Comic Expo recovery

That was such a fun time!

I am still feeling nerdy. It took a lot of energy to run a table in Artist Alley but it greatly exceeded my expectations. I also broke out my pirate costume and joined the cosplay. After all......."Everyday is Halloween."

Photo by Ben Tsui

My two panel talks went very well.

The first one "the History of Animation" was like the hundred meter dash. A half hour to cover the main points in over a hundred years of technological and artistic developments. I was beat after that one. I handed out 60 copies of the notes, but the room kept filling after I had run out.  I vaguely remember ll the technical difficulties with the initial set-up of the space and a large Card stating '5 minutes' the end. It turned into a blur and I began losing my voice shortly thereafter. Afterward participants came and shook my hand or visited me at my booth.

The second art was about the "Challenges of Independent Art forms". The talk was in the afternoon on Sunday, the final day of the expo, by this point I was bagged from the event.  I still brought it!  This had far fewer participants. It was more intimate and I could make eye contact with everyone. It was opened for discussion at the end and I was surprised by the types of questions the artists int he group were asking.

It was a strange week-end.......Among other things on Saturday I got hit by a mini car in the morning while exiting the main staging space. I was on my way out to borrow the rack from Ola and Gord and I were talking and the guy who was speeding tried to brake when he saw the guy dressed as Jack Sparrow. Luckily, I just went with it and the vehicle carried me along a few feet. It didn't hurt initially, I brushed myself off and kept going. The show must go on (with or without business cards) It wasn't until the next day that I felt the impact and was limping a bit, which added to the overall pirate look.

Golden Dragon....

Its not a restaurant, its art.

I took part in the OYR/Green Fools +15 Chinese New Year parade in honour of the Dragon.  It all began when I turned the corner after parking my truck at Bankers Hall. Inside were bands, a choir, he mayor, a bunch of weirdos and a long red dragon. Luckily I was in my pirate duds, I was  planning a wee mutiny. I'm glad I wore red, it seemed to be the colour of choice. During the festivities I tried as I might to coax office workers to join our merry parade.

On with the show they say....

After the parade ended, I hit the studio. The lunar New Year quickly approaches and I need to get these two pieces done in honour of the celebration.  Today I applied the Gold.

What a difference this makes. I really am happy with the slightly translucent but highly reflective Golden brand Fluid Acrylic Deep Gold pigment. As suspected I used nearly the entire bottle on the backgrounds. I criss crossed brush strokes in my application.

In the right light you can see the shine this paint has. It really helps to set off the dragons and make them pop. Depending on how you look at them or how they are lit, you get a very different impression from the pieces. I ended up leaving the sides the colour of the underpainting, which shows thru when you look at it, so all those beautiful drips and colours are not completely covered.

After application of the nit ail layer of Gold, I gave each piece a light sand to allow the texture to show thru and reveal some of the coloured underpainting.

Here are the two pieces photoed on my studio wall before I left for the night. Being at this stage is going to help me further develop the works, now that I have a better idea of the figure ground relationship. I feel like I will go into the left piece and use darks on the belly and put some time into the face and claws.  I also need to test various varnishes to ensure I maintain the reflectivity after the application of the protective layer.

Still more to come.....