I have a few blog postings partially written about our time exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Since I am working to wrap up a few books by the end of this month, they are on hold. For now I have some pictures to share with a promise of more detailed writing coming soon. Captions fall below the pictures.

We were graced by the Black Widow at our Flesk booth. The costumes are a familiar scene throughout the show.

Gary Gianni, Daren Bader, John Fleskes and Mark Schultz. This is just after the show ended on Sunday. We all had a chance to enjoy a few minutes of conversation before tearing down our respective booths. The Flesk booth compacted into two dolly loads and we were out of there by 7:00 p.m.

Gary Gianni at his booth. The banner behind him is promoting the “A Game of Thrones” 2014 calendar that he is providing the paintings for. This picture is a grab shot. He was talking with someone and not aware that I took his picture. It came out better than if I had posed him.

Mark Schultz, James Walker II and John Fleskes at the Flesk Booth.

Frank Cho signing his new 2013 calendar.

Frank Cho is a huge Justice League fan and gets excited whenever he sees any imagery relating to the team.

Mary, from our neighbors at Stuart Ng Books, and me hanging at the Flesk booth just before closing time on the final day.

I took this picture from Gary Gianni’s booth. This was two hours before the show closed on Sunday and you can see how busy the show remains all the way until the end. You can see the Flesk logo and our booth in the middle area.

Mark Schultz and Clayburn Moore were posing for a picture. I saw an opportunity and took this grab shot. For some reason, even though they are posing, this angle makes them look more natural.

Here, I’m talking to James Walker II about the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event book.

William Stout signing his card belonging to the seven postcard set celebrating ten years of Flesk. We handed out roughly four hundred of these sets to those who stopped by our Flesk booth as a thank you for their support and helping us to get to the ten year mark. We ran out by mid-Saturday.

William Stout at his booth at Comic-Con. Bill’s booth is an original art gallery. Walking inside is like stepping into a museum.

The Baby Tattoo mascot at their booth. The publisher, Bob Self, has created one of the most impressive looking booths at the show.

James Walker II and me at the Flesk Publications booth. James and I have been working shows for almost twenty years together. We used to assist with Bud Plant Illustrated Books and Lee’s Comics in the mid-nineties.

Mark Schultz signing a copy of his Xenozoic collection at the Flesk Publications booth.

Gary Gianni at the Gianni/Madefire booth. These guys deserve the award for “Most Improved” booth. It was amazing how simple, yet amazing their booth looked this year.

Thomas Yeates and Mark Schultz, the new artist and writer team of Prince Valiant. Thomas has taken over the drawing chores from the recently retired (from the strip) Gary Gianni.

James Walker II holding the fort. I was away from the Flesk booth for much of the show. James, Jonathan Leveck, Laura West and Tony Villador did a remarkable job taking care of things.

Mark Schultz was a special guest at Comic-Con this year. One of the benefits is that he had a handler assigned to him. Maeve escorted Mark to all of his panels and she helped in other various ways. At 6’3” she had an impressive stature combined with a calm approach that parted the seas of people to get us where we needed to go in quick fashion. (Mark’s “only” 6’1″)

Craig Elliott drawing at this booth. The portrait at the left is the result of a live painting demonstration at his booth.

This is what it looks like to peer over the shoulder of Craig Elliott while he is drawing. Craig is working on a show commission at his booth.

Craig Elliott’s palette used during his live painting from a model at his booth.

Mark Schultz talking with a fan at the Flesk booth.

This was taken inside the Botanical Building at Balboa Park in San Diego. This location is one of my yearly visits as I decompress and relax before the five day show begins.

Another picture taken in the Botanical Building at Balboa Park.

Botanical Building at Balboa Park.

Enjoy,

John

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

There is one more panel today, this one including Mark Schultz:

Cover Story, 2:00-3:00PM, Room 25ABC
Charlie Adlard, Tim Bradstreet, Becky Cloonan, Mark Schultz; Mark Evanier moderates

Thanks to everyone who comes by our booth #5019. We are grateful to you for your support!

