Introductions

I'm a freelance illustrator and a Kendall College of Art and Design graduate currently living in Michigan. My work ranges from rendered paintings in watercolor, to still-lifes in pastel, to film storyboards, to more comic-style illustrations in digital or traditional colors. Needless to say, my work is diverse. My intention for use of this blog is to display my artwork in a professional manner and to bring in commission-based business. Essentially, this is my online portfolio. Many illustrators are using blogs these days, and needing a presence for myself, this will hopefully work for me as well. So I encourage you to watch regularly for postings of artwork and perhaps be compelled to call on my services for a commission. Keep in mind that I work in a variety of mediums and subjects, so do not hesitate to ask for something that you might not see here. Just contact me at andrew.shirey@yahoo.com, my work e-mail and my Paypal account.

Read my illustration commissions post as a starting point to get an idea of the potential price range.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Superman -Red Son- sketch card


Among the Christmas presents received this year, one of my gifts included Superman: Red Son. I've read Mark Miller's graphic novel already, but this put me in the mood to make some artwork. So here's Soviet Superman, rendered after an actual propaganda poster of that era. The text is Russian, reading, "Superman. Role model of our Soviet youth." Or at least it should. Blame Yahoo! Babel Fish if it's incorrect.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Dara's Christmas card '10


Wanted to make something special for my girlfriend's Christmas, and so for this card I drew a little inspiration from the old, holiday stop-motion TV specials. The Faber-Castell artist brush pens that I've recently accumulated came in very handy for this. I'll be sure to continue to put them to good use.

In case anyone was curious, the two little figures that are holding the banner above are supposed to be a sugar plum fairy and a snow angel. Hopefully it comes across more cute than cliche. I know that Dara found the whole thing pretty darn adorable, so that's what mattered most to me.

Cameron in Australia


Commissioned by Janelle, a friend from high school, this pastel piece depicts another acquaintance of mine, Cameron, during his trip down to Australia. The circumstances of this commission were a little saddening, but made as a belated Christmas present, so it was bittersweet. Plus, it has been a while since I last worked in pastels, so it was good to get my hands dirty again.

Apologies for the grainy quality of the digital photograph. This really doesn't do the actual piece justice.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Weird Winter Tales

Little more than a week ago, Miriam Palfrey, a librarian over in the United Kingdom, sent me a message about an upcoming weekend event at their central library called "Weird Winter Tales." She had seen my Lovecraft ink drawing and asked if it could be featured on their programme cover. Having been raised in the tradition of visiting our local library and nurturing a habit to read, which I accredit largely to my mother, I was more than happy to help promote this library function. Especially when it's theme is horror author H.P. Lovecraft.

Miriam was kind enough to e-mail me a digital copy of their programme, which I've included here, below. "Weird Winter Tales" took place last weekend, but if you live nearby one of the Reading Borough Libraries, be sure to look on their site for other, upcoming events.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Marquis sketch card


As I previously mentioned in the Detroit FanFare '10 review, Guy Davis posted this Marquis sketch card, which I gave to him as gift art at the convention. The Marquis is Davis' own original series, which I thoroughly enjoy and especially admire the conceptual artwork. Davis is the lead illustrator of the B.P.R.D. series and has contributed to many other projects.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Great Romanian Personalities: Adrian Paunescu

My fifth submission to the "Great Romanian Personalities" exhibit, here is Adrian Paunescu.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Detroit FanFare '10

Last weekend marked something of a small milestone in regards to my personal experience as an artist, case in point being my first convention as a true business trip. Granted, I've attended Motor City Comic Con over the past few years, but I could always drive back and forth between home and the show. And the one occasion when I did happen to stay at a hotel was only for one night, if my memory serves right. This time around, my stay remained in Detroit for the weekend and in addition served as the carpool driver, between Flint and Detroit with couple extraordinaire Adam Withers and Comfort Love, then again between Detroit and Dearborn (still technically Detroit) with former classmate Jason Westlake. As much as I wish that we all could have attended the same convention, sadly it was not meant to be. However, since we shared a room together at the Detroit Mariott at the Renaissance Center, Jason and myself managed to get a taste of what Youmacon was like. Needless to say it was a mixed bag, but I'll extrapolate more on that a little later.

