Today is the opening day of Comic-Con International in San Diego. We’re at booth #5019, the same spot as the previous few years. We’re near Artist’s Alley and across from Stuart Ng Books on the far south side of the convention hall.
Mark Schultz will be with us this evening. He’ll have original art and will be happy to meet you and sign your items.
We’re premiering the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2012 Teaser at the show. This featured all new art drawn by Bruce over the last few months. There is no repeated imagery with his big book. This comes signed and limited to 1000 copies. For those that can’t make the show, we’ll have them on our Flesk online store right after the show.
We look forward to seeing you.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
Comic-Con International is coming up next week. We’ll be exhibiting again at our usual spot at booth #5019 near artist’s alley. Mark Schultz, who will be a guest of the show, is going to be at our booth all five days. We’ll have official times when he will be present posted at our booth.
Jim Silke and Gary Gianni will also be show guests. Silke will be at booth #4901 and Gianni at #4902. Both locations are near us.
Gianni, Silke and Schultz will have individual spotlight panels highlighting their achievements.
Spotlight on Gary Gianni. Saturday 12-1:00 in room 4.
Spotlight on Jim Silke. Thursday 2:00-3:00 in room 9.
Spotlight on Mark Schultz. Thursday from 12:30-1:30 in room 4. I’ll be a part of this panel with Mark.
We’re going to have our own Flesk panel on Thursday, July 12th from 10:00AM-11:00AM in room 32AB. Here’s the details:
Flesk: Celebrating a Decade of Publishing
Visit with the Flesk team and a quartet of legendary artists for a personal and entertaining hour. Join publisher, John Fleskes, Terry Dodson (Defenders, Uncanny X-Men), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic), Jim Silke (Jungle Girls, Jim Silke Sketchbook) and William Stout (Hallucinations, Inspirations) and moderator Jonathan Leveck (Flesk’s Director of Operations), as they look back on ten years of Flesk’s line of quality books promoting comics and graphic novels, fantasy, illustration, pinup and fine arts fields. In addition, Flesk will announce its exciting line of new titles coming out in the fall of 2012 and provide a glimpse into their 2013 schedule.
I won’t be at our booth much of Thursday. In fact, I will be spending less time at the booth than I normally do, which is usually the majority of the time. I will be in and out all during the show with no fixed times. My wonderful staff will be there to assist you with any questions. One thing to keep in mind is none of us view unsolicited portfolios or book proposals at the shows.
On another topic, we have put together a Flesk promotional postcard set. This will be a free gift given out to our customers at Comic-Con to help celebrate ten years of Flesk. I want to be able to put something into people’s hands to make them feel appreciated for supporting us for all of these years.
This will be a set of seven postcards featuring seven artists that will be in attendance at Comic-Con this year. Each artist is someone who I have published. The seven gentlemen are Stout, Gianni, Schultz, Silke, Dodson, Bruce Timm and Craig Elliott.
These 4″ x 6″ postcards will be printed in full color on front and back. The front art is a finished piece, with the preliminary art on the back. The seven cards will be contained within a velum envelope. It’s going to look beautiful. And again, it will be given out to all of our customers, while supplies last.
New for Comic-Con will be the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2012 Teaser. This 16 page collection will feature all new work recently created in the last few months. This 8.5 in. x 5.5 in. saddle-stitched book is limited, numbered 1-1000 and comes signed by Timm for $15.00. They can be found at our booth and also directly from Timm at his usual signing area at the Naked Fat Rave booth #4601. Copies will be available direct from our website immediately after the show.
We’ll also have the new Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book collection available. This book features the art of Android Jones, Brom, Iain McCaig, Phil Hale and Mike Mignola. The introductions are by Cathy & Arnie Fenner, Christopher Golden, Lorne Lanning, Christopher Paolini and William Stout, plus a short interview with Phil Hale by Tray Batey. Afterword by John Fleskes. Mignola and Stout will be in attendance if you would like to get your copy signed.
In addition, we’ll have our entire line of Flesk books that are in print on display. We all look forward to seeing you at the show.
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
Scott Gustafson, Randy Dahlk, Jonathan Leveck, Jim & Ruth Keegan, James Walker II, Mark Schultz, Thomas Gianni and John Fleskes
“Arnie’s penciled in the event for next year on the calendar, he just needs to ink it in,” shares “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” planning coordinator, Bunny Muchmore. Her prediction on the Sunday eve of the show is proven accurate. Arnie Fenner announced on the Muddy Colors blog that the show will go on. I’m stoked with this news. Heck, I’m sure a lot of people are. Not just for those who made it, but for those who didn’t and can attend next time.