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Comic-Con International in San Diego

Today there is a spotlight panel for Gary Gianni running from 12:00 to 1:00 in room 4. It’ll be an exciting personal visit with Gary. I’m looking forward to going.

Artists who we have worked with at this show include Terry Dodson, Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Phil Hale, Mike Mignola, Mark Schultz, Jim Silke, William Stout and Bruce Timm. Most exhibit within just a few isles of us. Stop by our booth #5019 and we can give you directions to where each person is located.

Terry has his new Bombshells 6 sketchbook available at his booth, the space in which he shares with Aaron Lopresti.  We’ll have copies of Bombshells 6 available on our Flesk store shortly after the show.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Comic-Con International in San Diego

Today there is a special panel focusing on the 75 Anniversary of Prince Valiant. Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz will take part. It runs from 3:30-4:30 in room 8.

Also:

The Artists’ Way, 11:00-12:00PM, Room 23ABC
Panelists include Tim Bradstreet, Gary Gianni, Joe Jusko, Jim Silke, Thomas Yeates, and Mark Schultz.

We also have copies of our book, The Prince Valiant Page at our booth. Each coy comes signed by Gary Gianni and has a special signed bookplate exclusive from Flesk.

Be sure to check at our booth for special signing times with Phil Hale. Phil took part in our Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book collection, featuring the art of Android Jones, Brom, Iain McCaig, Hale and Mike Mignola. Mike is also at the show just a few isles from us.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Comic-Con International in San Diego

Today we have a few panels. Starting at 10:00 AM in room 32AB is our Flesk panel. Here’s the details.

Flesk: Celebrating a Decade of Publishing

Visit with the Flesk team and a quartet of legendary artists for a personal and entertaining hour. Join publisher, John Fleskes, Terry Dodson (Defenders, Uncanny X-Men), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic), Jim Silke (Jungle Girls, Jim Silke Sketchbook) and William Stout (Hallucinations, Inspirations) and moderator Jonathan Leveck (Flesk’s Director of Operations), as they look back on ten years of Flesk’s line of quality books promoting comics and graphic novels, fantasy, illustration, pinup and fine arts fields. In addition, Flesk will announce its exciting line of new titles coming out in the fall of 2012 and provide a glimpse into their 2013 schedule.

Then a little later is:

Spotlight on Mark Schultz. Thursday from 12:30-1:30 in room 4. I’ll be a part of this panel with Mark.

And also:

Spotlight on Jim Silke. Thursday 2:00-3:00 in room 9.

And while you’re at it, be sure to swing by our booth #5019 to pick up your free Flesk postcard set featuring the art of Stout, Gianni, Schultz, Silke, Dodson, Bruce Timm and Craig Elliott. All seven gentlemen are at the show and you can get your postcards signed by all of them.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Comic-Con International in San Diego

Today is the opening day of Comic-Con International in San Diego. We’re at booth #5019, the same spot as the previous few years. We’re near Artist’s Alley and across from Stuart Ng Books on the far south side of the convention hall.

Mark Schultz will be with us this evening. He’ll have original art and will be happy to meet you and sign your items.

We’re premiering the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2012 Teaser at the show. This featured all new art drawn by Bruce over the last few months. There is no repeated imagery with his big book. This comes signed and limited to 1000 copies. For those that can’t make the show, we’ll have them on our Flesk online store right after the show.

We look forward to seeing you.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Comic-Con International in San Diego

Comic-Con International is coming up next week. We’ll be exhibiting again at our usual spot at booth #5019 near artist’s alley. Mark Schultz, who will be a guest of the show, is going to be at our booth all five days. We’ll have official times when he will be present posted at our booth.

Jim Silke and Gary Gianni will also be show guests. Silke will be at booth #4901 and Gianni at #4902. Both locations are near us.

Gianni, Silke and Schultz will have individual spotlight panels highlighting their achievements.

Spotlight on Gary Gianni. Saturday 12-1:00 in room 4.

Spotlight on Jim Silke. Thursday 2:00-3:00 in room 9.

Spotlight on Mark Schultz. Thursday from 12:30-1:30 in room 4. I’ll be a part of this panel with Mark.

