Well, I have to say that this year's ComicFest was quite an eye-opener. I was quite humbled at the fact that I had won a table in Artist's Alley. Sharing space with some of the artists there was one of the most humbling experiences I've had. And to see the caliber of artists there and here I was with them--considered a peer. I couldn't believe it. The coolest part was taking one of my prints (ComicFest Mjolnir) and having each and every artist there sign it to reprsent ComicFest for this year.
I got to share a table with the other Art Contest winner and that was also a great time. Chad Blakely (http://chadblakely.blogspot.com) is an artist to truly keep an eye on. His self-published book, Kidnapping Kevin Smith, will drop in June. It's endorsed by Kevin himself and even features a dope cover by Madman artist Mike Allred. The cool thing about Chad was that he was willing to hold down my fort as I went table to table getting everyone to sign/sketch my print. He even sold a few of my prints & sketchbooks when I was gone. Chad is a guy that has a unique style and true passion for sequential storytelling.
My first day there was awesome as I was able to make some money selling sketchbooks, prints and even a quick commission of Kid Flash. Saturday proved to be an even more exciting day as J. Scott Campbell was in attendance. The cool part was being able to chat with various artists and talking with them about how they go about their work and such. Some of my friends even visited my table on Saturday, and like punks they didn't buy any of my goodies. On Sunday as the 'Con was winding down, I was asked to participate on a panel with teaching kids how to make their own comics. The funny part was we then would work with the kids to make a quick comic, and I got to work with a little girl who decided that she wanted to tell a story about Mickey Mouse losing his nose. She didn't want any part of drawing it though, so I was honored to work on her little story.
When I started cleaning up on Sunday I realized how satisfying ComicFest was for me. It proved that there are some people out there that truly like my work enough to purchase it. Being able to support myself with my artwork is something that I've been searching for for a long time. ComicFest showed that I could do that. Being around the fantastic artists there was also awesome because like I said I felt like I was considered a peer there--instead of a hack or wanna-be.
On a different note, tomorrow is my birthday. I've spent the past 3 days off from work and tomorrow will culminate the end of my 4 day Birthday weekend. I plan to hang out with my wife and enjoy great food. It's quite a significant birthday, and my experience with ComicFest is a gift that came early.
Anyway...enough sappy stuff... visit my gallery - http://quietstorm.deviantart.com/gallery/
Take it easy!
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