Here’s an interesting statistic. It has become public knowledge that just over 2000 people came through the door in Kansas City. Comic-Con International in San Diego has 125,000 people attending. When I factor all of my costs associated with the Spectrum show a few weeks ago and Comic-Con in 2011 they almost match. There is less than a $500 difference. At Comic-Con I have two booths. At Spectrum I have an island (four corner booths). I drive in my books and staff for Comic-Con. At Spectrum I shipped our books in advance, then flew in my staff and three artists and covered the hotel rooms for us. Now here’s the kicker. The money brought in from book sales between Comic-Con and Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! (SFAL!) is a difference of $300.
There’s been a lot of talk about the power of the one percent over the last year. Given that 2000 people rounds up to 2% of the Comic-Con attendance, I think I can still make a point. I’ve always felt that 1% of the Comic-Con crowd is our core audience. The rest are there for the pop-culture elements. Reflecting on the two shows creates some legitimacy to my gut feeling. Big crowds do not translate to big sales. The Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco is another show that entices a focused crowd and does very well for us.
A good balance, to me, is that core 2%, then another few thousand people with peripheral interests that we can meet and introduce ourselves to for the first time. While I like to sell books at a show, it is my third goal. My first goal is to meet and interact with new people and existing fans. Basically, promoting Flesk, the artists we publish and the arts in general.
Getting back to some observations, keep in mind that Comic-Con is a five day show and SFAL! is three. The bonus with SFAL! is that with a shorter show, that gives me two extra days back home working on and selling books. Every day gone from the office is a lost day of productivity, which I need to factor into the value of exhibiting at any show. The promotional value of any event should supplement the lost days back home. I feel both Comic-Con and SFAL! do this, yet SFAL! is a mellow environment and is not the marathon that Comic-Con is.
Why am I referencing Comic-Con? I’ve been either attending or exhibiting at the show since 1994. I know it well. It is a major venue for an artist, or in my case an art book publisher, to promote himself. During the last five years, especially, I have seen many artists drop out of the show for reasons such as it becoming too expensive to attend, sales are down, the increased jobs picked up at the show have become less frequent, the longer hours requiring extra help at the booth and the perceived focus of the show that has gone more mainstream pop-culture. And what I mean by more expensive is not the booth costs, which I feel is a deal for what you get (Comic-Con keeps the booth prices very reasonable when compared to other trade shows I have been too, like BEA—which is a total waste of time and money in my opinion), but instead the hotel costs that have been driven up over the years. Besides this, there’s been a feeling by the artists of their not being relevant to Comic-Con anymore. The Comic-Con organizers keep the focus of the program book, panels, guests and name of the show all very much focused on comics and the people in the comic industry, but the large film studios, game companies and other peripheral pop culture genres cast a shadow over the theme a bit too much, contributing to the perception that Comic-Con doesn’t care about the artists, which I don’t think is true. I think they do care, but they are in a pickle dealing with the perceptions and the mass of people that attend and exhibit at the show. I don’t envy what they have to deal with. It’s like chasing King Kong and trying to tie him down with a few dozen people and a rope.
Getting back to SFAL!, I feel it can only grow from here. The core audience that supports and sustains us was there. For this, I am very grateful. I feel with each new year more core fans will arrive, followed by those with a mild-curiosity for what is going on. The very fact that the focus is on the artists, not the products they create, is refreshing. The artists don’t have to compete with the cast of Glee near them. (I had this happen at Comic-Con one year. There was a massive line blocking the entrance to my aisle. No joke. I’m like, what the #*!#& is Glee?) Or, the carnival antics of major studios with bullhorns, gaming companies blasting explosion sound effects, sword dealers—OK, don’t get me started. You get my point. SFAL! is all about the artists and King Kong is not running amok on the show floor.
So why was I there with a big booth? I’m not an artist, but a book publisher? Why did I get such a primo spot right up front? We’ll, I feel my mission in publishing fits the theme of the show. We are all about the artists. I’m not publishing books on genres and products. I publish artist individual collections and make sure they are about them. I had six artists at my booth, and not just books. About the space: When I heard about the show, I immediately signed up and asked for a big spot. In knew the show would be a success and would grow. I decided to grab my space when I could, knowing later that it might not be possible. I had faith early on. That, and Stout encouraged me with this decision as well.
