So let us have a retrospective of the last few months. Since Jet City I had some good and weird convention experiences. Steamcon III in Bellevue, WA was a lovely time! The hotel was beautiful and the people-watching was inspiring. Some fantastic customers I met there even gave me good ideas! I used that event to show off some new pieces I'd done in my fantasy illustration style.
Chief among them, this cloudscape-with-airship-rest-haven, which I call Pontoonia Skybase.
So, I tend to watch movies while I paint and color--I have to focus on the page when I draw, but when I lay in color and polish details, I need some distraction to keep from losing myself in carpal-tunnel land. So when I see these two pieces John Carpenter's original 'The Thing' and both 'Poltergeist' sequels come to mind, despite the fact they're both quite full of story in their own right. Next time you see me at a show, you can ask me what I was watching while I painted a piece, and watch me get very embarrassed ha ha ha.
My next big show was Portland's own Orycon, which was a great experience despite being very quiet for what I've come to expect from a 3-day show. Very different crowd from comic book or anime shows, and it seems to me that the very fashion-and-participation-oriented steampunk culture does a better job of getting nerds to dress nicely and socialize, but there are some literary connections that Orycon has which make it unique! I met some interesting people--including some fabulous local and semi-local authors--at the show, and a big shout-out goes to Damsel in this Dress, our con neighbor who did some generous trades with us, art for clothes! How delightful.
To finish off the year, I did two smaller Portland shows, Geek the Halls at Trillium Charter school and the Stumptown Emporium in my own Mt Tabor neighborhood. They were both great fun and rousing successes! I had a chance to show off this piece, which was commissioned from me in October:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/86688191/original-x-men-fab-five-mini-poster-8x12
This piece was commissioned by a fine fellow with his own blog, who has been giving me some nice press, so I'll return the favor and link you to him! Or link you to his post about me. Oh, internet, what a great engine for self-reference. http://christopherjgibson.tumblr.com/post/10432240195/the-gorgonist
Next time I'll talk about art for an artist in need, and identity crisis on the internet!
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