Flesk Book Updates – Page 13

April 29, 2017October 5, 2018

J.A.W. Cooper Kickstarter Campaign Launches on May 9, 2017!

J.A.W. Cooper and I will be launching a Kickstarter campaign on Tuesday, May 9^th. This project is one in which we have been discussing, shaping and working on together for over a year now. I wanted to do something new with the approach to this event. After much discussion with Cooper we found what I believe to be a very unique and exciting Kickstarter launch.

There will be everything from moderately priced items that anyone can afford to higher end offerings for those collectors who like something extra special. There will also be exclusive items just available during the campaign. Everything will be revealed as we get closer to the launch date.

One thing to keep in mind is that one item will only be available during the first 3 days of the campaign. Mark your calendars. You won’t want to miss this one!

Enjoy,

John

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April 22, 2017October 5, 2018

Spectrum 24 Awards Recipients!

For 24 years Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art has been celebrating imaginative works by creators from around the world. During a ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri Saturday night, April 22nd, the celebration continued with the presentation of Gold and Silver Awards for exemplary art from the previous year in eight categories: Advertising, Book, Comics, Concept Art, Dimensional, Editorial, Institutional, and Unpublished. The ceremony was held in the historic Folly Theater and presided over by Spectrum’s Director and publisher, John Fleskes. Presenters included such luminaries of the art community as J.A.W. Cooper, John English, James Gurney, Lauren Panepinto, John Picacio, Dan dos Santos, Bob Self, and Richard & Wendy Pini, Colin & Kristine Poole, George Pratt, Terryl Whitlatch. Spectrum co-founders Cathy and Arnie Fenner introduced a memorial video devoted to the creatives who had passed away in the previous year. Maeret Lemons served as the MC during the ceremony. Voler: Thieves of Flight, Kansas City’s Premier Aerial Academy and Aerial Performance Collective, performed during the evening.

The 5 finalists and award-recipients in each category were selected by a blue-ribbon jury consisting of Christian Alzmann [artist], Laurie Lee Brom [artist], Mark Newman[sculptor/artist], Victo Ngai [artist, instructor], and John Picacio [artist] from over 5000 artworks submitted to the twenty-fourth annual competition. Also presented at the ceremony were the Rising Star Award, created and presented by sculptors Kristine and Colin Poole and intended to encourage a young artist, and the Spectrum Grand Master Award which honors the career accomplishments of a living artist. This year’s Grand Master recipient was legendary comics creator Bill Sienkiewicz, who was present to accept his award and say a few words to the audience.

The award-winning art will appear with nearly 500 other pieces selected by the judges in the Spectrum 24 book, which will be published by Flesk Publications in November.

Spectrum 24 Awards Recipients

2017 GRAND MASTER HONOREE
Bill Sienkiewicz

ADVERTISING

Silver Award
Greg Ruth / “Daredevil”

Gold Award
Bayard Wu / “Hunting”

Other nominees:
Kellan Jett / “Hell”
Edward Kinsella III / “Carnival of Souls”
Bill Mayer / “Savages”

BOOK

Silver Award
Edward Kinsella III / “Danneee”

Gold Award
Brom / “Lamia”

Other nominees:
Richard Anderson / “Red Tide”
Tommy Arnold / “On the Wheel”
Goni Montes / “Tamiel”

COMIC

Silver Award
Dave McKean / “Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash”

Gold Award
Jeremy Wilson / “Chimera Brigade #5”

Other nominees:
Arthur Adams / “Guardians of the Galaxy #19 (cover)”
Nic Klein / “Drifter #13, pages 8 and 9”
David Palumbo / “Swallowed Whole”

CONCEPT ART

Silver Award
Iain McCaig / “King Ape Minion”

Gold Award
Sean Murray / “Court of the Dead: Voxxingard”

Other nominees:
Te Hu / “Secret of Seda”
Tyler Jacobson / “Hill Giant Queen”
Ronan Le Fur / “Fortress Africa”

DIMENSIONAL

Silver Award
Akihito / “Nephila”

Gold Award
Jesse Thompson / “Dress-Up Frog Legs”

Other nominees:
Amilcar Fong / “Oglavaeil The Executioner”
Virginie Ropars / “Yevabog”
Dug Stanat / “The Corruption of Father O’Malley”

EDITORIAL

Silver Award
Galen Dara / “Seven Salt Tears”