The SFAL! show organizers have been honest about what they felt went well, and listed out areas for improvement. I respect those that can point out his or her flaws and work to correct them. I look forward to continuing to support the show and to see where it goes.
I will end this blog series about the show with some random pictures; both at the show and around downtown Kansas City. Petar Meseldzija sketching in a copy of Flesk Prime. Taking pictures of Petar is like trying to take a picture of a five-year-old boy. He rarely stops moving around and likes to make silly faces at the camera. This is a grab shot that I took while he was focused on drawing.
Bob Self of Baby Tattoo Books with his life-sized mascot.
Gary Gianni (right) signing bookplates for his adaptation of Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Gary was kind enough to offer his hand. These bookplates will come with all future orders direct form us for the book. We also have a separate exclusive for the Prince Valiant Page.
On Sunday evening a small group of us had a relaxing and fun dinner. I snapped some pictures during the meal. The lighting was dim, with an assortment of interesting lights and colors. I prefer not to use a flash. Here are a few of the results.
Mark Schultz playing the role of Mr. Fantastic
Jonathan Leveck
Randall Dahlk
James Walker II
Randy with Jonathan.
See you next year!
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
As fellow exhibitors can probably attest to, I didn’t get a whole heck of a lot of time to wander around. When I did I was sure to keep my camera with me. Here are a few of my favorite pictures while exploring the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” hall. The captions for each picture falls below them.
Before the doors opened to the public on Sunday, I heard an announcement encouraging all of the artists to gather for a group picture. I quickly attached my Canon EF 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens to my camera and skipped over to the main stage hoping for a good picture opportunity. I arrived to see a mass of artists fused together. I set my finger on the camera shutter button as if I was trying to redline the device. It was a special moment. Click on the image for a 20” wide version of this picture.
Shortly after, Dwight and Swain (top row, third and fifth from the left) of Sidebar (sidebarnation.com) gathered the artists present who have been interviewed on their podcast in the past.
Our host, Mr. Arnie Fenner (left–and still standing at the three-day mark), co-organizer Jim Fallone (center) and James Gurney (the recently crowned Grand Master Award recipient for 2012) mingle before getting back to business after the photo session. I think a caption contest is necessary to guess what Arnie is thinking about here.
From left to right: Arnie Fenner, me, James Gurney and Petar Meseldzija. All I can say is what terrific guys these three are.
From left to right: James Gurney, Petar Meseldzija and Jean-Baptiste Monge. Jean-Baptiste won two well-deserved Spectrum awards the previous night; a silver award in the Book category and a gold award in Editorial.
Here’s Craig Elliott at his booth. He was set up a short distance from us. Craig had prints, original art and his new The Art of Craig Elliott book that I published on display.
Daren Bader (left) with Petar Meseldzija. These two were having a serious discussion. I walked up, took five pictures from different angles and walked away—all without them paying me any attention.
Craig Elliott (left) posing with Brom (right). Craig was visiting his booth to pick up his original Brom pencil drawing. Artists can be fans, too.
Gregory Manchess at his booth. In my opinion, Greg is one of the greatest living illustrators/painters—period. The raw power in his works is testament to the devotion he has given to his craft.
Jim & Ruth Keegan are a husband and wife team of artists, colorists and designers. They are also two good friends who have supported me since the beginning of my publishing efforts.
The “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” organizers erected stand up displays around the event entrance featuring the art and a quote from a past Grand Master Award recipient who has since passed. Here Mark Schultz stands next to the dedication devoted to his sorely missed friend, Al Williamson.
Kansas City has a majestic display of buildings all throughout the downtown area. How would you like to have to walk down that fire escape? If I had more time I would have taken some more architectural pictures. Next year I’ll get the chance.
There are many the fine manhole covers in Kansas City as well. This is for you, Denise. (OK, yes, I admit this is an inside joke that only certain people will get.)
A final Part 5 of this blog series is coming soon!
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
On Saturday May 16 from 2:30-4:00 we hosted the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book signing with the five special guests of the show at our Flesk booth. Sitting at the table in these pictures, from left to right, is Mike Mignola, Iain McCaig, Brom, Phil Hale and Android Jones.
