Tag Archives: anime

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Bubblegum

The painting shared in my previous post is finished. It’s called “Bubblegum Pop,” which is a style of music as well as what occurs when someone blows too big a bubble. (As usual, click the thumbnail to enlarge.) I may paint another version down the road, one that’s a little more… spontaneous? Brighter? Fresher? The right word will come. Or maybe I’ll do a drawing; I thought of using my Prismacolor markers, but they’re still in Florida. (I couldn’t pack all my art supplies in the car and still have room for an art show.)

Acrylic, 9″ x 12″

I’m adjusting to my new studio space (aka the card table in the corner). This week, the painting table will become the proverbial drawing board as I set up for the next project–once again resuming John Churchmouse illustrations. (Poor mousie–he’s been on and off the drawing board and the writing desk umpteen times since the idea came to me in 2011. But his day will come! This could be the year!)

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Convention Reflections II

Two days ago, I ventured to draft of my Kawa Kon art adventure; after an hour, I realized just how much occurred. Sally forth for my truncation.

As an art vendor, I :

  • Launched out into the deep — my first booth anywhere. Lots to consider in logistics, display, & transactions.
  • Practiced “sailsmanship” and made some (not canvas) sales. 1 fun strategy: Call to people dressed as characters from a show, etc. for which I had art available & show it to them.
  • Purveyed Pandagrams. Though equally well-received, the original ink drawings sold more than the card packs. (For those wondering about Cartage, I had so many changes I want to implement that I decided to make a short preview mock-up for the Kon. I may make it available online.)
  • Noted trends (research for future plans/art/products.)
  • Expanded my audience. I’ve  given more business cards to costumed people than normally-clad folks.
  • Made connections (with potential for future clients/projects). About 4 booth visitors were seeking portrait artists (not generally sought at cartoon-oriented gigs) in their “real lives.” I also held conversations with genuine people, including other creators, musicians, and earnest high-schoolers (some artists) seeking encouragement to succeed. Genre-wise, I was introduced to the “visual novel,” which is different from a graphic novel in that the story is playable like a video game.
  • Gained valuable first-hand experience with ticketed parking lot gates.

Behold the booth.

booth-sm

booth2-sm

Before I sign off, there are two elements of my Kawa Kon experience you might be wondering about from last time.

1. Dodging giant gerbils. The dealers’ room/super-tent had large overhead air tubes along the ceiling. Sporadically, a burst of air would WSSSHOOM through the tube, flapping the vents as it went. Totally a giant gerbil running through the tunnel.

2. Surviving an air raid. The hotel was opposite the St. Louis airport. Sunday was busy & noisy.

In short, this experience was about testing the waters–managing a booth, spreading the word, and determining whether I’d like to do it again. I would.

Happy Pi Day of the Century! (3.14.15.) If I weren’t such a revisionist, I could’ve posted at 9:26:53.