Category: Flesk Book Signings

Beginning this Friday, the Pacific Grove Art Center located in Pacific Grove, California will host a ten-year retrospective on the fine artist, Warren Chang. There will be forty-six of his original paintings on display. The dates are from April13th to May 24th. All of his best works, hand selected by Warren himself, will be arranged for public viewing.

The opening reception will be on Friday, April 13th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Warren Chang will be present. This will be a rare opportunity to meet the artist while surrounded by his paintings. (See the links at bottom for directions and the PG Arts Center website.)

In conjunction with Warren’s showing will be a selection of paintings by his father, Namgui Chang, featuring “Scenes of Old Monterey.” This first exhibit of his art will feature 25 of his paintings spanning the last 50 years. Namgui’s exhibit will be held in the Annand Gallery, also within the PG Art Center. Namgui will also be present during Friday’s reception.
There will also be copies available of Warren Chang’s book Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings (Flesk, 2012) throughout the five-week exhibit.

On a personal note, I have viewed some, but not all, of the paintings that will be on display. I am very eager to see forty-six paintings all in one place. I find Warren’s paintings to have a warmth to them. Each subject is rich with his specific palette of colors and honest narrative. I feel Warren’s paintings define what the meaning of being “genuine” in painting is. I am looking forward to marveling at his work. The opportunity to view such an abundance of his original work direct and up close is something not to be taken for granted. Combine this exhibit with the beauty of Pacific Grove, and neighboring Carmel and Monterey, and you have all the ingredients for a wonderful day.

The following is the official text detailing the Warren Chang and Namgui Chang exhibits with information about the artists.

About Warren Chang and the Exhibition:

Warren Chang:Narrative Paintings is the first retrospective of this acclaimed American realist as well as the largest collection of his paintings ever exhibited, many on loan from private collections.

Born and bred in Monterey, California, Warren Chang (b. 1957) graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1981, where he earned a B.F.A. in illustration with honors.  He thrived for two decades as an award-winning illustrator in both California and New York, when he transitioned to a career as a fine artist starting in the year 2000.

Chang has become renowned for his art since his transition to fine art 12 years ago, earning many awards and honors, which include induction as Master Signature member of the prestigious Oil Painters of America, the largest organization of oil painters in the United States.  He is one of only 50 to receive this honor.  His awards also include Best of Show awards in the Salon International in 2003 and the Raymar Contest in 2009.  In addition his work has been profiled in many publications, including the covers of American Artist and International Artists magazines accompanying his articles on instructional painting.  Now based in his Monterey studio, he is an inveterate and popular teacher, currently affiliated with San Francisco’s Academy of Art University.

His work can be categorized into two main categories of biographical interiors and his paintings of fieldworkers. His interest in interiors reach right back to 16th century artist Johannes Vermeer, and include subjects of self-portraits, family, friends and students in the interior environments of his studio, classroom and home.  His intent is to create mood and emotion through his manipulation of light and use of close value relationships and subdued color.

Perhaps best known for his paintings of fieldworkers from the Monterey County area, this subject harkens back to such forerunners as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Jean-Francois Millet, Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson and Thomas Hart Benton. Chang’s depiction of unidealized fieldworkers are unsentimental, yet at the same time celebrate the human spirit.  Chang admits being inspired and influenced by the novels of John Steinbeck; books he read in his youth as well as the general ambiance of growing up in Monterey.

Coinciding with this exhibition of his works, is the publication of a 112 page monograph book, Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings on his work published by Flesk Publications, Santa Cruz, California.  This handsome coffee table book covers the majority of this exhibition and more, with essays by art dealer Steve Hauk, New York social realist Max Ginsburg and the president of the Allied Artists of New York, Thomas Valenti.  Chang’s commentary on his own paintings can be found throughout the book.

About Namgui Chang and the exhibition:

Namgui Chang (b. 1925, in Korea) has been a lover of art and music throughout his life, drawing and painting since he was a young man.  Even today, at the age of eighty-seven, his artistic interests have not waned, and he continues to paint using various media and styles more than ever.  He has been a life-long student of history and philosophy, but he has never formally studied art.  He graduated from Seoul University in 1949, and came to America as a graduate student in U.C. Berkeley in 1950.  When the Korean War broke out later that year, he joined the faculty of the Defense Language Institute. After his wife and eldest son arrived in the area, he settled in Pacific Grove where he raised his family including Warren Chang, his youngest of four children, who became a professional artist.  Chang senior continued his post-graduate work as a part-time student in U.C. Berkeley, and received a PhD in Linguistics.  He retired from his job in 1990, at the age of sixty-five, so he could enjoy his true passions of life–reading, painting, listening to music, and strolling in the forest and coast-lines with “Monty” and “Baby blue,” his beloved Scottish terrier companions.

