The first is, and with great sadness, I learned of Tony DeZuniga’s passing away late last week. I was informed by my good friend Manuel Auad, who was close to Tony. Manuel was kind enough to introduce me to Tony a number of years ago and I enjoyed the handful of times I was honored enough to speak with him. My immediate impression was that he was a true gentleman, a feeling which was reinforced with each successive meeting. He is missed.

This weekend, besides being the date for the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event, is also the weekend for “Big Wow! ComicFest” in San Jose, California. I am very disappointed to be missing this show as it is my local show being just 15 minutes from my house, run by a terrific group of guys who I like to support, and they have a killer guest list—including one of my favorites, and someone whose work I have published—Mr. Jim Silke. Unfortunately the two shows fall on the same weekend and I had to choose. My attempt to find someone I can trust enough to run a Flesk booth at the “Big Wow!” show failed, leaving me knowing I will miss an opportunity to promote ourselves there, along with SFAL!, and miss what will inevitably be a terrific show. Check out the website and if you are in the Bay Area, go!

In terms of books I am working on, I have finished, sent to the printer and approved the proofs for the Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2012 Teaser that will premiere at Comic-Con in July. I wanted to get it totally done before leaving for Kansas City. It’s looking really great! Bruce provided all new artwork created over the last few months. None of the material is art that didn’t make it into the main book. It is all fresh and incredible work. The Teaser is limited to 1000 numbered and signed copies. I’ll add it to our Flesk store for pre-orders in June.

Last year Terry Dodson put out two sketchbooks: Reveries and Bombshells 5. I provided some production assistance with both. I am in the process of helping Terry out again with another project. The details, though, I will leave to Mr. Dodson to share first on his website. For the moment he is traveling to London as a guest at the “Kapow! Comic Convention,” also running this weekend. Check out his blog in the next few weeks for some news on his trip and upcoming book details.

Last Saturday, our newly appointed Director of Operations, Jonathan Leveck, my friend Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. and I, all went to Monterey, California for the day for Warren Chang’s Narrative Paintings book signing at the Pacific Grove Arts Center. Sales of the book benefited the PGArts and Alba Farms. People had the chance to meet Warren and see over 40 of his original paintings. Afterwards, we visited Warren’s studio where I assisted with some modeling photography for Warren’s future reference. Out of respect for Warren, I will share the story with some photographs only once his new painting is complete and he is ready to reveal his process.

I know I am bouncing around here but, I have a lot of bits of information to share.

I will be revealing our new Flesk logo at the “SFAL!” show. I have long wanted to update my original Flesk “Franklin Booth tree” logo that I made way back in 2002. For our 10th anniversary I wanted something fresh and hip, yet reflected better who I am by making it more personal compared to the old logo which I feel is too old fashioned and out of date for the future of Flesk. (This explains why I haven’t used it for a while.) I put Randall Dahlk to task and he designed a new logo that I approved. The design and elements actually have a meaning to me yet; the exact definition is something I will keep under my hat. I’d rather let people define it as they want, and let it serve as a symbol of the company. My close friends will get it right away, and the few I have shown did.

Randy also created a T-shirt design incorporating the Flesk name and new logo. I had the shirts made on exceptional quality American Apparel T-shirts and hand screened at a local facility by a pair of outstanding craftsmen in Santa Cruz, California. You’ll see our staff at the Flesk booth all wearing them. I’ll bring a few extras along to sell. I’m really excited we will all have team shirts at the show. I’ll show off some pictures of them in a future blog.

The new Illustration Magazine came out last week. It features an article on one of my favorite artists, Coby Whitmore. I’ve been inspired by Dan Zimmer’s magazine since he started in 2001 and he still keeps these beautiful issues coming. This issue, #37, also has a full-page Flesk ad inside. I enjoy Illustration Magazine so much that I have been advertising with him since issue #4. And in the back of this issue Dan promotes our Flesk Prime and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm books with praiseworthy reviews. Thanks, Dan!

I’ve been talking with Steve Rude about two new books. We’ve already gotten started on one of them. I’ll give you the skinny once I get back from Kansas City. It’s a pleasure to be working with “The Dude” again.

The new Flesk website is coming along well. I hope to have it go live by this summer. It’s mostly waiting for me to review and double check the content. My fault! But it looks amazing and I am anxious to share it with you all.

I look forward to seeing those that can make the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” show! I haven’t been this excited about going to a show for a very long time.

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Big Wow! ComicFest
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! official website
Terry Dodson website
Kapow! Comic Convention
Illustration Magazine

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

Back and front cover to the Bruce Timm 2012 Teaser

For those that didn’t get enough of Bruce Timm’s art with the 2011 Naughty and Nice Teaser, and the big Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm, we have a new 2012 Teaser coming this summer. We will premiere this 5.5 x 8.5 inch, 16-page saddle-stitched paperback collection featuring twenty all-new pieces by Timm at the Comic-Con International in San Diego. There, you can find it at our Flesk booth and direct from Bruce Timm at his spot at the Naked Fat Rave booth. The price will be $15.00.

This new 2012 Teaser will be signed by Timm. It will be limited to 1000 numbered copies. We’ll have some copies for sale direct from our website at the cover price immediately following the show.

This year will feature a double cover. What do you do when you have two terrific options for a cover? You run them both, one on the front and the other on the back.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2012 John Fleskes. Art © 2012 Bruce Timm. All Rights Reserved.

Links:
Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm book from Flesk

When I saw Jim at WonderCon in May he asked if I still wanted to do the book. I sure do! With the Bruce Timm, Craig Elliott and Warren Chang books all done I am free to get going on Jim’s new sketchbook. The plan is for this to be an ongoing series, much in the same way as the Mark Schultz: Various Drawings title that comes out every year or two.

I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to publish Jim’s Jungle Girls book. The entire process was a pleasure. The chance to work with Jim, and learn from him, is like having a one-on-one instructional course with a legendary art director and artist. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he has accomplished with his career and who he is as a person. My hope is with this new book that I can further showcase what makes Jim such an exceptional creative individual.

The drawings that will be in this collection, besides being a testament to his artistic skills, will also serve like a journal of sorts as his process is shown for all of his projects since his becoming a “hot” new artist in the early nineties with the release of his Rascals in Paradise comic series. While Jim has always drawn, it wasn’t until his late-fifties that he entered the comic field followed by his series of art books from Dark Horse. We should all be so lucky to have a retirement such as his.

The book title is still up in the air. I’m not the type to create a template and stick to it. Most often I let the artwork dictate where the book should go. We decided on a 64-page book at 9 x 12 inches. There are plenty of sketches and pencil preliminaries for finished comic-pages and personal works, and more. I roughly designed the first two volumes last week. I found it just as easy to do both at the same time as it would have been to do one of them only. This also allowed me to pace the two volumes appropriately. The next step is for Jim to review my layout, then based on his notes I will tighten it up from there.

