Spectrum Live! - The Aftermath

My studio is a wreck.  However, for a good reason!  I unloaded my leftovers from Spectrum Live! and have dove into two projects that I had waiting for me.  Cleaning will come later... and by the unfortunate state of our house you would see I say that a lot.  I'm also setting up a kickstarter within the month so keep your eyes peeled!

Spectrum Live! is the first convention I participated in.  It was chalk full of fantastic artists and wonderful people.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and am glad that I over prepped with product.  Knowing I was entering the mid-west as well as "Hallmark" country I prepared with that in mind.

I was fortunate to have some great company in my surrounding booths.  And with the closing of the convention managed to factor in some print trades!  I only wish I had enough money to buy many other artist's goods.  There were gads of unbelievable artists in attendance.  I was across from the awesome Pixar artist Armand Baltazar and next to pen master Russell Dickerson.  Star Wars concept artist Iain McCaig was right behind me as well.  They were great neighbors and hope to see them again next year! 

I sold my wooden boxes, some earrings, prints, drawings and some journals.  But most importantly I met some terrific people and reconnected with fellow artists.

Spectrum Live! - Bag

I'm posting this from my phone so I have know idea how this will look. Below (or what should be below) is a pic of a carry bag. When you turn it around...Bam! Dom bomb! We may be on opposite sides of the convention hall but it can be beneficial.

Spectrum Live! - Luna Moth Oil Painting

We are running late for leaving but I thought I'd squeeze another post before we hit the road.  We will be embarking on a 19 hour trip to Kansas City MO starting in 30 minutes.

This is a little moth study I did.  It started in watercolor as a class demo for my PCAD sophomores and I used it to demo my sophomores at Moore in oil underpainting.  I will take this into Corel Painter to push it farther in order for it to fit in my portfolio.  I will be selling this little guy at Spectrum Live!

Visit me at Spectrum Live! - Booth 220

Spectrum Live! - Dominick Saponaro, The Sequel

1027

Dom has a great way of handling adventure within his work.  The color is always powerful and the composition dynamic.  Above is a promo piece he created.  If you click here you will see a much better online version of the piece.  Also, take notice to the numbers on the front of the train....that's my birthday!

Maid of Orleans 

This is a close up of his Maid of Orleans piece featuring the beautiful Cheryl Carson Truyols.  This will be framed and on display as well.

 Destroyermen II

This one is the second painting for the Science Fiction Book Club in the Destroyermen series.

This would be his signature 

He is very meticulous...even down to how he presents his name.

Dom's print rack with rad 80's venetian blind lighting

Many of his prints are available through his etsy store or directly on his website store.  You'll see above next to the first Destroyermen cover is a portrait of Abe Lincoln.  This one is very popular on his store.  Click here to get a better view!

Come visit Dominick at Spectrum Live! - Booth 706

Tomorrow - Luna Moth!

Spectrum Live! - Dominick Saponaro

Positioned in the front left quarter of the convention hall in booth 706 Dominick Saponaro, my significant other, will be gracing Spectrum Live with his adventuress and swashbuckling illustrations.  As you see above his banner features a new painting he recently completed.

Dom will be selling 17"x22" prints of several pieces.  The stack above is currently being guarded by our muse and fur child, Roscoe.  Each print is backed with foam core and packaged in a reclosable bag.

Here you see a print of his Destroyermen Cover that was created for the Science Fiction Book Club.  Tomorrow I will post some of the framed images he will have on display.  I recommend visiting his website and blog to get a better glimpse of his work.  Just click here and it will take you directly to his gallery!

Visit Dom at Spectrum Live! - Booth 706


Tomorrow - Dominick Saponaro, The Sequel

Spectrum Live! - Hygieia Oil Painting

I broke out my 00 brush and went to town on this little 6"x6" oil painting.  This is based off of a drawing of the goddess Hygieia. If you look at Blue Cross's logo you will notice a snake.  That icon came from the goddess Hygieia and her use of snakes for medicinal purposes.

This will be on sale at Spectrum Live! as well as a several other items.

Come visit me at Spectrum Live! - Booth 220


Tomorrow - Dominick Saponaro!

Spectrum Live! - Jewelry

Years ago I caught the Etsy bug and started incorporating my artwork onto product based items.  I wanted to keep it homemade and non manufactured so jewelry seemed a step in the right direction.

For Spectrum Live I decided to up the anti and add some earrings to my current pendant collection.  As you can see above I will have a cat and mouse set that can be paired with a cat or mouse pendant.

The process is simple.  I purchase glass discs and the appropriate hardware.  Then I use a non toxic adheasive to glue the print to the back of the glass.  When that dries I then adhere the finding to the back of the print.   

The earrings have a solid metal backing that attaches to the hooks so there is only one adhesive application.

This gives you an idea of size.

I only have a handful of earring sets and pendants but I thought it would be a nice addition to my table.  All jewelry come with a sheer pumpkin colored bag.