Art, for him, is beyond anything, a timeless universal means of mysterious communication among mankind. The artist reveals his vision from his inside, not from the outside like in ordinary talks. We get the totality of what an artist presents all at once, directly, and exhaustively. It is something inexpressible by ordinary language or concepts. Even poetry and literature, though they use words, cannot be understood if one takes anything literally or discursively.  Art has its own logic, unfolding, developing to its conclusion.

What of artistic geniuses among us?  Art certainly requires extraordinary talents, geniuses.  But in his opinion, geniuses belong to all of us, otherwise, how could we understand their works at all?  When we appreciate and celebrate geniuses among us, we are all artists together.  A genius has an enhanced consciousness with imagination to see the universal in particulars, by wiping off dusts and smudges of given regional and time-bound cultural irrelevances.  Art has no boundaries.

In his view, art may even be part of “the thing-in-itself,” as Kant, Schopen –hauer, and others grappled and struggled to identify the underlying “reality” for the world of sense-perception, the human phenomena.  He believes, with Schopenhauer that the artist and viewers alike must suspend the immediate worldly concerns and expectations driven by “will and desires,” by cleansing of our consciousness, through meeting the tragic condition of human existence or by heightened vision of the beautiful. He wonders, “Could it be that art is a bridge between the empirical world and the world beyond?”

Enjoy,
John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text copyright © 2012 John Fleskes. Artwork, photo and Warren Chang and Namgui Chang press releases copyright © 2012 Warren Chang and Namgui Chang respectively.

Links:
Pacific Grove Art Center website
Pacific Grove Art Center directions
Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings book details
Warren Chang Interview by John Fleskes

I was looking forward to WonderCon being in Anaheim, California this year. I surmised that there would be a lot of people attending who either want to avoid the large crowds of Comic-Con International in San Diego, or who couldn’t get a ticket for Comic-Con, or simply always wanted to see what WonderCon was all about but never made the show since it was previously in San Francisco. Whatever the reason, I felt we would have an opportunity to share our books with fresh faces.

My number one goal for exhibiting at shows is to promote our books, artists we focus on and our company. I want people to have access to me and my crew for questions, and to have a chance to flip through all of our books. I think this goal was met due to there being a ton of people and how busy we were. The Anaheim Convention Center is a larger building than the Moscone Center in San Francisco allowing for more tickets being available. I don’t know what the attendee numbers were but it looked more crowded than San Francisco.

This makes me ask the question, what does an organization do when they move an event for the year due to the Moscone Center having renovations, then the new convention center proving more successful? From a business standpoint why move back to S.F.? Here’s what I’m hoping for; I would like to see the show move back to S.F. and a new venue added to the calendar in Anaheim. In my opinion San Francisco is a far better location in terms of taking a vacation and enjoying a beautiful city than going to Anaheim. I say all of this not knowing what the Comic-Con International team has planned for the future. I’ll be curious to see where the show ends up next year. If it doesn’t go back to San Francisco it will be a real loss in terms of having a terrific long-standing show in the Bay Area. (Be sure to go to the Big-Wow! ComicFest in San Jose, California in May.)

In preparation for the show, I packed the truck for a typical WonderCon. I know what we tend to move at this show. Then I brought a little more than I thought we needed. By the end of the weekend we ended up tossing five boxes into the back seat of the truck. We moved a lot of books. We almost did as well as Comic-Con in 2011 and that show has over 125K people showing up. WonderCon has less than half the crowd and is only three days compared to four-and-a-half days at Comic-Con. We were very busy on Friday and Sunday. Saturday is always semi-busy with a more family oriented crowd and us competing with the Hollywood events. Plus it was rainy and cold that day. (From what I hear it was a bit unusual for Southern California.) I heard complaints from neighboring dealers that no one was buying prints, posters, art and large items due to the downpour and the parking being so far away. People in San Francisco wouldn’t sweat the rain! (I grew up in the Bay Area so I’ve got to be loyal and pay my respects to The City and people there.)

The second goal for attending the show is to spend some time with artists I currently work with and to make some new contacts to discuss future possibilities. William Stout, Craig Elliott and Jim Silke were all there. It was a pleasure to have a few relaxing dinners with these gentlemen. In regards to new artists I spoke with and projects in development I am very excited about the future; the details of which I will be sharing later this year.