We’re going to have our own Flesk panel on Thursday, July 12th from 10:00AM-11:00AM in room 32AB. Here’s the details:

Flesk: Celebrating a Decade of Publishing
Visit with the Flesk team and a quartet of legendary artists for a personal and entertaining hour. Join publisher, John Fleskes, Terry Dodson (Defenders, Uncanny X-Men), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic), Jim Silke (Jungle Girls, Jim Silke Sketchbook) and William Stout (Hallucinations, Inspirations) and moderator Jonathan Leveck (Flesk’s Director of Operations), as they look back on ten years of Flesk’s line of quality books promoting comics and graphic novels, fantasy, illustration, pinup and fine arts fields. In addition, Flesk will announce its exciting line of new titles coming out in the fall of 2012 and provide a glimpse into their 2013 schedule.

I won’t be at our booth much of Thursday. In fact, I will be spending less time at the booth than I normally do, which is usually the majority of the time. I will be in and out all during the show with no fixed times. My wonderful staff will be there to assist you with any questions. One thing to keep in mind is none of us view unsolicited portfolios or book proposals at the shows.

On another topic, we have put together a Flesk promotional postcard set. This will be a free gift given out to our customers at Comic-Con to help celebrate ten years of Flesk. I want to be able to put something into people’s hands to make them feel appreciated for supporting us for all of these years.

This will be a set of seven postcards featuring seven artists that will be in attendance at Comic-Con this year. Each artist is someone who I have published. The seven gentlemen are Stout, Gianni, Schultz, Silke, Dodson, Bruce Timm and Craig Elliott.

These 4″ x 6″ postcards will be printed in full color on front and back. The front art is a finished piece, with the preliminary art on the back. The seven cards will be contained within a velum envelope. It’s going to look beautiful. And again, it will be given out to all of our customers, while supplies last.

New for Comic-Con will be the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2012 Teaser. This 16 page collection will feature all new work recently created in the last few months. This 8.5 in. x 5.5 in. saddle-stitched book is limited, numbered 1-1000 and comes signed by Timm for $15.00. They can be found at our booth and also directly from Timm at his usual signing area at the Naked Fat Rave booth #4601. Copies will be available direct from our website immediately after the show.

We’ll also have the new Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book collection available. This book features the art of Android Jones, Brom, Iain McCaig, Phil Hale and Mike Mignola. The introductions are by Cathy & Arnie Fenner, Christopher Golden, Lorne Lanning, Christopher Paolini and William Stout, plus a short interview with Phil Hale by Tray Batey. Afterword by John Fleskes. Mignola and Stout will be in attendance if you would like to get your copy signed.

In addition, we’ll have our entire line of Flesk books that are in print on display. We all look forward to seeing you at the show.

John

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

Links:
Comic-Con International in San Diego

Scott Gustafson, Randy Dahlk, Jonathan Leveck, Jim & Ruth Keegan, James Walker II, Mark Schultz, Thomas Gianni and John Fleskes

“Arnie’s penciled in the event for next year on the calendar, he just needs to ink it in,” shares “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” planning coordinator, Bunny Muchmore. Her prediction on the Sunday eve of the show is proven accurate. Arnie Fenner announced on the Muddy Colors blog that the show will go on. I’m stoked with this news. Heck, I’m sure a lot of people are. Not just for those who made it, but for those who didn’t and can attend next time.

Here’s an interesting statistic. It has become public knowledge that just over 2000 people came through the door in Kansas City. Comic-Con International in San Diego has 125,000 people attending. When I factor all of my costs associated with the Spectrum show a few weeks ago and Comic-Con in 2011 they almost match. There is less than a $500 difference. At Comic-Con I have two booths. At Spectrum I have an island (four corner booths). I drive in my books and staff for Comic-Con. At Spectrum I shipped our books in advance, then flew in my staff and three artists and covered the hotel rooms for us. Now here’s the kicker. The money brought in from book sales between Comic-Con and Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! (SFAL!) is a difference of $300.