Gold Award
Tim O’Brien / Beyonce “Lemonade”

Other nominees:
Clint Cearley / “Broken Concentration ”
Tran Nguyen / “La Beaute Sans Vertu”
Armando Veve / “War Music”

INSTITUTIONAL

Silver Award
Ed Binkley / “William Finds Some Flowers and a Giant”

Gold Award
Bill Carman / “Ms. Hatter and a Smile”

Other nominees:
Wesley Burt / “Accursed Witch”
Travis Louie / “Mojo Jojo Circa 1897”
Stephan Martiniere / “Tie Fighter Down”

UNPUBLISHED

Silver Award
Jeffrey Alan Love / “Orange Skies”

Gold Award
Karla Ortiz / “The Death I Bring”

Other nominees:
J.A.W. Cooper / “Stealth”
Diego Fernandez / “375”
Greg Ruth / “Lagoon”

RISING STAR AWARD

Alessandra Pisano

2016 GRAND MASTER HONOREE

Bill Sienkiewicz

Enjoy,

John

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April 17, 2017October 5, 2018

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2017 Special Guests!

Hi, everyone,

It’s happening!

After months of planning, the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event is running this weekend. SFAL is the show where the artists are the stars. It is held at the Kansas City Convention Center on April 21-23. It’s only $5 at the door per day. Kids 12 and under are free. More information can be found at www.spectrumfantasticartlive.com

We will have a large Flesk/Spectrum 12 booth section where 16 artists, including our special guests and additional artists who have been published by Flesk, can be found.

Twelve of them have been published by Flesk including Daren Bader, Brom, Bill Carman, Iain McCaig, Terry Dodson, Frank Cho, Jaw Cooper, Gary Gianni, Android Jones, Jeffrey Alan Love, Richard and Wendy Pini, and Terryl Whitlatch! Also joining us are Laurie Lee Brom, James Gurney, and Aaron Lopresti.

Here’s a run down of some of the books that will be available by each artist at our booth.

Imagery From the Bird’s Home by Bill Carman

Iain McCaig featured on the cover of Spectrum 24

Terry Dodson’s Bombshell’s Collection Volume 2

Drawing Beautiful Women: The Frank Cho Method

J.A.W. Cooper’s Spectrum 24 nominated artwork, Stealth. Also included in her upcoming book from Flesk.

Gary Gianni’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Jeffrey Alan Love’s Notes from the Shadowed City

Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini edited by Richard Pini

We’re looking forward to seeing you all!

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live is the show where the artists are the stars. It is held at the Kansas City Convention Center on April 21-23.

Only $5 at the door per day. Kids 12 and under are free.
www.spectrumfantasticartlive.com

Enjoy,

John

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April 15, 2017

John Fleskes Video Update #8

Hi, everyone,

Here’s my latest video update where I talk about the upcoming Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event, the 15th year anniversary of Flesk, and where I show off a pair of our new books.

Enjoy,

John

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April 10, 2017October 5, 2018

The Marvel Art of Arthur Adams! New Book From Flesk!

Hi, everyone,

I have the absolute pleasure of announcing that our latest book The Marvel Art of Arthur Adams is now available for pre-order on our Flesk Publications website. This 9 x 12″ book has 80 pages, and features 87 images. You can order it here.

Here’s the book description.

For over three decades, Arthur Adams has served as one of the most revered artists in the comic-book industry. Much of his career has centered on his immense and highly popular body of work for Marvel Comics. These last ten years have been no exception, as Arthur has continued to produce exceptional covers that earn praise among his fans and peers. His ability to render our favorite superheroes as emboldened single figures or in intricate group scenes has resulted in awe-inspiring works of art that captivate his audience.

The Marvel Art of Arthur Adams highlights fifty finished comic-book covers completed over the last decade for Avengers Classic, Guardians of the Galaxy and Secret Avengers, plus an assortment of X-Men and other standout titles. Many of the covers are accompanied by preliminary compositions or the penciled underdrawings made prior to inking. Every work has been scanned directly from the original and appears in its native form prior to coloring to showcase Arthur’s exquisite ink lines. Each also is accompanied by the artist’s commentary, as he takes the unique approach of walking the reader through the creative process for every image.

Enjoy,

John

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March 29, 2017October 5, 2018

Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini Update

Hi, everyone,

The advance sample copy of Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini is here!