My third goal, that of selling books, was met. Bruce Timm’s “Naughty and Nice” book led the way with Al Williamson Archives volumes one and two and The Art of Craig Elliott coming in second and third. I like to make sure every title I have published and is still available is out on the table to view.

Overall I am very pleased with the show and enjoyed myself.

I want to mention our new face at the booth, Jonathan Leveck. He has been assisting me for the last five months and has just moved into the position of Director of Operations. I have found him to be smart, efficient and invaluable in his efforts to help grow and promote the business. He shares a passion for art and books, plus has a firm understanding of our mission and where we are headed. This was Jonathan’s first show. I found it curious to see the event through the eyes of a newcomer. He did very well. I look forward to having him take over more responsibilities to allow me to focus on other aspects of the business.

Our next show is in May at the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event in Kansas City, Missouri. I hope to see you there.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photos © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.

Links:
Flesk Publications
WonderCon
Big Wow! ComicFest
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!

We’ll be set up at WonderCon in Anaheim, California running from March 16-18. Our booth number is 816. Craig Elliott, Jim Silke and William Stout will be there are well, along with our full line of books. I look forward to seeing those that make the show.

A newsletter with the details about he show and what we will have there can be read here. I’ll have pictures and a blog about the event posted afterwards.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
text and photos © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.

Links:
Flesk March newsletter.

A few weeks back I attended a Warren Chang exhibit and book signing for his “Narrative Paintings” fine art book, a collection of which I am honored to have published.

The event was held at the Sunset Center in Carmel, California on Friday, February 24th from 4-7:00p.m. This premiere exhibition of an ongoing series celebrates the Monterey County artists featured in the 2012 Fine Art Calendar selected by the internationally renowned artist David Ligare. Karen Leoni was also there showcasing a sampling of her original works.

The Sunset Center is a beautiful venue. The evening included live music, and a wonderful assortment of food and wine.  Paulette Lynch, the host, was a pleasure to meet and she did a wonderful job of making us all feel welcome.

A good number of people showed up allowing them the opportunity to see some of Warren Chang’s original paintings and to purchase a personalized copy of his new book.

The Arts Council is a truly outstanding organization that “provides arts education to thousands of students each year thanks to support from local PTAs, foundations, businesses and individuals. We provide promotional, technical and financial support to over fifty arts organizations thanks to funding from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.” I’m happy to know that a portion of the sales from Warren’s book went straight into the local arts community.

Thanks again to Paulette, president Richard Anderson, and the entire group at the Arts Council for their support!

Enjoy,

John
John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
text and photos © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.

Links:
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book information
Arts Council for Monterey County website

On Saturday, February 4 visitors to the Winfield Gallery in beautiful Carmel, California were treated with an outstanding warm spring like day for the book premiere signing of Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings. A fine art exhibition of Warren’s original paintings was also on display. My estimate is that approximately 70 plus people filtered through the gallery between the signing from 1 to 4 p.m. It remained quite busy as people took advantage of meeting Warren and viewing his paintings, which are spectacular to see in person. We are grateful for the support of the local community and visitors, many of whom left with a personalized copy of Narrative Paintings. At the end of the event, Warren, the gallery owner Chris Winfield and I were all very pleased with the turnout.

A large part of the success was from the cover mention and front page article in the “Life and Times” section of The Monterey County Herald on the Friday before the show, and then repeated in The Santa Cruz Sentinel on that Saturday. This same article can be found online at The Herald’s website. An article in the local paper The Carmel Pine Cone rounded out the press to make people aware of the festivities.

I was a bit eager to listen to peoples comments when comparing the book reproduction to the originals. It felt good to hear feedback regarding how closely they matched. This was something Warren and I worked very closely together to achieve. It serves no purpose to have a book come out that does not represent an artist’s vision. Reflecting the true colors, depths and tones of the originals is imperative. In this regard I feel publishing a book is a tremendous responsibility to get right.

However, as great as a book can be, nothing beats viewing the original paintings in person. Still on display at the Winfield Gallery are Warren Chang’s paintings “Studio at Chestnut,” “Harvesters Resting,” “Fall Tilling,” “Imitation of Life,” “Stacking the Net: Monterey Harbor,” (both the final painting and a study), “Artist in Her Studio,” “Studio Interior III,” “Twilight in Santa Cruz,” “Bus Stop,” and his “Jameson Whiskey” advertisement painting that can currently be seen all over the subways in New York City. If you can make it to Carmel, I highly recommend you stop in to view his paintings. They are truly moving.

Another Warren Chang exhibition of original works and Narrative Paintings book signing will be held this February 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Arts Council for Monterey County in Sunset Center, Room #5 at San Carlos between 8th and 9th in Carmel, CA 93921.