The line was already growing at 2:10 and by 2:30 people were snaked around our 400 sq. foot booth, and then it continued across the aisle and down the convention hall wall. This amounted to a 70-80’ line. The hour-and-a-half allotted for the signing turned out to be just the perfect amount of time to satisfy everyone who wanted a signature. The people in line were very patient and brought a positive vibe to the signing.
This was the only opportunity during the show to see all five guests together in one place. We had a blast. It really was a lot of fun for all of us. I would like to thank the artists for taking the time to spend with the attendees in this group setting.
The “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” guests; a powerhouse of artists, all of whom are humble and generous to their fans.
One fan brought a sketchbook and requested that each artist provide a mini-sketch, of which each of them was happy to oblige. Here, Android provides the final entry.
Brom looks as cool as he actually is. Phil Hale is being passed a copy of the Spectrum annual to sign. Many artists that have appeared in Spectrum were exhibiting at the show. It was common to see a copy of the latest annual with multiple post-it notes poking out from in-between its pages marking where each artist appears. Collectors were obtaining signatures of as many people as they could.
Mike Mignola signing a Hellboy print.
Here’s a rare picture of Iain McCaig not smiling. This is a tough shot to get as he is usually beaming!
Android Jones (at right) looking very relaxed for someone who just a few hours later was performing live at the “Spectrum” awards ceremony at the Midland Theater. Right after this signing he went straight to rehearsal.
The mood remained playful during the hour-and-a-half signing.
Looking over the shoulders of giants as they sign the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! art book. We start with Mignola.
Iain McCaig.
Brom.
Phil Hale was signing and providing a remark in every book. This was generous of him.
Android providing the exclamation point as fans receive the final signature.
The artists are in the front with (from left to right) James Walker, Mark Schultz and myself behind them. James and I have been friends for nearly twenty years. He is among a small handful of my most trusted and loyal friends. We spent ten years prior to my starting Flesk in 2002 helping friends at their booths and running around together at conventions. Neither of us would ever have suspected that we would have been hosting an event such as this ten years ago, or even five years ago. We agreed this was a special moment and not something to take for granted.
Another guest group shot.
I’ve mentioned this before but it is worth repeating. Mike is very warm with his fans. It’s nice to see someone who has received so much fame to remain grounded.
There’s the typical Iain I know. He is not afraid to show his enthusiasm for life and art in public.
Phil Hale makes a rare public appearance in the U.S. He flew in from the U.K. for the show. Android is at right.
Android Jones. This is probably my favorite picture of this batch. It’s a great natural grab-shot.
Thanks again to Mike, Iain, Brom, Phil and Android for being so gracious with their time and for hanging at our Flesk booth for the signing.
Part 4 of this series, which will come in the next day or two, will include more “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” pictures and commentary as I walked around the show.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
The inaugural “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event opened the doors to the public at 3:00pm on Friday, May 18. The artists at our Flesk booth included William Stout, Mark Schultz, Petar Meseldzija, Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni (on Saturday and Sunday) and Android Jones (on Friday and Saturday). The nice thing about this show was how throughout the three days we had a steady influx of people at our booth. We were never bored as there were typically two to four people in line for the majority of artists. This allowed for personal discussions without anyone feeling rushed. It was a good pace.
Here’s a batch of photographs around our Flesk booth, most of which were taken about an hour or two after the doors opened on that first day. The pictures of Gianni were taken on Saturday.
Here is William Stout talking with an attendee. The original art in front of him is featured within his book Inspirations.
Petar Meseldzija poses with a few of his original paintings and books. Petar flew all the way in from The Netherlands.
Mike Mignola interacts with a fan.
Craig Elliott hangs out at our booth during the Flesk Prime book signing on Saturday.
Gary Gianni went straight to work when he arrived on Saturday around noon. Here he is providing a sketch in a recently purchased book featuring his work.
William Stout also provided sketches for some lucky fans.
Mark Schultz engages with someone while Randy Dahlk helps with book sales and questions.
Mr. Schultz poses for the camera.
This is a nice group shot showing the activity that first day. Mignola, Gianni and Schultz stayed busy until closing time.
This is me being interviewed for Scifi4me.com. They had some questions about the show book featuring the five guests I put together. Besides screwing up and naming Iain McCaig twice and leaving out Android Jones when naming the five artists, I think the rest went as well as it could for it being my first camera interview. (I’ve been avoiding live interviews for 10 years.)
