Spectrum 2017 - The return.

I'm back to enjoy the show and see if the magic is still there.

A wave of familiarity washed over me seeing the marquee and then the entryway graphics for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live.

Immediately, memories of all kinds were rolling around in my head like marbles pouring into a basin.

I consider myself very lucky that I've been able to if not participate, then at the very least attend SFAL for every year that it has been active (2016 having been the only year that the show did not go on). If you want to see my reviews from the previous years, I finally got them restored and put back up online. You can find the links at the end of this entry, and I'll also be adding it to the show schedule archive.

Welcome home SFAL.

I'm not going to say that I didn't have a slight bit of apprehension in what the show would be like this year. It once again, migrated to another venue, the KC Municipal Auditorium. I had only been in the building once before, and was not sure where or how the layout was going to work for it.

It actually was pretty unique in how it ended up. You can see from the photos below which are from the two days I was at the show, once inside, you come into the area where the upper level artists were located. All of the Flesk promoted artists were up there from Brom to Cho, to Richard and Wendy Pini.

I actually never got a chance to meet the Pinis, which was a bit disappointing, having grown up reading the Elfquest graphic novels. But hopefully, I'll get to someday down the line.

This is what I saw upon entering.

So right after that, you could look over the edge of the walkway down onto the rest of the display booth areas below.

Looking good so far SFAL!

I saw a few familiar faces and friends all around over the two days. The second day, I spent promoting ICWXP and handing out my own business card, as well as doing a bit of consulting work with my buddy Ryan.

About to go down and get down with the low down... downstairs.

There were a few panels this year, I was only able to attend the James Gurney (of Dinotopia fame). This was where the auditorium's hall failed a bit. The panel was held over on a side area on the ground floor.

First issue was seating had been limited to about 10 rows of six to seven chairs each, so a bunch of us ran and grabbed extra chairs to have seating to listen to James speak.

The attendance was great, but the acoustics were terrible, and someone told me that there was a screen to look at up there.

Gurney did a great job talking about industry stuff from toy lines to promotion, to art in general, marketing, all of that. I will admit from where I was sitting, it was difficult to hear him. I think maybe having set this up in an upper central area on the ground floor with pipe and drape around that may have been a better set up, but SFAL made it work.

Lot of new artists, many having done this show for the first time.

As I walked the floor, I realized that there were a few artists that I'd seen in previous years that weren't present. Unfortunately, the Chicago based show, C2E2 was going on (and it was one I had looked into doing this year myself), and as the weekend wore on, I saw twitter updates from both SFAL and C2E2 occasionally across my twitter feed.

Frank Cho dropping some Venom action on the page.

SFAL did have a cool set up on the upper floor where a few illustrators were doing live art demos. This had always been something that I really loved about this show, and it was nice to see this back again.

There was an inkling of the intimacy from year one that permeated this year's return. SFAL has not hit a large crowd scale yet, though year four was one where a lot of people finally were able to attend and had made it a destination to get to it.

The superbly skilled and gentlemanly Mr. Scott Gustafson.

Now don't get me wrong, I may have pointed out some issues with this show so far, but understand, you'd be hard pressed to find a greater gathering of history and skill in the world of commercial fantasy art, shy of GenCon or DragonCon.

For people attending this show, you can't lose. The variety and prices of much of the art and items available will fit the spending needs of anyone. You'll find anything from sculptures to original paintings, sketchbooks (my personal favorite) to art reproductions, and books to dvds and more.

The show is very much one set up to network, connect with old friends, and make new ones. Never in a million years would I ever have felt I would have been able to talk to, much less joke with and talk to the likes of Brom, Bonner, Donato, and Gustafson, just to name a few.

This shot was from Friday, the crowd was a bit denser throughout Saturday.

It's interesting to spend time speaking to so many of the artists about personal aspects about their artwork, their creative process and what shows they do and do not do.

Ryan chatting with Paul Bonner.

Paul Bonner is a familiar name to anyone who has played Warhammer, but his work spans well over twenty years and when you get a chance to talk to the man, he's got an accent from England that brings a tinge of almost Monty Pythonesque dry humor to his already very funny wit. I have genuinely always looked forward to reconnecting with Paul, and the few original works I have from him are priceless to me.

A bit of context for the photo above comes from Ryan and what he was thinking while speaking to Paul...

"Yes indeed, that is Paul Bonner looking at me with a look of disgust for the book I placed in his hands, and also me bumbling through his ire, desperately hoping we can someday still be friends." - Ryan Johnson, Spectrum 2017

Every time I've ever spoken to Paul, I have laughed at a number of his very funny stories.

Not a lot of people know that SFAL is the only show that Paul does, at least as far as I know here in the united states.

Also, if you've not checked out the blog, Muddy Colors, he's a contributing writer on there.

Dan Dos Santos working on a painting at the live demo table.

Of course, the guy that from my early days of playing Dungeons and Dragons that left an impression of what "bad ass art" could be, it's Brom. Any of you that have been reading this blog and it's previous incarnation over the years can attest to how much I talk about this guy.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that even when I first introduced myself to him, I was taken aback by how genuine and just soft spoken he was. This is a guy whose artwork is dark, exorbitant in excellence, and a Grand Master of illustration, and yet disarmingly humble and has a look in his eyes of a man still in his early 20s. I cannot explain it, but especially after talking some to him this past weekend, I find inspiration in his new art direction and how he spoke about it. He's made it to great heights in his career, and yet, he sees only more possibility and horizons to reach for.

Do you know what kind of head trip this is to know this guy and be this close to his artwork?

Before Ryan and I left on Saturday, we did stop by Donato's booth, and we struck up a conversation about Tolkien (at a fantasy art convention, imagine that...). But we were speaking about a work he had done depicting the Balrog fighting Gandalf, and how in my opinion, only two artists had managed to capture the "darkness, shadow and flame" of this particular Maiar, Donato himself, and John Howe.

Which led to us trading stories and mutual admiration about the impeccable illustration legend, John Howe, Donato's story being of course, first hand. If any of you get a chance to speak with Donato, ask him how it was that he got to meet John Howe, it's a pretty fun little story.

So, with that, I wish SFAL a fond farewell, and a hope that it will return once again. The fantasy art community I believe, is embracing this show, and although it's run has had it's tumult and fair share of snags, SFAL, like the art and artists that breath life into it, is a tenacious and enduring event with seeds sown to bloom into something we've never seen before, unto horizons we've never traversed.  As the world of illustration and art evolves, a show like this is necessary to keep the lifeblood of literally generations of professional and aspiring artists flowing.

My thanks to the Fenners and Flesk for once again bringing this show to life.

You can see the previous year's reviews here:

2012 SFAL 1

2013 SFAL 2

2014 SFAL 3

2015 SFAL 4


Until next time, support your local artists, be kind to your fellow beings, and always take the path less traveled!

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue
Illustrator, Podcaster, Writer, Toy Collector, and Animal Rights Activist

www.theartisanrogue.com