We look forward to seeing you there. Thanks to everyone who made it to the Winfield Gallery!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
“Stories on Canvas: Illustration meets fine art in the works of Warren Chang” article in The Monterey County Herald.
Arts Council for Monterey County website
Winfield Gallery
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book details
Warren Chang website

Come and meet Warren Chang at his book signing and exhibition this weekend. Join us to celebrate the release of Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings. The event will be held at the Winfield Gallery in lovely Carmel, California on Saturday, February 4th from 1-4 p.m. You can visit the Winfield Gallery website for directions and further details.

See you there.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
Winfield Gallery website
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book details

This write-up on my trip to The Netherlands in early September 2011 is a long time coming. Upon my arrival back home I was backlogged with books that needed to be completed, which required my focus and prevented me from sharing photos and stories earlier. Finally, I have a brief respite and can write about what was possibly one of my best trip / convention combination experiences. Click on all photos for a larger view.

Mark Schultz, William Stout, Gary Gianni, Craig Elliott and myself all travelled to The Netherlands for a little vacation, to attend my first Flesk event, “An Evening with Flesk Prime” and exhibit at the Strip Festival Breda 2011. Local artist Petar Meseldžija joined us once we arrived.

Before I begin, I would like to extend my most gracious thanks to our sponsors and friends Mark Theloson and De Stripspecialist store owner, Guido de Bue, for being our local contacts. They played a huge role in organizing the trip and making sure we were taken care of while there. Having these two gentlemen tend to our every need for one week, as well as have their responsibilities to the Strip Festival show, is something the entire Flesk group appreciates. One more person I want to point out for his help is Fons von Erp. He is a great guy who we were all grateful for his time.

Story time!

I flew in a few days early so I could adjust to the time zone and spend some personal time with my family, Petar Meseldzija and his wife Anita, and see some of The Netherlands before the events began. I’m glad I did this as it allowed me not only the time to adjust (it always takes me a few days), but also to shake off all of the lingering work that I left behind. I was roughly 2-3 days away from finishing the Bruce Timm book. Once I was on the plane I accepted the fact that I was heading towards a fun adventure and had to put my life and work back home on pause.

Upon landing we happened to bump into Craig Elliott at the baggage area. He also opted to arrive early. He wanted to visit some galleries before we met up in Breda on Wednesday. Petar, Mark Thelosen and Guido were there to provide a hearty welcome and transport us to our respective destinations. Petar guided us to his home for a two day stay.

Enjoying the hospitality of Petar and Anita for a few days was a delight. We toured Amsterdam, visited the Artis Royal Zoo, walked the streets, ate great food, enjoyed the Dutch culture and had long talks. Sure, Petar is an artist I have published, but our friendship goes beyond the professional courtesy. I find we have much in common and we can have all sorts of discussions about random topics that roll from one to another. We never seem to get bored or at a loss of words when we are together. He’s both serious and seriously funny.

On Wednesday afternoon I met up with the five artists in Breda in preparation for “An Evening with Flesk Prime” on Thursday night. I’ve documented this in detail in a previous blog post with pictures that you can read here.

Jumping forward to Friday, it was a day to relax and enjoy the downtown area of Breda. As with my previous trip to Breda in February 2010 with Schultz, I found the locals to be extremely friendly and warm. The overall pace was much slower than I am accustomed to. I tend to work at a fast (I’ve been told) and focused pace. This is just my pace, and I am comfortable with it. I found myself constantly holding myself back and doing my best to slow down to match the local speed limit. It took me a few days, but I started getting used to it. I rather enjoyed it actually. (That didn’t stop me from hitting the gas when I got back home though.) My point here is that if you want to relax and have some kind people to talk to, then I would recommend visiting Breda.

Saturday and Sunday were spent at the Strip Festival in Breda. We had a large Flesk Publications stand courtesy of the event, and Mark T. and Guido. Guido did a remarkable job in having the booth completely set up prior to our arrival. We had an area for our entire line of books and a space for each artist, Schultz, Elliott, Gianni, Stout and Meseldzija, to sit. Once they arrived the crowd formed quickly and never diminished throughout the two days. Having all five artists together was quite remarkable.

An interesting aspect is our placement was next to large windows. I have never exhibited at a show with natural light before. It was a welcome pleasure to not depend upon artificial lighting. I found it helped the mood overall.