I’ll share more information, including a release date, once I have sorted out all the details. I prefer to take my time and not to feel rushed. I want this book to be special and pay tribute to this important artist and fine gentleman.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
text copyright 2012 John Fleskes. Artwork copyright 2012 Jim Silke. All rights reserved.

Links:
Jungle Girls by Jim Silke from Flesk
Jim Silke official website

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

The book will premiere at the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” event in Kansas City, Missouri on May 18-20. For those lucky enough to make the trip, you can pick up the book at our Flesk booth and then get it signed by all five event guests. (I’ll see if I can post the times and locations for the artist signings as we get closer to the show.)

If you are just learning about this special show collection, it is a hardcover art book that features the five special guests: Android Jones, Phil Hale, Mike Mignola, Iain McCaig and Brom.

Here are some more pictures showing the actual book and some spreads. Follow the links at the bottom for full details on the show and this book.
Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
text and photos copyright 2012 John Fleskes. All artwork copyright 2012 their respective artists. All rights reserved.

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book details
Pre-order the SpectrumFantastic Art Live! book
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event details
Learn more about Spectrum Fantastic Art

Warren Chang

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

It is not uncommon for me to remain so focused on running my booth that I miss a show entirely. This is despite my spending three to five days there. Comic-Con International is a perfect example. I’m lucky to see the row behind me and the row in front of me. This trip allowed me to walk the floor with no pressure, no chain attaching me to a booth and no responsibilities. My initial problem, though, was my not knowing what to do with myself. I have grown accustomed to working shows and sort of forgot what it was like to just have fun at one. Complete freedom? What is that? I found out in Seattle.

It didn’t take long to fall into a groove as familiar faces appeared. Bob Chapman at the Graphitti Designs booth, who is an icon and an inspiration to me, was quick to welcome me inside. If you exhibit at enough shows you will get to know many of the usual suspects. I’ve been helping friends with their booths since the early nineties. I have known many of the comic dealers since before I had any plans to be a publisher. Having this experience and the support of an experienced group helped tremendously when it became time for me to find my own voice.

The show was great. You can see the whole event floor in one day at a leisurely pace. There are tons of quality artists to meet and plenty of rare comic dealers. Bud Plant was there with an excellent selection of art books. The only type of vendor that was missing that would round out everything I like to see at a show is an original art dealer. However, with the artist representation so strong this absence of a dealer was minor.

A consistent expression from the artists was how well the show treats them. Whatever the organizers are doing, the artists like it.

A quick observation I made, stimulated by a comment by someone I know about the isles not being as wide as WonderCon or Comic-Con, is how every booth is a corner. This is welcome as a dealer since you are essentially doubling your table space when compared to a regular aisle booth. The show felt very packed with people. Much of this, I feel, comes from all of the corner booths and narrow aisles. Without any long rows, every twenty feet is an intersection with another aisle. There were constant cross-flows of people wanting to go in four different directions at every turn making for some interesting, yet necessary, navigational techniques. I say all this as an observation and without any criticism. It is what it is.

Bruce Timm was there as a guest. At times there were large “walls” of people waiting in line to meet him—for a very good reason.

I had the opportunity to meet two amazing artists I admire greatly. The first being Kevin Nowlan and the second is Phil Noto. I also enjoyed meeting Michael Cho, Eric Larsen and a host of others I never normally get to see.

I had a terrific time with Terry and Rachel Dodson, along with Aaron Lopresti, during a Saturday evening dinner. One of the main reasons I went to the show was to have some time to go over a few book projects with Terry. We hashed out our plans for some titles which I am anxious to share at the appropriate time. More on these projects will be shared in a few months.

This picture is looking up from across the street from the entrance of the convention center hosting the show. The path under the archway is the indoor entrance to the exhibitor hall.

This picture is standing by the front doors of the exhibit hall about 10 minutes before opening time on Sunday. It was packed with people. I didn’t have my wide angle lens on me, otherwise I could show the full crowd which is far greater in number than this picture conveys.

Here’s Bill Martinez who is a terrific guy. Billy runs Neko Press and is an amazing artist. I was happy to pick up his new book In Your Face.
Bob Self, publisher of Baby Tattoo books. Bob is one of the most creative people I know. His books are of the highest quality and we share a passion for the arts. He is one of the nicest guys out there. I am particularly happy with how this picture came out. Bob is very easy to photograph. He is among the rare person completely comfortable with a camera pointed at him.

I had a fun time at the show. I look forward to going again next year.

Now it is time for a little self-indulgence. There is much to do in downtown Seattle. This was my third trip to this city but, only my first spent at length in downtown. Early Sunday morning I walked down to the Pike Place Market. The skies were clear and the lighting excellent. I was predicting some good conditions to do a bit of photography.

I am not a shopper. I avoid shopping and going to stores unless absolutely necessary. What drew me to Pike Place were not the items I could buy, but instead the subjects I could photograph. I walked in to discover a beautiful array of colors all around me. I was in awe. Here are some of my pictures.
This first one is not impressive. It was of the main sign as I was leaving. I looked for a non-traditional angel to shoot it, although the lighting was no good at that moment. In general I do not like having to alter my photos in Photoshop. I like the challenge of nailing a shot with manual settings. I used a fixed 50mm f1.8 lens that forces me to move around and pay attention to my composition. The only adjustment I made to these photos is a very slight lightening on some of them, otherwise they are fully raw.
This was the only picture I took of the seafood stand that is famous for throwing the fish. I immediately became focused and fascinated on not the stand but the large crowd of people that was standing there in anticipation of seeing the workers toss a fish to one another. The people watching were giddy with excitement as the moment was about to happen. I focused on the people as the fish flew and got exactly the picture I wanted in the first attempt. I wanted the whole background to be in soft focus with the backs of the people sharp. If you look under the letters “CA” in “CAFÉ” and just under the lights you will see the profile of the fish flying through the air.

Here are some more pictures from that day without commentary. The photos speak for itself.
Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photographs © 2012 John Fleskes. All Rights Reserved.

Links:
Emerald City Comic-Con
Baby Tattoo Books
Kevin Nowlan
Billy Martinez / Neko Press
Graphitti Designs

I am currently working on the James Bama: Personal Work” book. I originally conceived this collection back in 2007. I had visited Jim that summer. While I was there I had the opportunity to see some of his private paintings based on his travels for the first time. I had no idea they existed. After returning home the imagery stuck in my mind. A few months later I called Jim to see if he would be interested in having a book made. “Sure,” he said.

It was during that same visit that I was also introduced to Bama’s sketches. I broached the idea of a sketchbook at the same time as Personal Works. I decided to focus on the sketchbook first (James Bama Sketchbook published in May 2010), then follow-up with his Personal Works book. I had originally intended on publishing them in 2008 and 2009. But with the economy being so bad in 2008 and continuing to limp along to today I held off and have been waiting for the economy to get better. I’m tired of waiting for the economy to turn around. I feel this book is important and needs to come out sooner than later. After nearly five years of waiting, talking and thinking, I’m finally wrapping it up.

