terryl Whitlatch talking with an attendee.

From left to right, there’s Terryl, Shelly Wan, Craig Elliott and me, John Flesk.

Here, Terryl includes a drawing into a copy of her book. She never drew the same creature twice.

This is Terryl again, from the aisle outside of our booth. Our booth was oftentimes obscured by attendees.

This picture shows Terryl, Shelly and Craig, with my buddy James in the background.

Terryl draws in the foreground while Craig is painting his model for the day, Kelly.

Craig focuses on his oil demonstration.

From left to right we have Iain McCaig, Gil Banducci of Helpful Bear Productions, myself and Terryl.

Shelly talks with a fan.

Group shot! From left to right: Shelly, Gil, Terryl, Iain, Craig and Flesk.

Here’s another perspective on Craig’s oil demonstration.

The final portrait, with Kelly and Craig.

Thanks to Vidur Gupta for taking these pictures and to the entire Helpful Bear crew for their support!

See you next year!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Flesk Publications on Facebook
Spectrum Fantastic Art
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live on Facebook
Helpful Bear Productions
Text copyright © 2013 John Fleskes. All Rights Reserved.

 

Greetings, all,

The Alternate Press Expo in San Francisco is this weekend. We will have three tables representing Flesk Publications and Spectrum Fantastic Art in our usual spot near the front entrance. Our space number is 212-214. We will be joined by artists, Craig Elliott, Shelly Wan and Terryl Whitlatch. And we are pleased to have Helpful Bear Productions with us and filming our adventures to share online after the show.

I always look forward to APE. It focuses heavily on the individual artists and independent creators. The show is packed with a diverse sophisticated group. It’s like a giant artist’s alley and small press area, without all of the fancy pop culture and non-arts related booths. What’s not to like?

Flesk

We will have our entire line of Flesk books and prints with us, including the new Mark Schultz Carbon art book. Also available will be our exclusive publisher edition books by Brom, Terry Dodson, Wendy Pini and Bruce Timm.

Spectrum Fantastic Art

We have secured an advance copy of Spectrum 20 to have on display. Previous volumes will also be on hand to peruse. Free Spectrum Call for Entries postcards and Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event postcards will be available.

Those who are interested in submitting to the Spectrum 21 Call for Entries can turn them in at our booth. We will have submission forms available and we can answer your Spectrum questions. Additionally, you can ask us about the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event happening in Kansas City next May. And you can pick up an exhibitor registration form for those who would like to join us there.

Artist Signings and Demonstrations

Terryl Whitlatch, the artist known for her creature designs for Lucasfilm and who provides workshops through her Tales of Amalthea master class, will be joining us both days. She will be doing drawing demonstrations throughout the weekend and she is happy to sign for her fans. She will also have her book, Animals Real and Imagined available.

Craig Elliott will be doing a three hour oil painting demonstration from a live model on Saturday and Sunday starting at 2:00 each day. Craig will be answering questions during this time. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from Craig, who is a successful visual development artist who works for Disney, Blue Sky and other top companies.

Artist and Spectrum 21 judge, Shelly Wan, will be making a signing appearance at our booth on Saturday from 1:00-2:00. Shelly worked as a visual development artist on Astro Boy; she has done art for Magic: The Gathering; and currently she works for Pixar, having done sketch and color work on Monster’s University.

Helpful Bear Productions

The crew from Helpful Bear Productions will be joining us and filming our exploits at the booth. A short video will be shared on our Spectrum Fantastic Art website within a week after the show. We have partnered up with Helpful Bear Productions to document and share our events online so you can feel a part of the experience even if you cannot make it. Helpful Bear is the production company that produced the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 book promotional video. They are at work on a second book feature video, this one focusing on The Art of Brom. We have much more planned with Helpful Bear and I look forward to this new relationship growing.

We hope to see you at the show!

See you soon.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Flesk Publications on Facebook
Spectrum Fantastic Art
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live on Facebook
Text copyright © 2013 John Fleskes. All Rights Reserved.

I miss the rain already. I’ve been to Portland a half dozen times, but it’s been over a decade since my last visit there. No matter if one of my past excursions to the downtown area coincided with winter, when I skated across the downtown icy sidewalks to slide into Powell’s, or passing a Frisbee at the open grass area along the Williamette River near the Steel Bridge with a friend in summer, each moment has been memorable. As I neared the city limits last week I embraced the cloudy skies, cool weather, and the smell and touch of the moist air.

I decided to exhibit at the Rose City Comic Con based on the professionalism and likability of those who organize the show. They are the same people who run the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, where we exhibited at for the first time earlier this year. (And will again in 2014!)

The Rose City event staff and volunteers were exceptionally friendly. Also, it was obvious that their promotional efforts were successful. The proof of this was the broad mix of people and heavy foot traffic that filled the aisles. The attendees we met were a delight and supported our being there. Plus, our neighbors were fun, which made for an all-around pleasurable experience. I had no hesitation in signing up and prepaying for the third Rose City show in 2014. It is an event that I feel confidant will continue to grow and gain momentum.

I want to thank Brom, Terry and Rachel Dodson for joining me at the Flesk Publications / Spectrum Fantastic Art Live booth.

From spending the week with Brom at Comic-Con, it came as no surprise at Rose City when I observed women approach Brom while giggling quietly to a friend or, shook a little as if they were trembling from a slight chill and, at times, gently bounced in place with excitement at the opportunity to meet him. I saw one girl get a signature in one of his books for her friend who was standing about 30 feet away but who was too nervous to get it herself. “Brave girl” eventually went and grabbed her shy friend by the arm and pulled her over to meet Brom. And I get why. Brom was all smiles and constantly adorable to the girls, and cool and super-chill to the guys. He’s extremely likable. It appears to be all in a day’s work for the Dark Lord.

Speaking of likeability, in the opposite corner of the booth, Terry and Rachel Dodson joined us for extended signings during both days. Terry creates a new piece of art for a unique print for each show where they attend. His new Rose City themed print debuted on Saturday and it turned out beautifully. Terry posted a blog entry to show his sketches and process which you can view here. Terry is amazingly patient and giving of his time. I observed art students who presented his or her portfolio for a critique and who would ask Terry art or industry related questions. Terry spent extended periods offering advice and ways in which they could improve, as well as offering tips on how he worked. I think he has a natural gift for sharing and helping others.

Brom and the Dodson’s helped me by manning the booth for a little bit so I could do a quick walk-around artist alley on Sunday. I make a point to always stroll through this section of every show I attend. It’s my number one destination point that I would hate to miss. It was well represented by a young group, most of who were new to me. I enjoy shows with large artist alley sections that have tables available to them at an affordable price. This makes for a wide variety of artists that may not otherwise have the opportunity to express themselves in a large public venue. These are our future stars. You can see the hunger and positive energy of these brave people who get out there and share their works. It is not easy to have the courage to exhibit at a show for the first time, or even the second or the third. These are the people who take their dreams and put themselves out there on public platform. They have my respect.

Artists are the coolest people to hang out with. They fight that normalcy of a 9-5 lifestyle that many people fall into. Most of the artists I meet and work with do whatever they need to do to share their creativity with others. There are some who might be broke half the time–and all too often struggling–but they are fun to socialize with. I can’t help but think they are happier than a lot of people who give up their lives to work for a paycheck doing a job they have no passion for. This is one of the many reasons why I enjoy publishing.

We’ll see you in Portland again next year. Here’s hoping it rains again!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Flesk Publications on Facebook
Spectrum Fantastic Art
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live on Facebook
Text and photographs copyright © 2013 John Fleskes. All Rights Reserved.