As I mentioned before the local people are exceptionally outgoing and friendly. There is one difference between the U.S. shows when compared to our Breda experience. It seems like many people expected free sketches, whereas in the U.S. people expect to have to pay for them. Also in the U.S. many artists do not sketch. Each artist handled this differently in Breda. They all have plenty of convention experience to know how to handle this expectation. Most fans are excellent and were able to work with the artists to get what they wanted in a reasonable fashion. I did, however, see a few highly aggressive individuals try to get the best possible sketch out of each artist for absolutely nothing. Now, I’ve been to a lot of shows with artists and seen first-hand all the tricks and stunts people play to try and get a freebie, but a few things I saw in Breda were new to me. Rather than point out what happened I would like to share my thoughts on the matter.

An artist is a working professional. Their artwork is not only a passion and something they love to do, but also their income. Just like whatever anybody else does for a living is an income. I don’t think it is fair to ever expect an artist to give you a free drawing. Is it right to ask any professional, for example, a dentist, doctor, lawyer, computer tech, car mechanic, plumber or any other person with a specific skillset for their services for free; Especially if you don’t even know that person? Where does the assumption that an artist owes you a free drawing come from? Let’s use some common sense here. That sketch can be worth a lot of money. I’ve seen people who beg, or use unsavory tactics or get highly aggressive, who may get a sketch then flip the art on Ebay. The artists know this. Here’s a simple rule. Be prepared to pay, and ask and don’t expect.

If you really want to support an artist give them payment for their services. I want to reiterate that the people who I am talking about are very few. The vast majority are understanding and gracious. It’s those few that were the cause for much discussion after the Breda show and they can affect the situation for the whole.

Another aspect of the expectation of free sketching that I feel can hamper an overall fan experience is that when artists are sketching full time it makes a handful of people really happy, but a potentially large group is unable to squeeze in and get a quick signature or say hello for a few minutes, or even be introduced to the work for the first time–especially when considering a sketch can take 15 or minutes to produce. If you are third or fourth in line, that’s a lot of wait time just to get a signature or meet someone. That’s it from me on this topic.

On another subject, due to Guido’s efficiency in setting up the booth and his unwavering energy level and assistance in getting helpers at the Flesk stand, it freed me up to actually relax and do other things at the booth. One thing I managed to do was film each artist while drawing. I have roughly four hours of sketching footage that I will begin posting on the Flesk Publications website once the new video friendly site goes live. I also took a lot of pictures, a few of which can be found on this blog. I also got about an hour long interview with Petar about The Legend of Steel Bashaw and many other subjects. I can’t wait to share it.

The show ran very smoothly. I was happy to see both Geoff West of The Book Palace and the many exciting projects he is working on, as well as Nick and Arno from Alca in Paris. I was also happy to see many familiar faces from the “An Evening with Flesk Prime” event that was held a few days prior. What a great group of people.

On the Saturday night of the show the event organizers invited Stout, Schultz, Gianni, Petar, Elliott, myself and our families that came along to an exclusive private dinner with all of the show guests and their invitees. It was a memorable evening of lively discussion and exceptional food. On behalf of all of us, we were all grateful for the invitation and had a wonderful time. We are all touched by the hospitality and kindness of the organizers and all they did for us over the course of the weekend.

A bonus for me was seeing Paul Renaud again this year. Paul was also at the dinner on Saturday evening and we had the chance to catch up, share our thoughts on the industry and discuss all of our likes and dislikes in an open discussion that stimulated my perception of certain subjects. I always feel like I’ve come away more enlightened after talking to Paul.

The show ended up being very successful in that we all got to spend an intimate time together in a lovely country. It was like being on a vacation together and no part of the journey felt like work. Usually at shows like Comic-Con in San Diego, we all might spend five days together, but we are so swamped with work, talking to people and running the booth that we don’t get to interact that much. I don’t know how many times Schultz and I have stood side by side for two or three days, then called each other after the show is over just to get a chance to talk. Strip Festival Breda was unique in that we could give the fans and patrons time and we still had time for each other. This was definitely a plus.

On Monday, Schultz, Gianni and I all met up at the Rijks museum to see the Rembrandts, among other masterpieces. Going to a museum with an artist is always an educational experience. They appreciate certain qualities of the art that I am not aware of, or even think about, and communicate them to me in a fascinating way.

Later that evening we all went out to dinner with Petar and Anita before going our separate ways. Afterwards, I spent another few days at Petar’s home. We had long discussions, and I viewed many of his originals, then talked some more. Petar read aloud his first draft of his new illustrated story “The Giants” and showed me many of the drawings he has worked up for it. I had a great time.

Then, before I knew it, I was back home; The trip being a pleasant memorable dream. I jumped right back into wrapping up the Bruce Timm and Craig Elliott books, both of which are being printed right now.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photo © 2011 John Fleskes

Links:
Strip Festival Breda
Flesk Prime
An Evening With Flesk Prime event

I had a great time at APE!