I am writing some lead-in text and designing the book. Jim has supplied commentary for each piece of art included. I also have pictures of Jim on his travels and details about where he visited. I spoke with Jim on the phone a few days ago and asked many questions relating to the imagery in the book. I was able to get quite a bit of good quotes and fresh stories that I will include in my text. I want the whole package to feel very personal and allow people to connect with Jim and his paintings. It will be available this fall.

A lot of people ask me how he is doing. Jim is in terrific shape. He is a life-long athlete and still continues to exercise daily. When I spoke with him he had already done 1000 push-ups off of his bookcase in his studio. If I recall correctly it is three or three-and-a-half feet tall. Sound easy? Try doing 300 and see how you feel the next day. Even in his mid-eighties he is solid.

He is an impressive individual. Even though his artwork speaks for itself I also hope to share some of what makes Bama, the man, so special.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.

Link:
“James Bama: Personal Works” book details

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!

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.

Kansas City in her evening gown. The view from the Westin downtown.

A few people emailed me when they noticed my presence in the background pictures and video of the Spectrum 19 judging on the Spectrum Fantastic Art website. I admit to being guilty of being there. I had wrapped up the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” commemorative art book on Thursday, March 1, just in time to travel to Kansas City to help behind the scenes with the judging process on March 3. In-between setting out artwork and cups, and counting beans (votes), I took quite a bit of pictures. I am sharing them here.

The beans and the highly coveted paperclips.

Each judge is assigned one of the five colors to avoid duplicate votes by accident. Each bean represents a vote. Three or more beans gets you into the book. The voting is anonymous, except when determining the silver and gold awards when a lively discussion ensues. A paperclip is reserved for award consideration.

The Spectrum 19 jury with Cathy & Arnie Fenner.

The jury comprised of Scott Gustafson, Jeremy Cranford, Peter de Sève, Jon Schindehette, and Dawn Rivera-Ernster. Arnie & Cathy selected an all-star group and they are all terrific people. It was a pleasure to meet them all. This group of artist’s, art directors and senior creative individuals are well-equipped to make the prime selections for the best in contemporary fantastic art. I am anxious to see the book that they made.

Let the judging commence!

Arnie Fenner and Jon Schindehette. Jon is the senior creative director for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast.

Dawn Rivera-Ernster, director of talent and recruitment for Walt Disney Animation Studios, amid the sea of entries.

Jeremy Cranford, senior art manager at Blizzard Entertainment, casts a vote.

Scott Gustafson, artist and writer, weighs his choices.

The couple behind Spectrum, Arnie & Cathy Fenner.

An artist submitted a 3-D work, along with 3-D glasses for the judges. Each pair of glasses had their name written on it. Here Cathy Fenner holds the art while the jury views the piece.

Rows and rows of art to view. Jon Schindehette is in the background.

Dawn Rivera-Ernster and Peter de Sève.

New this year is the silver and gold awards being awarded at the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event in Kansas City, Missouri this May at “The Midland” theater. The five artists up for the awards in each category follow.

The five Advertising category nominees.

Advertising:
Jutin Coro Kaufman: Mothead
Android Jones: Boom Festival
Tyler Jacobson: Talon of Umberlee
Tyler Jacobson: Daask Crime Lord
Lucas Graciano: Temple Guardian

The five Book category nominees.

Book:
John Jude Palencar: Bared Blade
Edward Kinsella: Wooden Bones
Petar Meseldzija: Eowyn and the Lord of the Nazgul
Dragan Bibin: Vid the Vampire
Jean-Babtiste Monge: Ragnarok

The five Comics category nominees.

Comics:
Jim Murray: DOTA 2: Tales from the Secret Shop
Sonny Liew: Malinky Robot
Andy Brase: DarkSun II
Phroilan Gardner: The Destroyer
Alex Alice: Sigfried III

Concept Art:
Justin Sweet: Jack the Giant Killer
Brian Matyas: Spartan Victory
Robh Ruppel: Yemen
Daniel Dociu: Hangar
Allen Williams: Unknown One

The jury reviews the five Dimensional category nominees.

Dimensional:
Jonathan L. Matthews: Batman, Black and White
Thomas S. Kuebler: I am Providence
Virginie Ropars: Jack
Allan Carrasco: Rhinatuar
Michael Defeo: Octopus

The five Editorial category nominees.

Editorial:
Chris Buzelli: Strength in Numbers
Jean-Baptiste Monge: Mic Mac Cormac
Bobby Chiu: Early Bloom
Ture Ekroos: Beneath
James Gurney: Kosmocertatops

The five Institutional category nominees.

Institutional:
Android Jones: Water Dragon 2012
Petar Meseldzija: The Rescuer
Bill Carman: Three Wishes
Raoul Vitale: Turin and the Glaurung
Omar Rayyan: Crow and the Picture

The five Unpublished category nominees.

Unpublished:
Eric Fortune: Last Embrace
Andrew Theophilopoulos: Princess of the Pleia Dians
Justin Gerard: Portrait of a Monster #3
Kei Acedera: morning Chill
Michael Whelan: CK Unmasked

Enjoy,

John

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

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live Spectrum 19 pictures and videos

Warren Chang

A few weeks back I attended a Warren Chang exhibit and book signing for his “Narrative Paintings” fine art book, a collection of which I am honored to have published.

The event was held at the Sunset Center in Carmel, California on Friday, February 24th from 4-7:00p.m. This premiere exhibition of an ongoing series celebrates the Monterey County artists featured in the 2012 Fine Art Calendar selected by the internationally renowned artist David Ligare. Karen Leoni was also there showcasing a sampling of her original works.

Warren Chang with Karen Leoni

The Sunset Center is a beautiful venue. The evening included live music, and a wonderful assortment of food and wine.  Paulette Lynch, the host, was a pleasure to meet and she did a wonderful job of making us all feel welcome.

A good number of people showed up allowing them the opportunity to see some of Warren Chang’s original paintings and to purchase a personalized copy of his new book.

Two of Warren's models arrived unexpectedly. They happened to be featured on the same spread in the book. Posing the models, artist and book together was a fun moment.

The Arts Council is a truly outstanding organization that “provides arts education to thousands of students each year thanks to support from local PTAs, foundations, businesses and individuals. We provide promotional, technical and financial support to over fifty arts organizations thanks to funding from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors and a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.” I’m happy to know that a portion of the sales from Warren’s book went straight into the local arts community.

Warren with The Arts Council president Richard Anderson. Two giclee prints of Warren's paintings are in the background.

Thanks again to Paulette, president Richard Anderson, and the entire group at the Arts Council for their support!