There’s been a lot of talk about the power of the one percent over the last year. Given that 2000 people rounds up to 2% of the Comic-Con attendance, I think I can still make a point. I’ve always felt that 1% of the Comic-Con crowd is our core audience. The rest are there for the pop-culture elements. Reflecting on the two shows creates some legitimacy to my gut feeling. Big crowds do not translate to big sales. The Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco is another show that entices a focused crowd and does very well for us.

A good balance, to me, is that core 2%, then another few thousand people with peripheral interests that we can meet and introduce ourselves to for the first time. While I like to sell books at a show, it is my third goal. My first goal is to meet and interact with new people and existing fans. Basically, promoting Flesk, the artists we publish and the arts in general.

Getting back to some observations, keep in mind that Comic-Con is a five day show and SFAL! is three. The bonus with SFAL!  is that with a shorter show, that gives me two extra days back home working on and selling books. Every day gone from the office is a lost day of productivity, which I need to factor into the value of exhibiting at any show. The promotional value of any event should supplement the lost days back home. I feel both Comic-Con and SFAL! do this, yet SFAL! is a mellow environment and is not the marathon that Comic-Con is.

Why am I referencing Comic-Con? I’ve been either attending or exhibiting at the show since 1994. I know it well. It is a major venue for an artist, or in my case an art book publisher, to promote himself. During the last five years, especially, I have seen many artists drop out of the show for reasons such as it becoming too expensive to attend, sales are down, the increased jobs picked up at the show have become less frequent, the longer hours requiring extra help at the booth and the perceived focus of the show that has gone more mainstream pop-culture. And what I mean by more expensive is not the booth costs, which I feel is a deal for what you get (Comic-Con keeps the booth prices very reasonable when compared to other trade shows I have been too, like BEA—which is a total waste of time and money in my opinion), but instead the hotel costs that have been driven up over the years. Besides this, there’s been a feeling by the artists of their not being relevant to Comic-Con anymore. The Comic-Con organizers keep the focus of the program book, panels, guests and name of the show all very much focused on comics and the people in the comic industry, but the large film studios, game companies and other peripheral pop culture genres cast a shadow over the theme a bit too much, contributing to the perception that Comic-Con doesn’t care about the artists, which I don’t think is true. I think they do care, but they are in a pickle dealing with the perceptions and the mass of people that attend and exhibit at the show. I don’t envy what they have to deal with. It’s like chasing King Kong and trying to tie him down with a few dozen people and a rope.

Getting back to SFAL!, I feel it can only grow from here. The core audience that supports and sustains us was there. For this, I am very grateful. I feel with each new year more core fans will arrive, followed by those with a mild-curiosity for what is going on. The very fact that the focus is on the artists, not the products they create, is refreshing. The artists don’t have to compete with the cast of Glee near them. (I had this happen at Comic-Con one year. There was a massive line blocking the entrance to my aisle. No joke. I’m like, what the #*!#& is Glee?) Or, the carnival antics of major studios with bullhorns, gaming companies blasting explosion sound effects, sword dealers—OK, don’t get me started. You get my point. SFAL! is all about the artists and King Kong is not running amok on the show floor.

So why was I there with a big booth? I’m not an artist, but a book publisher? Why did I get such a primo spot right up front? We’ll, I feel my mission in publishing fits the theme of the show. We are all about the artists. I’m not publishing books on genres and products. I publish artist individual collections and make sure they are about them. I had six artists at my booth, and not just books. About the space: When I heard about the show, I immediately signed up and asked for a big spot. In knew the show would be a success and would grow. I decided to grab my space when I could, knowing later that it might not be possible. I had faith early on. That, and Stout encouraged me with this decision as well.

The SFAL! show organizers have been honest about what they felt went well, and listed out areas for improvement. I respect those that can point out his or her flaws and work to correct them. I look forward to continuing to support the show and to see where it goes.

I will end this blog series about the show with some random pictures; both at the show and around downtown Kansas City.
Petar Meseldzija sketching in a copy of Flesk Prime. Taking pictures of Petar is like trying to take a picture of a five-year-old boy. He rarely stops moving around and likes to make silly faces at the camera. This is a grab shot that I took while he was focused on drawing.