I truly enjoyed my entire time spent at the show. Being only a two day event, and local for me, keeps things simple since I don’t have to plan far in advance or be away from the office for very long. The typical APE attendee is hip and sophisticated that allows for a good engaging conversation. Plus the show is mellow which allows me the time to talk at length on a more personal one-on-one basis when compared to a busier show like Comic-Con. I don’t mind a bustling engagement, but I like the balance of a convention like APE that provide a bit of a break from the more intense nature of a larger event. Due to my work schedule, I don’t have a lot of time to chit chat in emails and on the phone, making an event the best place to get my attention. The shows helps me gain valuable feedback to see how people perceive me and Flesk so I better understand what needs to change and what is working well.

One thing I learned came from two separate groups of people. The first group to enlighten me was a group of students. The second was from a dinner party on Saturday night. (This included Stuart Ng, Craig Elliott and more.) I found out there is a perception that is shared among these students and a few of the people I spoke with at the dinner. They communicated with me their belief that the individual artist books I publish have to be within a certain vein. Here are some of the terms I heard: realism, award-winning, high-caliber, fine artist and intimidating. They confessed they didn’t think I was interested in cartoony, stylistic, super-hero or alternative art, or even younger artists—which happens to be far from the truth. I have a wide range of interests that I will reveal in future blogs and books I publish. I have no intention of limiting the types of books I publish to a specific genre. You can expect some diversity in the future. As an example, a goal of mine, which I began pre-planning last year, is to start a new line of animation artist books. I’ll take a few years to start getting a steady stream of animation titles out, but it is going to happen.

Craig Elliott was kind enough to join me this year. Besides being an amazing visual development artist and character designer working in the animation industry, he has a dynamic range of skills that appears in various ways. At APE, Craig had a selection of prints focusing on his personal fine art celebrating real woman in all of her glory with curvy, healthy features that appeal to both men and many women. Craig was there to show off his portfolio, sketch for people, sell prints and his jewelry, and promote our upcoming book, The Art of Craig Elliott. He is perhaps the kindest person I know. I enjoy spending time with Craig knowing (hoping, really) that some of his good nature will rub off on me.

I took note on what was selling the best at APE. This year was a surprise. And it would not have happened without the enthusiasm of George Cwirko Godycki. George is an instructor and highly-creative artist (I picked up three of his originals) at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He takes great interest in the work of Petar Meseldzija. George was rounding up students and praising The Legend of Steel Bashaw all weekend long. Thanks to George, if you add to the title already being popular on its own, it was our obvious top seller.

This leads me to an interesting story. All books that I publish are a risk. When you are investing your time and money into anything and expect to make some money off of it (in my case so I can keep publishing more books), the project is a risk. There are people out there that will tell you, “It’s like printing money!” and other such beliefs, but you really can’t say for sure until you have actually made the effort.

A year ago at APE, I had just released Petar’s The Legend of Steel Bashaw book. I told Petar very few people know who he is and we would have to build his name here in the states. This was the riskiest book I have published since Petar had hardly any built in audience and practically no name recognition. I sold only 18 copies of the book to Diamond Comics Distributors and a couple copies at APE last year. The book, in all intents and purposes, was a major bust. Never had a book I published sold so poorly. However, I foresaw this happening and knew we would have to push and hand sell The Legend of Steel Bashaw one copy at a time. I was confident that the word would get out there, albeit slowly. I told Petar to be patient and good things would happen. I felt (and still do) that he is too dang good for people not to notice his work. Here we are a year later, The Legend of Steel Basahw is my bestselling book at APE, and sales are picking up through the distributors.

A typical big publisher will release a book and if it does not sell well immediately, it will remainder and dump the book, write it off as a loss, stop promoting the title (and artist) and move on to the next possible big hit. What I believe in is following your gut, making a great book, and then doing whatever you have to do to share your passion about the artist and sell that book over the long term. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see Petar’s star rising. He is a wonderful person and he deserves it. I’ve told Petar that once The Legend of Steel Bashaw makes its money back, then we will do an art collection. That has given him ample motivation to promote his book on his end. I also learned that many students praised Petar’s ongoing blog on his own site as well as the one on Muddy Colors. (Links can be found at the bottom of this blog.)

Runner up for the top selling spot was the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice Teaser. People are going nuts with anticipation for the upcoming main Timm book, as am I. Our Flesk Prime book also did well, especially given that Craig Elliott was there to sign them.