Enjoy,

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

Links:
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book information
Arts Council for Monterey County website

I just approved the final proofs for the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” commemorative art book that I edited and designed. There are five artists featured along with an introduction by five different writers to each gallery section. The book opens with an introduction by Cathy & Arnie Fenner and closes with an afterword that I wrote.

This Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! hardcover collection explores the work of the five special guests at this year’s event: Android Jones, Brom, Iain McCaig, Phil Hale and Mike Mignola. Introductions to each gallery are by industry greats Christopher Golden, Lorne Lanning, Christopher Paolini and William Stout, plus a short interview with Phil Hale by Tray Batey. The book is limited to 2000 copies and it will premiere at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! in Kansas City, Missouri on May 18-20, 2012.

Since I was working with a dozen people I mapped out every page before I contacted everyone. Then I gave everyone a blueprint in PDF form. I detailed exactly what I needed from each person and provided a due date. The schedule is very important as the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” show is coming up in May and the books have to be there. They can’t show up a day late. The book is done. It is going on the press next week. Then it is a matter of me staying on top of the printer and shipper to make sure they arrive in time.

I spent some time pushing, challenging and driving myself to do something new with the design of the book, when compared with my previous book designs. I felt I really needed to grow. I applied much of what I learned from working with Bruce Timm on the Naughty and Nice book. And I also forced myself to stop answering emails, stop writing blogs and just focus on the book. I get very distracted running Flesk Publications and I had to just shut myself off from the world for a little while and focus on experimenting. This effort added an extra couple weeks to the timeline, but I think it was worth it. I came up with enough new design ideas to apply to the next few books.

The way I started is much in the same way as you see artists draw out thumbnails for book covers or illustrations. I like to use a red or blue pencil, something soft—dull or sharp, it doesn’t matter, and make little two to three inch cover, book spread, title pages and introduction page designs. Like I said before, I rarely have time for this sort of thing but one evening I just sat down and started drawing. Within an hour I had a dozen section spread ideas, a handful of cover ideas and most of the book worked out in miniature form. At this point the book is totally in my head. I never referenced the sketches again. I fine tune any details in my head while running errands, waiting in line at the Post Office, driving to the beach or any other moment that I have a moment to myself.

Another hour to two hour session I spend is going through fonts for the book. Again, it is very hard for me to find this moment focus, but once I do, one to two hours is the most time it takes. I go through hundreds of fonts to find what I am looking for. I never know what font I will choose, or what I really want, but once I see it I know it is the right one. It’s usually very obvious when I see a font and know I want to use it. For all of the non-body text fonts, I wanted to make sure I used selections that I had never used before. Once the fonts were selected, I moved on to designing the book.

As I was designing the cover, I sent my concept to Mark Schultz for his opinion. It’s good to have a guy like Mark to call and run ideas by. It’s fun! Sometimes a ten minute call can result in a good handful of ideas, or cement something in my head I was unsure about. So, I sent him the cover and before I knew it his wife, Denise (a solid artist and designer in her own right) was on the phone to offer ideas. I found myself tweaking the cover as we talked and sending PDF’s through email. I must have sent them fifteen samples with different color variations, font placements, line thicknesses—all very subtle variations to “see” how different ideas would apply to the cover. We had a good time. Before we knew it we had one we all liked the best. There was no arguing or debates, the right cover naturally evolved and we all leaned towards it. A few weeks later I decided to add the burnt paper “look” to replace the flat colors. I spent about three hours making the swatches that are used for the backgrounds on the jacket, but I think it was worth the time. The flat color looked too boring to me and was not harmonizing with Brom’s terrific cover art.

Brom was the first person to get me all of his art and captions, so I started with his section. He gave me more art than I needed so I never felt limited by what would go on each page. This allowed me to design the section by balancing the art on the spreads just how I wanted to. From the start I already knew I wanted every section to have a different feel that represented each artist directly, almost like five chapbooks in one book, and not one single design to run through the whole book. The book does have unity, but each section is unique as well.

By the time I actually start laying out the book in InDesign, if you were to stand over my shoulder and watch you would think I am working very fast. At this point I’m bouncing around the pages and book, adding this, moving that, dumping one idea to start another—I’m on autopilot and am just sticking things in place. It feels very subconscious and I don’t feel that aware of what I am doing. It doesn’t seem like work. I can have music playing, kids screaming, it doesn’t matter. I’m just in the groove. All my preparatory work was done in advance making the actual work seem like a breeze.

Mignola’s section came second. This went fast as well, since I had a very clear vision for how to present his art. I sent it to Mike to look over, took his feedback and made some slight adjustments for the better. It’s very important to me to represent the artists’ energy in the book. Each personality and style is so different from one another and I want to capture some of that uniqueness into the book. It really isn’t about me and my ego. It’s about the artists and the book.

I continued to put together and send each artist their chapters for review. No major changes were made, just little tweaks—mostly by me later on.

Phil Hale requested that he design his section. Sure! I took it as an opportunity for me to learn from him. He sent me a detailed layout for his gallery. I really dug what he sent me. It was very much in line with how I envisioned his art to be showcased. I had studied his previous books so had a good feel for what he would want. He breaks boundaries and really pushes design in subtle, simple and powerful ways. I just love what he did.

I wasn’t too familiar with Android Jones before I started the book. As I worked on his section I grew an intense appreciation for him and his work. He is absolutely amazing! The way he pushes electric art and fuses colors together is unbelievable.

Iain McCaig’s section went together quickly as well. I had a certain idea for his section from the start and ran it by Iain. He sent me some very special pieces. I can’t talk about it yet, but just wait until you see what Iain is sharing with us.

Arnie Fenner suggested Christopher Paolini to write Brom’s introduction. I was crossing my fingers, but not getting my hopes up. I thought he was surely too busy. Turns out I was wrong and Christopher was more than happy to write one. Christopher Golden, another recommendation by Arnie, came through like champ too, writing a piece about Mignola. Lorne Lanning delivered for Android, and William Stout for Iain. Phil Hale supplied an interview extract with Tray Batey. Each is a delight to read and I am grateful to all of these gentlemen for their time and help.

I am very happy with how this book turned out. I was asked last June by Arnie if I would be interested in producing some sort of simple and modest souvenir book for the show. Well, I have a bad habit of taking a simple request and having my way with it. What you will see is something atypical of a souvenir book. In fact I’m not labeling it as such and am focusing on this being a high end art book commemorating the event. At first it was going to be 8.5 x 11 inches at 48 pages. It grew into 64 pages at 9 x 12 inches. I wanted the dimensions to match the Spectrum books and the extra 16 pages added some weight.

I would like to thank Cathy & Arnie Fenner and all of the artists and writers for this opportunity and for their trust.

So there you go–a bit of background information on how the book was made. I’m looking forward to the “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!” show and having this book available there. See you soon.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2012 John Fleskes. All rights reserved.

