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So I promised I would get you guys an update. These images represent the projects I began and completed in the past 40 Days since my last post. I hope that was busy enough to allay suspicion.

So on to new stuff.

I have begun a portrait service specifically for Star Wars Old Republic players: Custom Oil/Tonal Portraits of your character. I have added a page to showcase these as they are completed (with client permission of course!). I will be shooting good pics of the 4 completed so far. Ive got some exciting work coming down the pipeline and will be sure to get back on the information loop with you guys. In the meantime, come see me in Chattanooga for Chattacon and stay warm out there!

Seriously. I keep meaning to post everything I have been working on up here, but between the computer crash and missing cables from the new studio, it hasn’t happened. My new mission is to format and upload pictures from the plethora of painted gifts, projects and presentations I have done in the last month; and to do it in the next 4 days. After that, regularity and good stuff will pour forth. Promise. Happy new year all!

Well, maybe that isn’t an entirely accurate title, but you get the drift.So you have seen the art show, attended a few lectures and are now wondering what to do on a Friday night in Altoona, PA. It has been an emotional ride and you just wish you could relax and let it all sink in. For some people, that is a quiet game of Magic at the bar. For others, dinner at Red Lobster and then collapsing in front of the TV.

For some of the rest of us, the night is just getting started.

Early Evening to Midnight: The Showcase

My Illuxcon Table

For 2 years now I have had the honor of participating in the Artist Showcase. This event at Illuxcon is a one night mini-show for aspiring/established artists to show their work to their peers and heroes and to scrounge up some sales from the wealth of collectors attending the show. Held in the Ramada Ballroom, the space is large and the air is filled with nervous excitement. As a part of the Drawn Today Art group, I am in touch with my art friends throughout the year doing podcasts, critiques and reviews. At Illuxcon not only do I get to show them my current work in person, but I get to put it up in front of my idols and get their feedback and direction. Now don’t get me wrong, I was drinking whiskey straight out of the bottle the entire time. I do conventions year round, but this is nerve wracking to put your work in front of the best and brightest; especially when you have just seen their new offerings. Still, it is exhilarating and worth it now matter how you slice it. And who knows, you just might sell an Original (Enjoy your new home Device).

Now that this train wreck has been ridden or dodged, what could I possibly do to burn all my energy? Magic at the bar? Rest and rumination? Party my butt off with the best around…anywhere? I think I will go with what is Box 3.

Midnight to 5 a.m. a.k.a The Midnight Train to Thunderdome…in Onesies

It has been my honor for the past 3 years running to host a room party. The first one just grew out of bar shenanigans, the second was a plan, and the third was a collaboration with my best bud, and fellow artist, Michael Bielaczyc (pictured above). If you are wondering what we are wearing, we hosted the party in Eeyore and Grinch onesies. Slim fitting and snug, they make you feel like a drunk ninja.

In 2009, because of my inadvertant room party, I became fast friends with some of the greats: Eric Fortune, Dan Dos Santos, Marc Scheff, Ray Ray Valentin, Aaron Miller, Cynthia Sheppard and dozens more. The thing started as drinks at the bar and became an entourage of wonder and trouble. Since then, the party has become a staple for many of us and has expanded to include Todd Lockwood, Bill O’Connor, Chris Rahn and a host of other new friends. It is this singular opportunity to come together as excited people doing exciting things that renews me each year. This industry is filled with warm, engaging people and I am thrilled to give something back to those people that inspire and sustain me throughout the rest of the year.

If you are wondering how/if these events really changed my life,  here are links to previous Illuxcon reviews:

http://grantcooley.com/?page_id=331

http://grantcooley.com/?page_id=334

If you haven’t been to one yet, you should. The door is always open and you are always welcome to join in. I’ll hope to see you in 2012.

Alrighty, so now you should be thoroughly intimidated by the splendor of the art show. You are pumped full of determination, ambition and an almost manic drive to improve. Oh, if only there were an immediate means to learn and improve. But wait, what is that smell? No, not that one. I’m talking about the atmospheric smell of wishes, dreams and way too many people fire hazarding a small lecture room. Welcome to the heart of Illuxcon.

Since the first year I attended Illuxcon, one of the most important reasons to come back every year has been the lectures and demos. From industry leaders dispensing tips on the inside track (Rule 2: Be Better), to guidelines for starting a business, Illuxcon has some fantastic opportunities to glean the true form of the linseed covered belly of the Beast that is Fantasy Art. You will want to review the schedule ahead of time and you will NEED to attend.

One new aspect of Illuxcon that I have mixed feelings about are the Workshops. This year you had L.A. WIlliams, Bob Eggleton, John Jude Palencar and Vincent Villafranca offering specific workshops to hone specific skills. The classes cost an additional fee and seemed very well received. The aspect of this that I regret is that we will likely see less of of the auditorium filling acrylic demos from Whelan and Moeller or the portraiture lessons from Donato. Those opportunities to witness and participate were truly unique and inspiring and weighed very heavily in my cost analysis for attending. On the other side of the coin, we will likely see a proliferation of artists step up to run these workshops with a wealth of knowledge ready to be dispensed…at a modest price. Time will tell.