One of the things I enjoy about APE is discovering a new artist whose art will blow me away. APE is an affordable show to set up at and caters to new artists that may not get the chance to exhibit and gain exposure elsewhere. You will find all types of interesting creative people. There are fun discoveries all throughout. Here is a list of a few standouts whose works I thoroughly enjoyed either seeing for the first time, or revisited based on my seeing them last year; Brittney Lee, Liana Hee, Genevieve Tsai, Glenn Kim, Michael Manomivibul and Emonic.

Chris Diaz took portraits of many of the artists, creators and publishers (including myself) at the show. He posted a slideshow worth watching on Vimeo, a link that you can find at the end of this post.

Shelly Wan was exhibiting with Eidolon Fine Arts. I like to remind her about how absolutely amazing her work is. I remember her coming by my booth in San Diego in 2006 and her showing me her art for the first time. I firmly believe she has a bright future.

I believe APE will grow and become the place for newcomer artists to get his and her feet wet. I believe it is a very important show in terms of initializing yourself into exhibiting, gaining confidence in talking to people, showing off your art to the public, getting feedback and promoting yourself. If you are a new artist and want to grow this is the place to do it. It does take patience though. Don’t expect a whole lot the first year, but try it for three years and go from there. Be committed and make it work. Take advantage of what is there. Here is an example of what I mean. I walked the show on Sunday and found some people behind their table who looked tired, defeated, bored, or lacking in spirit. This has prompted me to offer some unsolicited advice to those who are new to exhibiting. I know it isn’t always easy to be energized, but try and be welcoming without being aggressive. Don’t worry if people buy something or not. I never do. If someone comes by it is an opportunity for me to chat a little bit and possibly reinforce a current relationship or start a new one. Be genuine. Keep it natural to who you are and don’t force anything. But, do look like you want to be there and don’t sit there staring at the ground when people come by. I’m not saying I have the process down perfect, and I know it isn’t always easy. I was shy when I first exhibited. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. But I kept at it until I gained the confidence to engage with people at shows. Quit when you are at home, not at the convention.

My last topic will be about the people who run Comic-Con, Wonder-Con and APE. There has been a lot of flak that they have received about the direction of Comic-Con and that they don’t care about comics anymore. I am here to tell you that is absolutely not true. If you ever get a chance, talk to these guys and you will see how dedicated and passionate they are about comics and the arts and how hard they work to make these shows possible for us to exhibit at and raise awareness of this field we all love so much. Next time you see a Comic-Con staff member, be sure to thank them.

On behalf of Craig Elliott, my friend James Walker who helps me out at the shows, and myself, thanks to everyone who came by our booth at APE!

See you next year. William Stout has confirmed he will join us for 2012!

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photos © 2011 John Fleskes

I’ll be exhibiting at APE this weekend. Craig Elliott will be at my booth both days. Full details are outlined in the press release that went out today. You can read it below. APE is one of my favorite shows and I look forward to being there soon.

I’ll have a few new blogs posted next week. The first being on our time spent at APE. The second a detailed blog on our being at the Strip Festival in Breda, The Netherlands.

Enjoy,

John

Flesk Publications exhibiting at APE this October 1-2 at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. Booth numbers 212 and 213B

Art book publisher Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at APE (Alternative Press Expo) on October 1-2 at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco, booth number 212 and 213B, next to our friends at Stuart Ng Books.

Flesk will have copies of their entire line of books including exclusive titles, Flesk Prime, showcasing the art of Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldžija, Mark Schultz and William Stout, and the signed chapbooks Mysterious Islands by Gary Gianni, Mark Schultz: Blue Book, and the 16-page teaser for the upcoming Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm.

Also available will be recently released titles Al Williamson Archives volume two and Mark Schultz: Various Drawings volume five.

Craig Elliott will be at the booth for the duration of the show, promoting his upcoming Flesk collection, The Art of Craig Elliott. The book focuses on Craig’s fine art celebrating the female form, collected in a single volume for the first time. Craig’s lush imagery combines his meticulous understanding of design with his intensely emotional approach to color and form. Elliott works in the animation industry as a visual development artist, character designer and concept artist, collaborating on such hit films as Bee Movie, Treasure Planet, Rio and The Princess and the Frog. Craig will have original art, prints and jewelry on hand.

Free fliers and catalogues will be available for all 2011 Flesk Offerings.

Publisher, John Flesk, will be in attendance to offer insight into our upcoming titles and what is in store in the future.

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

Flesk Publications’ focus is on comic, fantasy, fine and illustration art, and graphic novels. Our goal is to continue promoting the arts through quality collections. Our publications showcase the talents of James Bama, Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldžija, Steve Rude, Mark Schultz, Jim Silke, William Stout, Bruce Timm, Al Williamson, and more.