Links:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! commemorative art book details
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event website

After Flesk record-breaking sales, Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm deluxe hardback edition sold out in early February. Our distributors have sold out of the paperback edition as well. A fresh printing of the paperback is scheduled for release in May.

Naughty and Nice represents our largest initial print run for any Flesk book. I knew it would be popular and for it to sell out in the matter of a few short weeks is amazing. All of us at Flesk are celebrating the stellar success of Timm’s book!

Diamond’s January 2012 Previews catalog has announced Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm as the #1 bestseller in the books section, making this our first bestselling book! Congratulations to Bruce Timm on this well-deserved acknowledgement of a truly stunning collection of work.

I have held on to a small batch of the first printing of the paperback edition which is available for direct purchase on our online store. Furthermore copies will be on hand at our booth at WonderCon held in Anaheim, California on March 16-18. Wholesale requests to the book trade can be made through SCB Distributors and through Diamond Comic Distributors for the comic store specialty market, with copies becoming available through them in late May.

Thanks to everyone who purchased the book! I’ll be working with Timm to have a new limited chapbook ready for Comic-Con International in July.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2012. All rights reserved.

Links:
Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm book details
Order Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm at the Flesk Store

This Friday, February 24 will be a Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings book signing. Warren Chang will be present from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Arts Council for Monterey County gallery in Carmel, California. This is the premier exhibition for The Arts Council’s new series “Celebrating Monterey County.” Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Original paintings and giclee prints of Chang’s work will be on display. For more information and directions visit The Arts Council website here.

We’ll be exhibiting again at WonderCon in Anaheim, California from March 16-18. Our booth number is 816. William Stout will be set up right next to us and Craig Elliott will also have his own space. Both Craig and I are excited to have the opportunity to show off his new “Art of Craig Elliott” book for the first time to the public. What do I think about the show not being in San Francisco this year? I think we’ll see a lot of new faces and possibly people who will choose to go to WonderCon instead of dealing with the crowds at Comic-Con. Business-wise I think it will work out just fine. Personally, from a purely selfish reason, I hope it comes back and stays in San Francisco. It’s a local show for me there and I like sleeping at home.

I’ll be headed to the Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle on March 30-31& April 1, not to set up, but to walk around and meet with a few artists and possibly find time to enjoy myself. It’s been close to ten years since I’ve gone to a show that I have not had a booth at. It’ll be nice to have some freedom. If my scouting mission goes well I’ll sign up for a booth there for 2013.

Without a doubt the show I am most looking forward to this year is the inaugural Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event held in Kansas City, Missouri from May 18-20. I have an island reserved (four booths) and William Stout, Mark Schultz, Gary Gianni and Petar Meseldzija will be joining me. Craig Elliott will have his own booth close by. Also, our friends Jim & Ruth Keegan will be across from us. I am honored to have been asked to produce the show commemorative art book featuring the five guests of the show. They are Phil Hale, Android Jones, Mike Mignola, Brom and Iain McCaig. More details on this book, what we will be doing at the booth and my praise for the show coming soon in upcoming blog entries.

Now, an issue has come up in that my favorite local show for me, Big Wow! ComicFest in San Jose, California is running the same weekend as Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! Since I am already committed to the Spectrum show, it leaves me in a bit of a pickle since I want to support both shows. (I believe next year they are already planning on being on different dates.) I want to have a booth at Big Wow! as well. I’m checking with a few people who I trust and who know Flesk well enough to handle the show without me. More details soon.

Then on July 11-15 we will be at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The show is always exhausting, but tends to do well for us. We’ll be there again. Mark Schultz, Gary Gianni and Jim Silke are all show guests this year. William Stout and Craig Elliott will be set up at their usual spots not too far from me.

Then, our final show for the year will be APE, Alternative Press Expo, on October 13-14. I love this show. It’s a lot of fun with a hip and sophisticated crowd. Mark Schultz and William Stout will join me this year.

At this moment we are not planning on making a trip to The Netherlands for the Strip Festival this year, but very much hope to make it again in 2013. We can’t stay away for too long!

This completes our 2012 appearances. I hope to see you at one of these shows!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
Arts Council for Monterey County
WonderCon
Emerald City Comic-Con
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!
Big Wow! ComicFest
Comic-Con International
APE

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Link:
Flesk Publications Facebook page

Warren Chang

On Saturday, February 4 visitors to the Winfield Gallery in beautiful Carmel, California were treated with an outstanding warm spring like day for the book premiere signing of Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings. A fine art exhibition of Warren’s original paintings was also on display. My estimate is that approximately 70 plus people filtered through the gallery between the signing from 1 to 4 p.m. It remained quite busy as people took advantage of meeting Warren and viewing his paintings, which are spectacular to see in person. We are grateful for the support of the local community and visitors, many of whom left with a personalized copy of Narrative Paintings. At the end of the event, Warren, the gallery owner Chris Winfield and I were all very pleased with the turnout.

A large part of the success was from the cover mention and front page article in the “Life and Times” section of The Monterey County Herald on the Friday before the show, and then repeated in The Santa Cruz Sentinel on that Saturday. This same article can be found online at The Herald’s website. An article in the local paper The Carmel Pine Cone rounded out the press to make people aware of the festivities.

I was a bit eager to listen to peoples comments when comparing the book reproduction to the originals. It felt good to hear feedback regarding how closely they matched. This was something Warren and I worked very closely together to achieve. It serves no purpose to have a book come out that does not represent an artist’s vision. Reflecting the true colors, depths and tones of the originals is imperative. In this regard I feel publishing a book is a tremendous responsibility to get right.

However, as great as a book can be, nothing beats viewing the original paintings in person. Still on display at the Winfield Gallery are Warren Chang’s paintings “Studio at Chestnut,” “Harvesters Resting,” “Fall Tilling,” “Imitation of Life,” “Stacking the Net: Monterey Harbor,” (both the final painting and a study), “Artist in Her Studio,” “Studio Interior III,” “Twilight in Santa Cruz,” “Bus Stop,” and his “Jameson Whiskey” advertisement painting that can currently be seen all over the subways in New York City. If you can make it to Carmel, I highly recommend you stop in to view his paintings. They are truly moving.

Warren Chang discussing his "Jameson Irish Whiskey" painting.

Another Warren Chang exhibition of original works and Narrative Paintings book signing will be held this February 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Arts Council for Monterey County in Sunset Center, Room #5 at San Carlos between 8th and 9th in Carmel, CA 93921.

We look forward to seeing you there. Thanks to everyone who made it to the Winfield Gallery!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
“Stories on Canvas: Illustration meets fine art in the works of Warren Chang” article in The Monterey County Herald.
Arts Council for Monterey County website
Winfield Gallery
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book details
Warren Chang website

Come and meet Warren Chang at his book signing and exhibition this weekend. Join us to celebrate the release of Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings. The event will be held at the Winfield Gallery in lovely Carmel, California on Saturday, February 4th from 1-4 p.m. You can visit the Winfield Gallery website for directions and further details.