Here I am during the same interview. Jonathan Leveck ran out with my camera and got some shots while we were talking. The “Crowbot” banner artwork is by Jon Foster and welcomed people as they would walk inside.
Another booth group shot. There’s our friend Jim Keegan sporting the beard and jacket. In front are the cool show official t-shirts we were selling. The art is by Ragnar.
Jonathan ran around with my camera and got this grab shot of me. It’s nice to see. After ten years of shows I finally got a few pictures of myself. I typically take all the pictures and don’t have many of myself. I prefer being behind the lens. Behind me is our new updated logo that Randy designed.
Mike Mignola stayed busy each day. He gives a lot of friendly personal attention to each fan.
A lucky collector gets a personalize sketch and autograph by Mignola.
Gianni draws in another book.
I walked over to Jim Gurney’s booth to say hello. When I got there his wife told me he went over to my booth to do the same. I returned to find him talking with Petar Meseldzija (left) and William Stout (right). This is quite the trio of painters who are masters at using the traditional approach.
Jonathan Leveck and James Walker working (or playing) at the booth. They always remember to have fun along the way. That’s fine by me.
Randall Dahlk holds steady his end of the booth. Randy is a good friend and has designed at least half of our Flesk books.
Part 3 of this series which will include more “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” pictures and commentary is coming soon.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
This is the first post of a series detailing our three days exhibiting at the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event in Kansas City, Missouri. The show ran from May 18-20. I have far too much to share to try and cram my whole experience into a single post.
First of all, I would like to congratulate Arnie and Cathy Fenner on an exceptional show and thank them, their crew and volunteers for making us feel welcome and making for a smooth event. They pulled off an extraordinary feat in banding us all together. I will write much more about the show but, for now let me take you on a tour of our booth.
This series of pictures takes you around the Flesk booth about two hours before the show started. We had four booth’s made up into a 20’ x 20’ island. This is the first time I had a space of this size to work with. I did not make concrete plans concerning the booth arrangement prior to the event. I had some ideas but nothing was welded in place. My preference was to show up with my crew, see what we were dealing with, and then build our space. I liked the idea of not over-thinking our spot and letting it organically take shape. This first picture shows James Walker II behind the booth and Jonathan Leveck in front. Our pal, Randall Dahlk, is sitting behind James. The area James is facing projects right into the main doors as people enter the show. We had the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! show book and t-shirt’s there. Android Jones was on the right corner and Mike Mignola on the left, with Gary Gianni next to Mike.
Here James is prepping Mark Schultz’s space.
Coming around the corner we had copies of all of our Flesk titles in print for people to peruse.
Here’s William Stout’s section with his books. Later he had original artwork on display.
As we approach the final stretch, Petar Meseldzija brought seven paintings with him from The Netherlands, five of which can be seen on the wall behind him. The work at the bottom center is a giclee print. The two smaller pieces were placed on the easels a few hours later. Then the empty space on the corner brings us back to where Android sat with his prints.
The next post is coming soon as I continue this visual tour of our show!
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
I’m packing my bags for the flight to Kansas City, Missouri to exhibit at the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event put on by Cathy and Arnie Fenner this weekend. I’ll be taking pictures and notes along the way to share the experience here as soon as I return. For the moment, I have a handful of items I would like to talk about before leaving.
The first is, and with great sadness, I learned of Tony DeZuniga’s passing away late last week. I was informed by my good friend Manuel Auad, who was close to Tony. Manuel was kind enough to introduce me to Tony a number of years ago and I enjoyed the handful of times I was honored enough to speak with him. My immediate impression was that he was a true gentleman, a feeling which was reinforced with each successive meeting. He is missed.
This weekend, besides being the date for the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event, is also the weekend for “Big Wow! ComicFest” in San Jose, California. I am very disappointed to be missing this show as it is my local show being just 15 minutes from my house, run by a terrific group of guys who I like to support, and they have a killer guest list—including one of my favorites, and someone whose work I have published—Mr. Jim Silke. Unfortunately the two shows fall on the same weekend and I had to choose. My attempt to find someone I can trust enough to run a Flesk booth at the “Big Wow!” show failed, leaving me knowing I will miss an opportunity to promote ourselves there, along with SFAL!, and miss what will inevitably be a terrific show. Check out the website and if you are in the Bay Area, go!