Bob Self of Baby Tattoo Books with his life-sized mascot.

Gary Gianni (right) signing bookplates for his adaptation of Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Gary was kind enough to offer his hand. These bookplates will come with all future orders direct form us for the book. We also have a separate exclusive for the Prince Valiant Page.

On Sunday evening a small group of us had a relaxing and fun dinner. I snapped some pictures during the meal. The lighting was dim, with an assortment of interesting lights and colors. I prefer not to use a flash. Here are a few of the results.

Mark Schultz playing the role of Mr. Fantastic

Jonathan Leveck

Randall Dahlk

James Walker II

Randy with Jonathan.

See you next year!

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website

As fellow exhibitors can probably attest to, I didn’t get a whole heck of a lot of time to wander around. When I did I was sure to keep my camera with me. Here are a few of my favorite pictures while exploring the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” hall. The captions for each picture falls below them.

Before the doors opened to the public on Sunday, I heard an announcement encouraging all of the artists to gather for a group picture. I quickly attached my Canon EF 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens to my camera and skipped over to the main stage hoping for a good picture opportunity. I arrived to see a mass of artists fused together. I set my finger on the camera shutter button as if I was trying to redline the device. It was a special moment. Click on the image for a 20” wide version of this picture.

Shortly after, Dwight and Swain (top row, third and fifth from the left) of Sidebar (sidebarnation.com) gathered the artists present who have been interviewed on their podcast in the past.

Our host, Mr. Arnie Fenner (left–and still standing at the three-day mark), co-organizer Jim Fallone (center) and James Gurney (the recently crowned Grand Master Award recipient for 2012) mingle before getting back to business after the photo session. I think a caption contest is necessary to guess what Arnie is thinking about here.

From left to right: Arnie Fenner, me, James Gurney and Petar Meseldzija. All I can say is what terrific guys these three are.

From left to right: James Gurney, Petar Meseldzija and Jean-Baptiste Monge. Jean-Baptiste won two well-deserved Spectrum awards the previous night; a silver award in the Book category and a gold award in Editorial.

Here’s Craig Elliott at his booth. He was set up a short distance from us. Craig had prints, original art and his new The Art of Craig Elliott book that I published on display.

Daren Bader (left) with Petar Meseldzija. These two were having a serious discussion. I walked up, took five pictures from different angles and walked away—all without them paying me any attention.

Craig Elliott (left) posing with Brom (right). Craig was visiting his booth to pick up his original Brom pencil drawing. Artists can be fans, too.

Gregory Manchess at his booth. In my opinion, Greg is one of the greatest living illustrators/painters—period. The raw power in his works is testament to the devotion he has given to his craft.

Jim & Ruth Keegan are a husband and wife team of artists, colorists and designers. They are also two good friends who have supported me since the beginning of my publishing efforts.

The “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” organizers erected stand up displays around the event entrance featuring the art and a quote from a past Grand Master Award recipient who has since passed. Here Mark Schultz stands next to the dedication devoted to his sorely missed friend, Al Williamson.

Kansas City has a majestic display of buildings all throughout the downtown area. How would you like to have to walk down that fire escape? If I had more time I would have taken some more architectural pictures. Next year I’ll get the chance.

There are many the fine manhole covers in Kansas City as well. This is for you, Denise. (OK, yes, I admit this is an inside joke that only certain people will get.)

A final Part 5 of this blog series is coming soon!

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website

On Saturday May 16 from 2:30-4:00 we hosted the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book signing with the five special guests of the show at our Flesk booth. Sitting at the table in these pictures, from left to right, is Mike Mignola, Iain McCaig, Brom, Phil Hale and Android Jones.

The line was already growing at 2:10 and by 2:30 people were snaked around our 400 sq. foot booth, and then it continued across the aisle and down the convention hall wall. This amounted to a 70-80’ line. The hour-and-a-half allotted for the signing turned out to be just the perfect amount of time to satisfy everyone who wanted a signature. The people in line were very patient and brought a positive vibe to the signing.

This was the only opportunity during the show to see all five guests together in one place. We had a blast. It really was a lot of fun for all of us. I would like to thank the artists for taking the time to spend with the attendees in this group setting.