See you there.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
Winfield Gallery website
“Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings” book details

I printed what I thought would be plenty of the new Bruce Timm book to last through the year. Well, I was way off. In just its first full month since we released the book we are almost sold out. As of this writing I am down to 42 copies of the deluxe edition. How long will these last? Eight copies sold today, so you can do the math. I held back on some cases of the paperback to save for WonderCon and direct orders from us. These should be around for a little while longer. If you are looking to eventually get the deluxe edition, or even the paperback, I wouldn’t wait too long. You’ve been warned!

Also, our few remaining copies of the Naughty and Nice Bruce Timm Teaser are gone. This is officially sold out!

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm book details
Order Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm at the Flesk Store

The Spectrum 19 “Call for Entries” deadline is coming up fast. You have until January 27 to get your package postmarked and shipped. Follow the link below for full details.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Link:
Spectrum 19 “Call For Entries” details and submission forms

This 64-page, 9 x 12 inch hardbound keepsake collection will begin with an introduction by Arnie and Cathy Fenner. The focus of this art book will be on the five guests of the show. Each will be showcased with a gallery and accompanied with an introduction by a prestigious member of our fantastic art-loving community.

Brom, with an appreciation by Christopher Paolini.

Mike Mignola, with an appreciation by Christopher Golden.

Iain McCaig, introduction by William Stout.

Phil Hale, with a short interview excerpt from his upcoming art book coming this summer

Android Jones, with a feature by Lorne Lanning.

I’ll have individual biographies for each artist and writer posted on my blog in the near future. It’s an amazing experience to work with this esteemed and respected group. The book will premiere at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! and be available direct from our website.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links to official websites:
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!
Brom
Mike Mignola
Iain McCaig
Phil Hale
Android Jones
Christopher Paolini
Christopher Golden
William Stout
Lorne Lanning

Warren Chang in his studio.

With our new book, Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings, available, I thought it a good time to sit down with Warren Chang and ask him some questions. The time spent with him in producing this book has been one of pleasure. I’ve found Warren to have a deep knowledge of himself and his paintings. We talk about sincerity, balance, choice of subjects, family and more to find how all of these ingredients make Warren the painter that he is.

Sample spreads from the book are interwoven throughout. They can be clicked on for larger views.

Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings Book Interview
Copyright 2012 John Fleskes and Warren Chang. All Rights Reserved.

John Fleskes: Why select the title “Narrative Paintings” for your new book collecting your fine art paintings?

Warren Chang: I addressed this subject to some extent in the preface of my book. I think it describes the kind of painting I do well. Frankly the word “narrative” implies to the contemporary art world that the art is “illustrative,” not to be taken seriously. I wanted to embrace my roots and take ownership of the narrative and illustrative nature of my artwork. My work is narrative in nature but not obvious. I think a work of art is more powerful when there is an air of mystery. It’s more open to interpretation and the story is not too spelled out.

Fleskes: When people view your paintings what do you hope they get out of them?

Chang: I hope they “get it.” Now what exactly that is, I’m a little reluctant to talk about, but certainly there is a certain mood; a feeling that I’m trying to convey. If I have to spell that out, then it’s probably not working. The art should speak for itself.

I do feel it’s open to interpretation and the viewer, as participant, is also part of the creative process in that the viewer also must be an artist in how they view any work of art.

Fleskes: As a painter, do you intentionally attempt to project feelings through the use of color and imagery into people when they view your art?

Chang: Yes, absolutely, nothings an accident.

Fleskes: I hear you speak of “honesty” and “sincerity” with your paintings often. What do you mean by this and why is it important to you?

Chang: If a piece of art is honest and sincere then it will connect with some part of your audience because we all share a common humanity. I can only paint or communicate what I feel or believe and only hope that others will relate. In that way, an artist bares his soul, it can be a little unsettling observing the reactions to one’s work.

Fleskes: With “Narrative Paintings,” besides this being a gallery of your fine art spanning the last decade, you incorporate your own text with each work. What is your goal with this collection? Who do you envision this book is for?

Chang: The accompanying text is simply there to help shed more light on the thinking and process of each painting. If we look back historically, we can only wish we knew what motivated the great artists’ of our past. So with a contemporary painter, like me, it’s nice to have the opportunity to convey these thoughts in a book.

The one word I can think of for the goal of this book is to “inspire.” I hope this is not asking too much but I hope this book will inspire artists and would-be-artists around the world.

Fleskes: How does family and a balance in your life relate to your paintings? What do you need in your life to paint to the best of your abilities?

Chang: I think these two questions can be addressed at the same time. A good friend and fellow artist once remarked to me that perhaps my family was a bit distracting to my art. In fact he was correct, but honestly, without them I’d be lost and even less productive. I owe everything to my family. They give me the stability and purpose to focus on the work at hand. In fact, much of my work is really about “family.” The interiors are pretty much biographical and my family seeps into the subjects and focus of many of my paintings.

So if my family gets in the way of my work at times, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Fleskes: Do you have a favorite piece that is reproduced in “Narrative Paintings” and what makes it successful to you?

Chang: That is a hard question. There are many I’m fond of and for so many different reasons. Right now, I would have to say its “Entrance to Highway One,” The painting depicts a homeless drifter on the edge of a highway. It was painted specifically for a traveling exhibition titled “Hard Times: An Artist’s View” in 2010. We were asked to paint are reactions to the current economic times which seemed to mirror, to a lesser extent, the Great Depression of the 1930′s which inspired so many great paintings from that era.

The model and painting seemed to epitomize the theme of the exhibition. I was greatly inspired by the theme of the exhibition; a theme of what seemed to me of much substance and in the company of so many artists I had admired, such as Burt Silverman, Harvey Dinnerstein, Max Ginsburg and Steven Assael.

A friend upon observing my two painting of homeless men for this exhibition, one being “Entrance” and the other “Portrait of Bill,” which depicted an old homeless man, remarked that in “Portrait of Bill” you see this kind of a homeless man in all times, while in “Entrance” the man is able bodied and capable of work, yet drifting and homeless. “That’s me if I lose my job,” he remarked. “I would be right there alongside him along with my family and dog.” It dawned on me that the character I had portrayed was “every-man” and that the common man could relate to the plight of this man. So in that way, it succeeded.
I can’t tell you how much I searched for just the right homeless man for these two paintings; the extents I would go to find the right subject. More often than not finding the right subject, or in this case, the right model, can contribute so much to the success of a painting.

Fleskes: You often portray the every-man and every-women, field-workers, and sometimes the disenfranchised. What is it about them that are attractive to you? Why is it important that you document them?