In terms of books I am working on, I have finished, sent to the printer and approved the proofs for the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2012 Teaser that will premiere at Comic-Con in July. I wanted to get it totally done before leaving for Kansas City. It’s looking really great! Bruce provided all new artwork created over the last few months. None of the material is art that didn’t make it into the main book. It is all fresh and incredible work. The Teaser is limited to 1000 numbered and signed copies. I’ll add it to our Flesk store for pre-orders in June.
Last year Terry Dodson put out two sketchbooks: Reveries and Bombshells 5. I provided some production assistance with both. I am in the process of helping Terry out again with another project. The details, though, I will leave to Mr. Dodson to share first on his website. For the moment he is traveling to London as a guest at the “Kapow! Comic Convention,” also running this weekend. Check out his blog in the next few weeks for some news on his trip and upcoming book details.
Last Saturday, our newly appointed Director of Operations, Jonathan Leveck, my friend Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. and I, all went to Monterey, California for the day for Warren Chang’s Narrative Paintings book signing at the Pacific Grove Arts Center. Sales of the book benefited the PGArts and Alba Farms. People had the chance to meet Warren and see over 40 of his original paintings. Afterwards, we visited Warren’s studio where I assisted with some modeling photography for Warren’s future reference. Out of respect for Warren, I will share the story with some photographs only once his new painting is complete and he is ready to reveal his process.
I know I am bouncing around here but, I have a lot of bits of information to share.
I will be revealing our new Flesk logo at the “SFAL!” show. I have long wanted to update my original Flesk “Franklin Booth tree” logo that I made way back in 2002. For our 10th anniversary I wanted something fresh and hip, yet reflected better who I am by making it more personal compared to the old logo which I feel is too old fashioned and out of date for the future of Flesk. (This explains why I haven’t used it for a while.) I put Randall Dahlk to task and he designed a new logo that I approved. The design and elements actually have a meaning to me yet; the exact definition is something I will keep under my hat. I’d rather let people define it as they want, and let it serve as a symbol of the company. My close friends will get it right away, and the few I have shown did.
Randy also created a T-shirt design incorporating the Flesk name and new logo. I had the shirts made on exceptional quality American Apparel T-shirts and hand screened at a local facility by a pair of outstanding craftsmen in Santa Cruz, California. You’ll see our staff at the Flesk booth all wearing them. I’ll bring a few extras along to sell. I’m really excited we will all have team shirts at the show. I’ll show off some pictures of them in a future blog.
The new Illustration Magazine came out last week. It features an article on one of my favorite artists, Coby Whitmore. I’ve been inspired by Dan Zimmer’s magazine since he started in 2001 and he still keeps these beautiful issues coming. This issue, #37, also has a full-page Flesk ad inside. I enjoy Illustration Magazine so much that I have been advertising with him since issue #4. And in the back of this issue Dan promotes our Flesk Prime and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm books with praiseworthy reviews. Thanks, Dan!
I’ve been talking with Steve Rude about two new books. We’ve already gotten started on one of them. I’ll give you the skinny once I get back from Kansas City. It’s a pleasure to be working with “The Dude” again.
The new Flesk website is coming along well. I hope to have it go live by this summer. It’s mostly waiting for me to review and double check the content. My fault! But it looks amazing and I am anxious to share it with you all.
I look forward to seeing those that can make the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” show! I haven’t been this excited about going to a show for a very long time.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
The "Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!" book is on its way to the event.
With the inaugural Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event happening in just a few weeks I thought it time to share not only how exceptional I feel this show will be, but also some of what will be going on at our Flesk booth. But first, a few words about the show itself and the artists that will be there.
SFAL! is conceived and organized by Cathy and Arnie Fenner, who are also the directors behind the highly popular annual, Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art. The idea behind their show is one that is artist friendly regardless of style, genre or types and that is accessible to everyone. With this in mind they have been planning and organizing this new event for a number of years, the culmination of which will become a reality for three days, running from May 18-20 at the Bartle Hall Grand Ballroom in Kansas City, Missouri.