Full details and sample pages for these books and for all Flesk Publications titles, plus the most recent news can be found at fleskpublications.com. Additional information can be read on publisher John Fleskes’ blog at fleskpublications.com/blog.

Flesk Publications
www.fleskpublications.com

With the five artists, Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldžija, Mark Schultz and William Stout, and myself, traveling to The Netherlands to attend the Strip Festival in Breda, I came up with the idea of holding a private event two days before the show started. “An Evening with Flesk Prime,” held at the Merlijn restaurant in the nearby city of Oosterhout, was the result.

Our local friend, Mark Thelosen, scoped out restaurants months in advance to find the perfect setting in which to hold our dinner. What he found at Merlijn proved to be excellent service in a large private room decorated in a fantasy setting with our own dedicated servers regularly catering to us in a luxurious fashion. The setting was beautiful. Alan Lee and Arthur Rackham inspired murals decorate the walls and mock up trees and vegetation sprinkled throughout made us feel like we were in an enchanted room and not a restaurant.

Promotion for the event was kept to a minimum and mostly through word of mouth to keep the amount of attendees to a low number. We had ten guests and have decided with future evenings that we will keep the count to no more than fifteen individuals. My goal was to make sure each person felt they had a unique and personal experience and were not a part of a crowd, or a witness, but instead a participant with ample time to relax and communicate with all of the artists individually and within small groups.

The evening began with our meeting at the lobby of the Apollo Hotel in Breda at 5:00PM. Here, we had the chance to meet with everyone before going to the restaurant. We all arrived at the Merlijn restaurant shortly after 6:00PM when the festivities began. The night did not end until shortly after 1:00AM. (When the restaurant closed.) The evening consisted of a superb four course meal and unlimited spirits for the entire duration. I was surprised at how quickly the night went. It seemed like just a few hours. I had a great time getting to know everyone. Our new relationships extended over the weekend when we would see each other at the Strip Festival and hotel.

Throughout the night each artist brought their own unique personality to the eclectic mix. What the private event allowed for was to go beyond the typical short fan experience. I noticed as the evening went on that people would become more comfortable which allowed for a more in-depth conversation that went both ways. I hope the guests experienced a pure memorable experience in a unique setting that they will remember for a long time. I know I had a wonderful time.

William Stout opened his bottomless treasure chest containing stories of fascinating personal adventures–all of which are true. Craig Elliott discussed his working on recent hit animated films such as The Princess and the Frog and Rio. Gary Gianni shared his experiences of working on Prince Valiant, among many other projects, as well as exposed his clever wit. Petar Meseldžija was open about his deep commitment to his work, while weaving his amusing tales to the delight of many. Mark Schultz enriched us with his commitment to his work and wide range of knowledge of an array of subjects. All five take their craft very seriously, yet have the relaxed exterior that hides how devoted they truly are.

The meal and talking went until 11:00PM, when I invited the artists and guests to convene on a secondary section of the room. Large tables were set up in a horseshoe shape with chairs arranged on both sides. Each artist brought a portfolio of original artwork and spread them out on the five individual tables for the guests to peruse and talk about.

We were also pleased to have Marcelo Anciano in attendance. Marcelo is the publisher of Wandering Star, the publisher that brought you the beautiful limited edition deluxe book series collecting the works of Robert E. Howard and illustrated by the likes of Mark Schultz, Gary Gianni and Gregory Manchess.

I brought two gifts for our guests. The first was a copy of our new book, Flesk Prime, featuring all five artists which they could get signed by the group. Then, a limited edition giclee print using archival inks and paper on heavy watercolor paper featuring all five artists and their signatures was shared. But, before I could give them away Gary Gianni pulled me aside and showed me large pencil preliminary drawings from his MonsterMen, The Shadow and Twenty-Thousand Leagues under the Sea comic adaptations. He wanted to give one to each guest! This was both extremely gracious on Gary’s part, and a delightful surprise for everyone. I think they left with some good bounty from the night.

I want to express my appreciation to both the artists, Craig, Gary, Mark, Bill and Petar for being so willing to attend and entertain for the evening, and also to our fabulous ten guests who were perfect gentlemen and a joy to spend the night with. And especially to Mark Thelosen, who without his assistance, the event would not have been possible. I am grateful to you all and I look forward to planning another special evening sometime in the future. Perhaps it will be somewhere in the U.S. or in Europe, but you can count on each one to be different and unique.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photos © 2011 John Fleskes