Chang: Good question. I don’t have a background of hardship, of having worked in the fields, or anything like that. I grew up relatively comfortable, although as a minority in America. I grew up in and continue to live a normal middle class life, so my attraction to the struggling class of people comes from something. But, I’m not exactly sure. I somehow do relate to their plight as I feel it’s the plight of all man throughout history.

Philosophically, I feel in great art, the struggle for life, even tragedy, as demonstrated by the plight of the field-worker for example, goes deeper, has more substance in terms of the sense of humanity that we all share.

Fleskes: Why do you think people find your choice of subjects so appealing? Is the connection formed between them and your paintings intentional, or are you being purely true to yourself and people connect to that instead? (The honesty?)

Chang: I don’t know that people do find my choice of subject appealing. If they do, that’s great.
I paint what I paint regardless of the reaction or whether or not it “sells.” I have found that some people connect with my paintings of the fieldworkers and usually for different and varying reasons. And it’s these reactions that actually inform and educate me on the subject, so it’s an ongoing process.

Fleskes: Your compositions vary from painting to painting making each truly unique. There appears to be a lack of redundancy. Each one is a singular statement. Can you talk about this and why is this important to you?

Chang: Yes. I once was told by a gallery director that, “I don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time I paint a picture.” For me, almost every painting is an entirely new project and undertaking. It’s like I’m writing a new novel or making a new movie.

It often takes me months, if not years, to formalize an idea for a painting. I envy those painters who seem to repeat the same theme over and over again, varying little from one painting to the next. It’s this direction the commercial galleries prefer once they discover a product that sells, and perhaps that may be why I’ve had little success there.

Fleskes: I’ve heard you say that you value the “thinking” behind your work more than anything else, such as the skills behind a painting. Can you explain?

Chang: What I was just elaborating on, kind of explains that. There is an old Chinese proverb, “Read 100 books and paint one picture.” I find a lot of truth in this statement. You have to think before you can create anything of substance and meaning.

I’m alarmed with the over preoccupation with style, and technique and skills in art today. We forget that these are only the tools to creating great art, not an end in itself.

Warren Chang.

Fleskes: What have you discovered about yourself through painting?

Chang: I’ve discovered that art is life. Searching for the meaning of art is the same as searching for the meaning of life. There are no answers but that does not mean we don’t keep searching and trying to figure things out.

Fleskes: Thank you for your time, Warren.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Links:
Warren Chang Narrative Paintings at Flesk Publications
Warren Chang official website

With the release of The Art of Craig Elliott, I thought it a good time to ask Craig Elliott a few questions regarding his new book and his philosophies regarding his art and life. I would like to extend a special thank you to Craig for taking the time to respond.

Craig Elliott “The Art of Craig Elliott” Interview
Copyright 2012 John Fleskes and Craig Elliott. All Rights Reserved.

John Fleskes: You obviously have your own creative and artistic style. Do people sometimes make references to other artists that share your same sensibilities when viewing your work? How do you feel about this?

Craig Elliott: People occasionally mention other artists they “see” in my artwork when they meet me at shows or gallery openings. I find it fascinating that people choose other artists that have the same interests as I do. Our interests and motivations are the things that really create our art. People will point out artists that have, or had a strong interest in Japanese art, a deep love of nature, and of women, especially women in their “natural” state, without much influence of modern society’s specific demands upon their looks. These interests that I have combine to create my art, and combine in other artists to create their art. I think people respond to a feeling that is transmitted by those interests. We almost all will have had different teachers, teaching different drawing methods, ways of applying paint, preparing canvases, etcetera, so the specific techniques and details are different, but these interests that flow beneath the art are shining through.

Fleskes: What is it about women and nature that inspires your fine art that is featured in The Art of Craig Elliott? Why not men and nature?

Elliott: I think women are just about the most beautiful thing in the universe for a human male. Evolution and time have made it so there is no equal to them in all the world for us. Nature also is built on many of the same principles of beauty and design that women are, but can never quite overcome women in a man’s mind. It is a very strong second though!

Fleskes: You stay very busy with visual development work, character designs and conceptual art for the film industry. How do you find the time and energy to work on your personal fine art? And why is it important for you to create work that reflects your own inner vision, rather than purely the film and commercial assignment work that you do?

Elliott: I don’t really have an opportunity on a daily basis with my concept design work to put my own ideas to paper. I work to realize and flesh out the ideas of writer’s story artists and directors, and I consider their ideas the paramount consideration when I am doing a job. Only if they ask me to fill in a gap in their own minds do I step in and offer my own ideas. I can remember a time on Treasure Planet when the directors, John Musker and Ron Clements had a problem they had not yet solved in the story. This problem was how the main characters were going to escape from the stockade with the pirates sitting outside the door all night. I had an idea inspired by a type of plumbing valve, when it was mentioned that they had no solution for this problem! I adapted the valve to create these mysterious half spheres in the floor of the stockades interior. Our characters could, with a little initiative, fool around with them and discover that they would rotate, and eventually align an opening in the floor to let them escape. I drew up some simple plans and pitched the idea to the directors, and they used it!

Aside from these little ideas I don’t have an outlet at work to express the other ideas that come to me. Ideas for my art come to me while I am sketching compositions for work, taking a walk, driving, watering the plants, looking at books, all sorts of times. These ideas reflect my own story, the things that strike a chord for me. I don’t know what it would be like to not express my own vision in some way. It is hard to say why it is important, when it is just something that I do, or am. It really is like magma in a volcano, bubbling up from below, if not released it can explode. I have had stretches of time where I have not been able to do much art of my own. I remember once I had to go a month or two without doing anything because I was buying and moving into a new house. I had no furniture, dirty carpet and torn up linoleum. I had no art supplies either. I bought food and some sculpting supplies and sculpted for days, sleeping on the floor! I had to get it out or I would blow up! After that I could move in my stuff and get more settled. As for having the time or energy to do my own work as well, I guess the compulsion makes the energy and time for me. I have no choice!

Never the Twain by Craig Elliott.

Fleskes: Is your fine art created to satisfy and bring pleasure to you, or others? Maybe both, and if so, who comes first?

Elliott: I am really making things I want to see, or places I want to be in when I am creating my fine art. I have heard a few times that Disneyland was the place Walt wanted to live in, or play in. It is that same sort of idea. There is a hope that others will like what you do, and you can somehow support the continuation of your art with their interest and support.

"Jade" by Craig Elliott

Fleskes: Which is the painting you are the most proud of in The Art of Craig Elliott? What stands out about it?

Elliott: I think Jade is the painting I would chose as an answer to this question. It was a real breakthrough for me, and was the first time I did something that came close to the style I had in my head… It is also my late grandmother’s favorite painting. I also thought of this painting as representative of why I would be satisfied with the life I had led if I were to die. This may seem morbid, but I was faced with two weeks to live when I was 26, and actually thought of this painting when I was alone in the hospital, and said to myself “well, if this doesn’t work out I can look at Jade, and be satisfied that I had done something I can leave behind that really means something to me.”