The show will feature over 200 art exhibitors. This includes the five event guests; Brom, Phil Hale, Android Jones, Mike Mignola and Ian McCaig. Some of the artists that will be exhibiting include Donato Giancola, Michael Whelan, Shelly Wan (at Eidolon Fine Arts), Charles Vess, Ragnar, Jim & Ruth Keegan, Jon Foster, Greg Manchess, Scott Gustafson, our friends at Bud Plant Books, Stuart Ng Books and Baby Tattoo books, plus many more.
As for our Flesk space, we will have four booths arranged as an island at the show. This 20’ x 20’ area will host a group of heavy hitters in the art world: Mark Schultz, William Stout, Petar Meseldzija and Gary Gianni. Gary will be at the show on Saturday and Sunday only. Joining us will be special guests, Mike Mignola and Android Jones. Android will be at the booth on Friday and Saturday. Original artwork, prints and books will be available. Petar is shipping in a few new large paintings that you will want to stop by and see.
Craig Elliott will join Gianni, Stout, Schultz and Meseldzija for one hour on Saturday and Sunday during our “Flesk Prime” book signing at the Flesk booth. These are the five participants in our Flesk Prime book. This is the first U.S. opportunity to have all five artists sign the book at a single venue. (Check back later for times.) On Saturday we will have our one and only Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative event art book signing. This is the official show book featuring the five show guests. It is published by Flesk with the authorization of Cathy and Arnie Fenner. For an hour-and-a-half attendees will have the opportunity to have the book signed by all five artists, Brom, Hale, Android, Mignola and McCaig. Phil Hale does not have a booth at the show. This is a rare scheduled appearance to meet him. (Check back later for the exact time.)
We’ll have a selection of all of our Flesk books. Titles on the aforementioned creators, plus our collections on Harvey Dunn, Jim Silke, Terry Dodson, James Bama, Bruce Timm, and Al Williamson will be on hand. Come grab our free catalog, too.
Keep checking back for more information as the show approaches. I’ll have a few more things to share soon.
I look forward to seeing you all there.
Enjoy,
John
John Fleskes Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
Friday, April 13 was the opening of Warren Chang’s ten-year retrospective “Narrative Paintings” at the Pacific Grove Arts Center. I met with Warren just over an hour before the opening reception that ran from 7:00-9:00pm. He was upbeat and basically himself. He expressed to me his happiness that the selection of his original works on display includes all of his major paintings. In addition, the hanging and presentation of them are professionally done and meet Warren’s approval. This combination all led to Warren being calm all throughout the evening.
As I was entered the gallery housing the forty-six original works, I further understood Warren’s relaxed demeanor. A large crowd was present in the rectangular shaped oversized room. A small island wall was present with two paintings on each side. A row of forty-two paintings wrapped around the four walls. As a bonus, Warren provided the occasional commentary–all of which read best when you view the paintings in order starting with the first painting as you enter.
As I continued within the gallery I felt as if I stepped into Warren’s real life environment in which his paintings depict. I could sense the richness of the vegetable fields and sweat of the migrant workers he portrays. I had to look behind me to make sure I wasn’t tracking mud through the gallery. I didn’t see his paintings, I entered them. From his studio works, to his portraits and self-portraits, and the occasional landscape, Warren gives us a sincere expression that is a joy to experience.
The Annand Gallery. Paintings by Namgui Chang.
In the adjacent Annand Gallery, the first exhibit of Warren’s father, Namgui Chang, is running during the same time period. Paintings spanning five decades are present for your viewing edification. They are a beautiful array of landscapes of his Korean birthplace and of the natural wonders surrounding his Monterey home. I enjoyed how different these two artists view their subjects through paint. They cannot be compared, nor should they. Each artist has his own voice.
I encourage you to make a trip to Pacific Grove to view this exhibit. It’s easy to find, close to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the viewing is free. It’s the perfect afternoon or day trip from the Bay Area. The exhibit runs until May 24th. They also have copies of our Flesk book, “Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” available for purchase.
If you can’t make it, I hope you enjoy the pictures and that they serve as a small substitute.
Warren Chang shares some insight behind his paintings with his good friend Mark Roberts.
On Saturday we will have our one and only Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative event art book signing. This is the official show book featuring the five show guests. It is published by Flesk with the authorization of Cathy and Arnie Fenner. For an hour-and-a-half attendees will have the opportunity to have the book signed by all five artists, Brom, Hale, Android, Mignola and McCaig. Phil Hale does not have a booth at the show. This is a rare scheduled appearance to meet him. (Check back later for the exact time.)