The “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” guests; a powerhouse of artists, all of whom are humble and generous to their fans.

One fan brought a sketchbook and requested that each artist provide a mini-sketch, of which each of them was happy to oblige. Here, Android provides the final entry.

Brom looks as cool as he actually is. Phil Hale is being passed a copy of the Spectrum annual to sign. Many artists that have appeared in Spectrum were exhibiting at the show. It was common to see a copy of the latest annual with multiple post-it notes poking out from in-between its pages marking where each artist appears. Collectors were obtaining signatures of as many people as they could.

Mike Mignola signing a Hellboy print.

Here’s a rare picture of Iain McCaig not smiling. This is a tough shot to get as he is usually beaming!

Android Jones (at right) looking very relaxed for someone who just a few hours later was performing live at the “Spectrum” awards ceremony at the Midland Theater. Right after this signing he went straight to rehearsal.

The mood remained playful during the hour-and-a-half signing.

Looking over the shoulders of giants as they sign the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! art book. We start with Mignola.

Iain McCaig.

Brom.

Phil Hale was signing and providing a remark in every book. This was generous of him.

Android providing the exclamation point as fans receive the final signature.

The artists are in the front with (from left to right) James Walker, Mark Schultz and myself behind them. James and I have been friends for nearly twenty years. He is among a small handful of my most trusted and loyal friends. We spent ten years prior to my starting Flesk in 2002 helping friends at their booths and running around together at conventions. Neither of us would ever have suspected that we would have been hosting an event such as this ten years ago, or even five years ago. We agreed this was a special moment and not something to take for granted.

Another guest group shot.

I’ve mentioned this before but it is worth repeating. Mike is very warm with his fans. It’s nice to see someone who has received so much fame to remain grounded.

There’s the typical Iain I know. He is not afraid to show his enthusiasm for life and art in public.

Phil Hale makes a rare public appearance in the U.S. He flew in from the U.K. for the show. Android is at right.

Android Jones. This is probably my favorite picture of this batch. It’s a great natural grab-shot.

Thanks again to Mike, Iain, Brom, Phil and Android for being so gracious with their time and for hanging at our Flesk booth for the signing.

Part 4 of this series, which will come in the next day or two, will include more “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” pictures and commentary as I walked around the show.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website

The inaugural “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event opened the doors to the public at 3:00pm on Friday, May 18. The artists at our Flesk booth included William Stout, Mark Schultz, Petar Meseldzija, Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni (on Saturday and Sunday) and Android Jones (on Friday and Saturday). The nice thing about this show was how throughout the three days we had a steady influx of people at our booth. We were never bored as there were typically two to four people in line for the majority of artists. This allowed for personal discussions without anyone feeling rushed. It was a good pace.

Here’s a batch of photographs around our Flesk booth, most of which were taken about an hour or two after the doors opened on that first day. The pictures of Gianni were taken on Saturday.

Here is William Stout talking with an attendee. The original art in front of him is featured within his book Inspirations.

Petar Meseldzija poses with a few of his original paintings and books. Petar flew all the way in from The Netherlands.

Mike Mignola interacts with a fan.

Craig Elliott hangs out at our booth during the Flesk Prime book signing on Saturday.

Gary Gianni went straight to work when he arrived on Saturday around noon. Here he is providing a sketch in a recently purchased book featuring his work.

William Stout also provided sketches for some lucky fans.

Mark Schultz engages with someone while Randy Dahlk helps with book sales and questions.

Mr. Schultz poses for the camera.

This is a nice group shot showing the activity that first day. Mignola, Gianni and Schultz stayed busy until closing time.

This is me being interviewed for Scifi4me.com. They had some questions about the show book featuring the five guests I put together. Besides screwing up and naming Iain McCaig twice and leaving out Android Jones when naming the five artists, I think the rest went as well as it could for it being my first camera interview. (I’ve been avoiding live interviews for 10 years.)

Here I am during the same interview. Jonathan Leveck ran out with my camera and got some shots while we were talking. The “Crowbot” banner artwork is by Jon Foster and welcomed people as they would walk inside.