This is possibly the greatest gift that I have ever seen presented from a husband to a wife. I watched Richard Pini pour all of his energy into this book for months. This is the culmination of years of planning and organizing to make this book a reality. Today, Richard had the joyful moment to present a copy to Wendy.

The books will be arriving with us in a few weeks when we will begin shipping them to our supporters. Thanks to everyone for your patience while this book was finished, and to Richard and Wendy Pini for the opportunity to work with you on these three stunning and marvelous books (including Art of Elfquest and Elfquest: The Art of the Story for those out of the loop) that highlight Wendy and her art!

Enjoy,

John

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March 24, 2017

A Note of Thanks

Hi, everyone,

Over these last few weeks I’ve been grateful to hear the excitement and to see the thank you posts from the artists who were selected for inclusion into Spectrum. This has come in the form of Instagram and Facebook posts, through email, and in a few cases directly in person.

When someone takes the time to write and thank us it goes a long way. It gives us a boost and encourages us to keep working hard for this community.

Kathy and I work throughout the day in relative seclusion in our office where we are interacting with 300 artist’s for the book and an additional 150 or so more for the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event. It is a monumental task that can be tough at times due to the shear amount of work that we need to accomplish within a given time frame.

But, this would be much harder if not for the support, the good vibes, the thank you messages and help you all give us. Even the slightest praise goes a long way.

Between now and Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, Kathy and I will be in the trenches of preparations for the show. Along with our Spectrum founders Cathy and Arnie Fenner, and the core SFAL helpers and many volunteers, we aim to make this the best event we have ever held the honor of hosting. Nothing of any true value is done alone. This is all the result of all of us working together and helping one another.

I just wanted to give everyone a high five, a fist bump, pat on the back and a giant group hug of thanks!

Enjoy,

John

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March 14, 2017

John Fleskes Video Update #7

Hi everyone,

My latest video update is here! Kathy asked me questions about the Spectrum book signing event this weekend, what books we are working on, Spectrum Fantastic Art Live and the Spectrum Awards ceremony, as well as details about the Stoke Out charity event for fall 2017.

One cut, one take, totally unscripted. Kathy sits me down and gets me talking!

Enjoy,

John

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March 1, 2017October 5, 2018

Spectrum 24 Update!

I’ll be posting the artist list and the awards nominees on the Spectrum Fantastic Art website this Monday, March 6th. Here’s a more official news item that has been posted on the spectrumfantasticart.com website.

This picture shows Mark Newman during the print voting process. Not too many people submit prints these days, but the beans and cups has been a tradition for 24 years now.

The Spectrum 24 Judging Event is a Wrap! Artist List and Awards Nominees Will Post on Monday, March 6th!

The Spectrum 24 judging event was held on February 25, 2017 at the Flesk Publications offices in Santa Cruz, CA. We were joined by the exceptional industry talents consisting of Christian Andrea Alzmann, Laurie Lee Brom, Mark Newman, Victo Ngai and John Picacio who spent the full day reviewing the Spectrum Call for Entries submissions. Lifelong friends were made as the group engaged with one another in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. “The day couldn’t have gone better,” shares Spectrum director John Fleskes. “This group was an absolute joy to host for the day. The vibe was great during the course of the long day and the jury worked exceptionally well together as they made their anonymous picks for the book, then as they worked as a team to finalize the nominations and eventual award recipients for each category. The day was a blast!”

The Spectrum team is currently compiling the artist’s names and works that were selected for inclusion into Spectrum 24. The list will be posted on the Spectrum Fantastic Art website this Monday, March 6th. In addition, the award nominees will also be posted on this same day. Thank you to everyone who submitted to Spectrum 24! And thank you to Christian Alzmann, Laurie Lee Brom, Mark Newman, Victo Ngai and John Picacio for being so giving of their time to maintain the high standards of excellence that makes Spectrum the premier art annual in the fantastic arts!

Enjoy,

John

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February 24, 2017October 5, 2018

Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini Update!

Hi, everyone,

A lightning fast update on Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini.

The bonus page for the limited edition, which Richard Pini and Wendy Pini manage to sign amid a very hectic week, have arrived with the printer. At this point the printer has everything that they need and they are printing and binding the book. It’s on track for delivery just in time for our Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event where Richard and Wendy will be special guests. Kickstarter orders will ship at the same time. It will be a busy April!

elfquest.com

Enjoy,

John

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