Fleskes: Do you think your art is the result of a talent, or hard work?”

Elliott: I don’t really think there is such a thing as talent. If I compare how much time I have spent honing my skills, and thinking about art, I feel like if I have any ability as an artist, it had better be as a result of all of that! I have never done much else besides art, I don’t know if that makes me obsessed or something, I don’t know. For me it comes down to there being very little else that is nearly as interesting. Movies, bars, parties, clubs, sports, etc. are so boring to me, though most people really enjoy them. I wish I could understand, or get some enjoyment out of more things, but we are all different. At least there is something I enjoy!

Fleskes: We’ve spoken about labels and how people like to put artists into categories. This is something you don’t like to do. Why is that? And how do your respond when people label you?

Elliott: Though it is frustrating, I have enough understanding of the way the brain works to forgive that sort of knee jerk categorization. Our minds work by association, categorizing things in terms of other things the brain has already seen or experienced. This behavior makes perfect sense and is a very efficient way of dealing with the world. It has some side effects like stereotyping. Stereotyping is applying what you have experienced about “X” to other things that are, or seem, similar to “X.” The negatives of stereotyping are obvious, but it also helps our brain not have to spend hours assessing every individual situation or thing it encounters, and be able to make reasonably accurate decisions in very short time. If someone pulls into your lane on the freeway, you can use previous instances of that event to help you quickly decide what do to and what might happen next. If you wait and analyze the situation like it is a completely new one, you will end up in a crumpled mess by the side of the road!

Fleskes: How well does The Art of Craig Elliott represent you as an artist and as a person?

Elliott: I hope the overall impression of the art in the book gives people the sense of how I feel about the world, and an understanding of the beauty I see in it. I have had some feedback from the few people who have seen the book already, that they get a feeling of the flow and rhythm of nature from my work. That is much more the subject of my art than the physical things like people, grasses, branches, etcetera, that you see in the art. I am trying to capture something that I feel from nature. It really may not matter much what subjects I am painting in the end. That feeling is what actually matters.

Fleskes: What do you want people to know about you in relation to your art?

Craig: I am not sure if I have thought about that much. I try and stay out of the way of my art I think. I think I am afraid of influencing, or “messing up” their experience of the art with “me stuff.” I am always willing to answer questions that are asked of me, of course. Although, I think many of the most important things about me as a person are right there in the art. If I am doing a good job, the experience of my art should be similar to knowing who I am as a person.

Fleskes: The Art of Craig Elliott was designed by you. This is something I am happy about since a goal of mine is always to get a deeper connection between artist and book for a true representation of the pair. During the design stages, what are your thoughts behind your decision with the flow and pacing? What do you feel is most important when grouping your art into a collection?

Elliott: I really tried to approach the layout of the book the same way I do my art. To include and adapt things I already love into the design the whole way through: Natural textures, mysterious layers and unusual proportions and divisions in the layouts. I think the way the book flows as you move from page to page and move through groups of related subjects is important too. I apply the same ideas to my portfolio. I do so many different things that if I am not careful about how I group things and make them flow into one another, it would seem like I was a total scatterbrain. When things move gracefully from one subject to another instead of jumping all over the place one doesn’t even notice the transitions or the number of subjects.

Fleskes: When you work on one of your sketches or paintings, what do you think is more important, the idea or the technique?

Elliott: The technique should always be secondary, but that isn’t always possible. The ideal is to practice technique until it becomes second nature, so that one can concentrate on the idea! It is a very Jedi like thing to play baseball, ride a horse or paint! They all require that “let go” moment…

Fleskes: You are one of those artists I consider a triple threat. You are an excellent artist, successful at running yourself as a business and independent free-lance artist, and a great self-promoter by making appearances at shows and running your own booths at events. I suppose I could add that you do occasional workshops and teach as well. My question is, was this all planned, or part of a natural progression of who you are? How important is being well-versed in different areas to you?

Elliott: I don’t see it as important per se, but maybe more “helpful.” Maybe that is the same thing! I realize the value of all these elements, and strive to do what is best for me and my art.

Craig Elliott jewelry collection.

Fleskes: Your artistry extends beyond drawing and painting. If you look beyond the many forms of art you have your fingers in, in addition, you are a sculptor, make your own fine art prints and create lovely jewelry, as well as having much interest in landscape design, among other things. Do you look at all of your interests as strengths, or a lack of focus? Is it boredom, or an honest love for life in enjoying so many different things?

Elliott: I really do enjoy doing these different things, and I think it is driven by a stream of ideas that I get excited about. Having so many ideas is tough, as I never have enough time to execute them all. It is frustrating, and I always feel behind! I guess we do the best we can in the circumstances.

Aristata sculpture in progress by Craig Elliott.

Fleskes: Where do you see yourself going in the future? Any achievements you would like to conquer that you haven’t focused on yet?

Elliott: I do want to find a way to bring my three-dimensional work to the public. Dimensional work was the very first art form I practiced, and it is still a big love of mine. I think it is much harder to bring to people though; there are many impracticalities that make it clumsy, costly and ungainly to do. I feel like I am much closer to a solution, and my jewelry is a good first step!

Fleskes: Thanks for your time, Craig!

Links:
The Art of Craig Elliott at Flesk Publications with video tour.
Craig Elliott Gallery official website
Flesk Publications

About Flesk Publications

This year marks Flesk Publications’ tenth anniversary of promoting the arts through quality collections. “The company was founded as a direct result of my desire to publish the art books I wanted to buy myself,” states publisher John Fleskes. Flesk Publications pride’s itself on being different. A creative approach is pursued by exploring the aesthetics of each artist in order to design a package that serves as an extension of him or herself. The result is a unique and individual collection produced with passion. Flesk produces a full line of art books featuring the best of comics and graphic novels, fantasy, illustration, pinup and fine arts. “Animation and fine art are two areas I take great interest in expanding into,” shares Fleskes. “Our new Bruce Timm, Craig Elliott and Warren Chang collections are a testament to this goal.”

“One thing that separates us from other publishers is our absolute commitment to the quality of our books and the relationships formed with the artists we showcase,” continues Fleskes. “It’s not just about the books, but also about the positive future of the artists and making sure they are represented well and that their trust, in allowing us to collect their work, is not abused.” Fleskes shares a passion for the arts and feels a responsibility in making sure he represents his artists with the best books possible while also raising the art form. “We hope to educate the public to expect a higher standard from publishers,” continues Fleskes. “We take our work very seriously yet enjoy the process. Whether it’s a 16-page chapbook or a 300-page oversized art book, we give each collection our full attention to meet our standards first. I have a self-drive that makes this approach a natural part of what Flesk Publications is all about. It isn’t a policy, it’s who we are.”

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2012 John Fleskes

Links:
Flesk Publications Company Profile