Another booth group shot. There’s our friend Jim Keegan sporting the beard and jacket. In front are the cool show official t-shirts we were selling. The art is by Ragnar.

Jonathan ran around with my camera and got this grab shot of me. It’s nice to see. After ten years of shows I finally got a few pictures of myself. I typically take all the pictures and don’t have many of myself. I prefer being behind the lens. Behind me is our new updated logo that Randy designed.

Mike Mignola stayed busy each day. He gives a lot of friendly personal attention to each fan.

A lucky collector gets a personalize sketch and autograph by Mignola.

Gianni draws in another book.

I walked over to Jim Gurney’s booth to say hello. When I got there his wife told me he went over to my booth to do the same. I returned to find him talking with Petar Meseldzija (left) and William Stout (right). This is quite the trio of painters who are masters at using the traditional approach.

Jonathan Leveck and James Walker working (or playing) at the booth. They always remember to have fun along the way. That’s fine by me.

Randall Dahlk holds steady his end of the booth. Randy is a good friend and has designed at least half of our Flesk books.

Part 3 of this series which will include more “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” pictures and commentary is coming soon.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website

This is the first post of a series detailing our three days exhibiting at the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event in Kansas City, Missouri. The show ran from May 18-20. I have far too much to share to try and cram my whole experience into a single post.

First of all, I would like to congratulate Arnie and Cathy Fenner on an exceptional show and thank them, their crew and volunteers for making us feel welcome and making for a smooth event. They pulled off an extraordinary feat in banding us all together. I will write much more about the show but, for now let me take you on a tour of our booth.

This series of pictures takes you around the Flesk booth about two hours before the show started. We had four booth’s made up into a 20’ x 20’ island. This is the first time I had a space of this size to work with. I did not make concrete plans concerning the booth arrangement prior to the event. I had some ideas but nothing was welded in place. My preference was to show up with my crew, see what we were dealing with, and then build our space. I liked the idea of not over-thinking our spot and letting it organically take shape.
This first picture shows James Walker II behind the booth and Jonathan Leveck in front. Our pal, Randall Dahlk, is sitting behind James. The area James is facing projects right into the main doors as people enter the show. We had the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! show book and t-shirt’s there. Android Jones was on the right corner and Mike Mignola on the left, with Gary Gianni next to Mike.

Here James is prepping Mark Schultz’s space.

Coming around the corner we had copies of all of our Flesk titles in print for people to peruse.

Here’s William Stout’s section with his books. Later he had original artwork on display.

As we approach the final stretch, Petar Meseldzija brought seven paintings with him from The Netherlands, five of which can be seen on the wall behind him. The work at the bottom center is a giclee print. The two smaller pieces were placed on the easels a few hours later. Then the empty space on the corner brings us back to where Android sat with his prints.

The next post is coming soon as I continue this visual tour of our show!

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website

The "Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!" book is on its way to the event.

With the inaugural Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event happening in just a few weeks I thought it time to share not only how exceptional I feel this show will be, but also some of what will be going on at our Flesk booth. But first, a few words about the show itself and the artists that will be there.

SFAL! is conceived and organized by Cathy and Arnie Fenner, who are also the directors behind the highly popular annual, Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art. The idea behind their show is one that is artist friendly regardless of style, genre or types and that is accessible to everyone. With this in mind they have been planning and organizing this new event for a number of years, the culmination of which will become a reality for three days, running from May 18-20 at the Bartle Hall Grand Ballroom in Kansas City, Missouri.

The show will feature over 200 art exhibitors. This includes the five event guests; Brom, Phil Hale, Android Jones, Mike Mignola and Ian McCaig. Some of the artists that will be exhibiting include Donato Giancola, Michael Whelan, Shelly Wan (at Eidolon Fine Arts), Charles Vess, Ragnar, Jim & Ruth Keegan, Jon Foster, Greg Manchess, Scott Gustafson, our friends at Bud Plant Books, Stuart Ng Books and Baby Tattoo books, plus many more.