Tomorrow - Hygieia


Visit me at Spectrum Live! - Corner Booth 220

Spectrum Live! - Traditional to Digital and Digital to Traditional

Grants.  Many artists use them to fund a project or idea.  In prior years I have received grants from either Moore or Uarts to attend Illuxcon.  This past year I received grants from (no name) Art Group and Moore for Spectrum Live.   One covers hotel stay with partial entrance fee and the other covers materials, partial entrance fee and travel.  

Red Riding Hood Illustration done several years ago in paper and oil paint

This gave me the additional money and goal to do something that I wanted to do for a long time.  Go back to collage.  Traditional collage. 

I created "Protect" for (no name) Art Group as part of a grant contest.  The only prerequisite was prior participation in charity events and the image of a hand or hands.  I'm a sucker for ornate & intricate things (see my about section on my website) so after thumb-nailing I decided on the use of henna.  

This research also took me to a page on hamsa.  I took the inspiration of hamsa and it's message of protection into my sketches which created a new focus.  A focus that I felt emphasized the spirit of (no name) art group.  Care and protect.  Sherry Berger is the driving force behind the group and an amazing charitable person.

So I drew the image out with graphite, scanned in the drawing, created numerous color studies in photoshop, painted the image in Corel Painter, printed and mounted the image on raised masonite, and repainted in oils.  But the kicker was the collage and additional elements.

I gold leafed my heart out.  

I purchased several shades of sheer ribbon and cut them down into small pieces.  Using tweezers and transparent glue I fastened the material over the image.  

I placed it in a floater frame and treated the edges with a gold and bronze rub that my mother use to use on her ceramics.  Talk about exhausting all of your resources!  

Now all I have to do is wait for the Galkyd to dry and fasten the frame.

Tomorrow.... Jewelry!

Visit me at Spectrum Live! - Corner Booth 220

Spectrum Live! - Homemade Sketch Journals

I've been teaching undergrad illustration for over 10 years and believe that I learn as much from my students as they learn from me.  This past year I had the pleasure of instructing numerous aspiring illustrators at Pennsylvania College of A&D, Moore College of A&D and the University of the Arts.  Inspiration and research gained by all colleges assisted in the creation of these journals for Spectrum Live!

Last semester at PCAD Mike Fink and I taught a Materials and Techniques class together.  We had Anna Fox Ryan come in from Strathmore to present materials to our classes.  In the end the students and faculty recieved some fantastic samples.  

Simultaneously at Moore...one of my senior illustrators, Lisa Suszek, was talking to me about designing her senior thesis around the stationary and giftware market.  Her idea was to create homemade boxes and journals to display her patterns.  What a great idea!  So, like any curious teacher-student, I asked how she would go about doing this.  She gave me a very helpful tutorial which I intently listened to.

But of course, like any busy freelancer-instructor, I forgot the name of the glue.  So in the spring at Uarts I asked Rosae Reeder, Bookmaker, PAFA instructor and Uarts Illustration department guru, what the name of that glue might be.  PVA.  Three simple letters.

And so there I went.  Printing out my illustrations on archival paper.  Cutting down Strathmore samples for quality innards.  And diving into my old supply of organic papers that I use to use for my traditional collage work.

After assembly I then wrote my web address on the back of each journal.

And attached a piece (or pieces) of paper with the name of the Strathmore paper.  So now I have numerous journals with mixed sketch papers, 140 lb watercolor papers, canson pastel and charcoal papers and 400 and 500 series Bristol.  Not to mention a very messy studio.

Tomorrow... Framed Collage Original!

Visit me at Spectrum Live!  Corner Booth 220.

Spectrum Live! - Gift Boxes

Many moons ago I assisted my good friend Cindy Ann Ganaden at a convention in NY called Surtex.  During this time I learned a lot about preparing for a convention but one of the most valuable attributes of her booth was the ability to stand out among so many artists.

Surtex and Spectrum Live! are no doubt different in product and genre when it comes to the art.  However, I have taken what I have learned from Cindy and incorporated it into my presentation.  I'm hoping that my illustration AND products will stand out and make an impression.

One of the first ideas I had was to incorporate my artwork onto gift boxes.  These boxes are wooden with metal hinges and clasps.  I stained, gold leafed, and pollyed the surfaces.  I printed my images out on archival paper and adhered them to the surface coating them with a print preservation sealing coat.

The inside of the boxes received organic papers on the tops and bottoms.  The bottoms of each box has my signature as well as four soft pads for protecting furniture.

I don't by any means consider myself a jewelry-box-making-guru but I did find it fun (and frustrating at times) to create a 3-D application for my work.  Each box has a unique personality that comes with handcrafted items.  I'm excited to see what kind of reception these little guys get.

Tomorrow.....homemade sketch journals!

Visit me at Spectrum Live!  Corner Booth 220.

... and now for "Spectrum Live!"

In about one and a half weeks Dom and I will be traveling to Kansas City, MO to participate in the much anticipated "Spectrum Live!".  Above is a snapshot of some of the wares I will be selling.  In the following days leading to the convention I will give a more in depth description of what I have been doing to prepare for this event.

As you can see there will be homemade journals...

and pendants....and home crafted boxes....

and of course prints among many other items.  So hold tight and prepare for the fun to begin!