Soooooo, in short, if your life’s goals include:

1. Watching a presentation by Brom on his unique process/history
2. Helping Michael Whelan prepare for a demo and then contributing a brush stroke
3. Seeing a heartfelt presentation by Donato Giancola on his personal approach to business
4. Pass around some skulls from Lars Grant West’s collection

Then I would suggest you keep an eye on the schedule and get a seat early and up front. The knowledge is invaluable and the experience is priceless.

Next up: Part III Drinking your way to Fame and friends; one room party at a time.

Alrighty. So this last weekend was Illuxcon 2011. For those of you that don’t know, Illuxcon is an annual illustrators symposium put on by Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire in Altoona, PA. The 3.5 Day event brings together the foremost artists in the Fantasy/Sci Fi Illustration field as well as a host of aspiring artists, students and collectors. I could spend days elaborating on the foundation and function of Illuxcon, but I would rather talk about how it affects me and my friends. Straightforward and self-focused enough for you? Good.

In order to truly contain my thoughts on this weekend, I have chosen to write three separate reviews; each one focusing on an individual facet of the Event. To start things off I will review:

THE GALLERY: When the Waves of Inspiration Capsize Your Ego

So you’ve been traveling awhile to get here, both physically and mentally, you’ve brought your best work for review/sale, and you walk through the doors, get your badge and immediately feel like crumpling to the floor. As soon as your eyes refocus, you are standing in the midst of wonder and beauty. The 2 level gallery is filled with bright shapes, beautiful lighting and a diverse array of subject matter. Instantly your flaws feel like they are burning their way out of your portfolio and it is still tucked (thankfully) out of sight.

Seriously. That is how I felt this year. I wanted to go home right then and there and take up plumbing.

As I started walking through the crowd, looking at the work up close, I actually begin to feel worse. To see how far your would-be compatriots have come in a year is devastating. It is all I can do to high five Lucas, the Eric’s, Mike’s and Stevens as I crawl through the dungeon of my emotions. It is near the end of my first tour that I find my friend Steven Belledin, and he looks in about the same shape. Strangely enough, this is what starts to turn me around. To see Steven’s work is to be blown away. His sharp detail, pervasive atmosphere and all round cutting ingenuity are a pleasure to behold. And yet he is still humbled and awed by the show; left stricken by the tide of artistry that crashes into you. Knowing that Steven, someone who helped guide me in my early formative stage, feels so distraught gives me a perverse hope.

With my chin a little more up, I start looking for the rest of my friends. I feel like I am wearing emotional kevlar as I discover their new work and am able to actually conjure up a smile by the end. Bolstered by this second wind, I actually engage in long awaited reunion conversations about friends, families, news and awards. I am ready to head off to lectures and demos confident that I will return.

Soooo, you have eaten, learned and maybe partied a bit, and it is time for a critical look at the show. Where is Fantasy art heading? Who is new to the show? Who is missing? By the time I am ready for my second immersion, I start to feel like I am at a vacation home I will never own. The sights and sounds are familiar after all. I have left my sunken pride at the door, and am ready to explore the room like the fan boy I am.

Hours pass.Wonderful, invaluable hours.

By the evening, I am anxious and I can’t pinpoint why. I have seen most of my chums and acquaintances. The room party is good to go and the folks that need to know, do. So why do I feel this itch that can’t be scratched? And then it hits me. I won’t be buying anything. I can’t with everything that has happened this year, and the fragility under which I operate on a daily basis means the most tantalizing demon will not be sated: NO Originals for me.

Every year I have bought work that truly spoke to me and/or gave me a glimpse into the artists’ process. Although I have been forced to resell many of these because of the divorce, I have still been fortunate enough to own some beautiful work from Dan Dos Santos, Eric Fortune, Brom, Bill O’Connor, Drew Baker, Chris Moeller and Michael Whelan. This is the final deadly trap, and necessity (regrettably) guides me past it.

So what should you take from this chapter? Going to the Illuxcon Art Show is every bit an experiment on expanding your threshold of Wonder. It is going to an exhibit of 40 or more of your favorite artists, and you discovering a few new favs. The presentation is lively and immersive and the quality of work is nothing short of exquisite.

Thank you Patrick and Jeannie for the professionalism and wherewithal to present such an exhibit.

Tomorrow: Lectures and Demos: The True Future of Illuxcon

Quinlan Vos - Rancor Hunter 24x36 Oil on Masonite

Hey there guys! I am sorry I have been so silent lately. I took a vacation, rocketed through Halloween, and spent the last week in pre/post Illuxcon shudders. I will begin posting my Illuxcon reviews in the next few days, but for now, here is the latest painting I finished. I’ll be posting her up in the next few hours to my ebay store for sale. Hope you dig it!

God as the Architect II 24x48 Oil on Canvas

Hey there folks. Here is a pic of my latest commission: God as the Architect II. The gentleman who purchased the first in my Incarnation series has hired me to do 3 more anthropomorphic God paintings at 2×4. I love working at this size and with such a graphic focus. Hope you guys dig it!