As for our Flesk space, we will have four booths arranged as an island at the show. This 20’ x 20’ area will host a group of heavy hitters in the art world: Mark Schultz, William Stout, Petar Meseldzija and Gary Gianni. Gary will be at the show on Saturday and Sunday only. Joining us will be special guests, Mike Mignola and Android Jones. Android will be at the booth on Friday and Saturday. Original artwork, prints and books will be available. Petar is shipping in a few new large paintings that you will want to stop by and see.

Craig Elliott will join Gianni, Stout, Schultz and Meseldzija for one hour on Saturday and Sunday during our “Flesk Prime” book signing at the Flesk booth. These are the five participants in our Flesk Prime book. This is the first U.S. opportunity to have all five artists sign the book at a single venue. (Check back later for times.)
On Saturday we will have our one and only Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative event art book signing. This is the official show book featuring the five show guests. It is published by Flesk with the authorization of Cathy and Arnie Fenner. For an hour-and-a-half attendees will have the opportunity to have the book signed by all five artists, Brom, Hale, Android, Mignola and McCaig. Phil Hale does not have a booth at the show. This is a rare scheduled appearance to meet him. (Check back later for the exact time.)

We’ll have a selection of all of our Flesk books. Titles on the aforementioned creators, plus our collections on Harvey Dunn, Jim Silke, Terry Dodson, James Bama, Bruce Timm, and Al Williamson will be on hand. Come grab our free catalog, too.

Keep checking back for more information as the show approaches. I’ll have a few more things to share soon.

I look forward to seeing you all there.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website

Friday, April 13 was the opening of Warren Chang’s ten-year retrospective “Narrative Paintings” at the Pacific Grove Arts Center. I met with Warren just over an hour before the opening reception that ran from 7:00-9:00pm. He was upbeat and basically himself. He expressed to me his happiness that the selection of his original works on display includes all of his major paintings. In addition, the hanging and presentation of them are professionally done and meet Warren’s approval. This combination all led to Warren being calm all throughout the evening.

As I was entered the gallery housing the forty-six original works, I further understood Warren’s relaxed demeanor. A large crowd was present in the rectangular shaped oversized room. A small island wall was present with two paintings on each side. A row of forty-two paintings wrapped around the four walls. As a bonus, Warren provided the occasional commentary–all of which read best when you view the paintings in order starting with the first painting as you enter.

As I continued within the gallery I felt as if I stepped into Warren’s real life environment in which his paintings depict. I could sense the richness of the vegetable fields and sweat of the migrant workers he portrays. I had to look behind me to make sure I wasn’t tracking mud through the gallery. I didn’t see his paintings, I entered them. From his studio works, to his portraits and self-portraits, and the occasional landscape, Warren gives us a sincere expression that is a joy to experience.

The Annand Gallery. Paintings by Namgui Chang.

In the adjacent Annand Gallery, the first exhibit of Warren’s father, Namgui Chang, is running during the same time period. Paintings spanning five decades are present for your viewing edification. They are a beautiful array of landscapes of his Korean birthplace and of the natural wonders surrounding his Monterey home. I enjoyed how different these two artists view their subjects through paint. They cannot be compared, nor should they. Each artist has his own voice.

I encourage you to make a trip to Pacific Grove to view this exhibit. It’s easy to find, close to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the viewing is free. It’s the perfect afternoon or day trip from the Bay Area. The exhibit runs until May 24th. They also have copies of our Flesk book, “Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” available for purchase.

If you can’t make it, I hope you enjoy the pictures and that they serve as a small substitute.

Warren Chang shares some insight behind his paintings with his good friend Mark Roberts.

Namgui and Warren Chang.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photographs © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.
All art © 2012 Warren Chang and N Chang. All rights reserved. Photographed with permission.

Links:
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” exhibit at the Pacific Grove Art Center
Warren Chang interview by John Fleskes

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

Jonathan Leveck welcoming people to the Flesk booth.

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.

Craig Elliott and John Fleskes at the Flesk booth.

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.)

William Stout drawing in his fantasy-themed collection “Inspirations.”

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.)

William Stout, Craig Elliott and John Fleskes at the Flesk booth.

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.