Born with no natural sense of direction, I have five words to say: Thank God for Garmin GPS. Comfort can attest to this fact when I tried to lead us to our parking space in the opposite direction. It's almost scary that they would entrust me to navigate us to Detroit, but I digress. The drive down went very smoothly last Friday morning and we checked ourselves into the hotel on schedule. Now, you must bear in mind that I'm more accustomed to small town living, having grown up and still residing in my hometown of Perry. So to enter a building the size of the Marriott was, needless to say, a little daunting. That, and when you add in a crowd of hundreds, if not thousands, of Youmacon attendees it was at times almost suffocating. (Especially the elevators. Good Lord, those elevators...) Feeling halfway lost, the claustrophobic confines only exasperated the situation. As I understand it, the volunteer workers were severely understaffed to handle this convention.

POV from our Detroit Marriott hotel room
I spent a good deal of that Friday afternoon with the crowd, waiting in the registration line for over three hours. That isn't to say it was without its own rewards. While my patience eventually buckled, unfortunately denying myself the real anime convention experience that I hoped to have that Friday, just looking at the elaborate costumes that the cosplayers wore around me was in of itself a treat. Not every day you witness a silent dance-off between The Nightmare Before Christmas's Jack Skellington and a Mario Brothers' "Shy Guy," which was a hilarious spectacle. Really wish that I had taken a picture of that, now. Oh, well. Moving on, after a nap in the hotel room and a few phone calls to my girlfriend and family, I drove out to Dearborn and met with Jason at the Hyatt Regency. We set up our displays that evening and afterward had a late dinner at the Fairlane Town Center. Word of advice, don't take the chairs down from the tables in the food court. The gals working there don't like that. ^^;

Arriving back at the Marriott, we met up with Adam, Comfort, and a friend of theirs, whose name eludes me, in the hotel's own small food court to chat. Even at that hour of the evening, there were lots of anime con attendees around, which I'm sure was due in no small part to Youmacon's twenty-four hour-long activities that weekend. So I was very thankful when Adam and Comfort shared that they had brought along a "white noise" background soundtrack, which helped to mask the hallway ruckus that ensued into the early hours of the morning. Something that I'll have to keep in mind, should I go on another convention business trip like this. I tend to be a light sleeper as it is.

Jason at our convention table, sorting through sketch cards
The next morning, Jason and myself drove out to Dearborn for the first day of Detroit FanFare. We didn't arrive early enough to witness the pre-show "Zombie Walk", which was shortened due to the colder weather, but did see plenty of zed heads there during the show that Saturday. Having registered and set up our displays the previous evening, it made for a very pleasant and convenient transition. That's the best way to summarize the whole convention, really: very pleasant and convenient. This isn't to say that I dislike Motor City Comic Con, but there were plenty of perks that came with Detroit FanFare. Aside from the Hyatt Regency's free parking, the artists were set up all across the showroom floor. As the coordinators of this event put it:
"The design of our convention center is one that has all the creators interspersed with each other. In other words, there is NO artist alley as all the creators will be blended together. That means that a creator self publishing Bob’s Comics may be next to Jim Starlin or across from somebody like Patrick Zircher."
I also appreciated that this was strictly a comic convention, meaning no wrestlers, former Playmates, or other obscure "celebrities," though in defense of Motor City there have been some excellent guest stars, like Doug Jones (Abe Sapien, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army), Julie Newmaar (Catwoman, Batman 60's television series), or John Schneider (Jonathan Kent, Smallville). And of course Detroit FanFare had its claim to fame, featuring Stan "The Man" Lee, but I'll touch more on that in a bit.

In addition to the convenient parking, integrated layout, and trimming the fat, the volunteer workers were fantastic and friendly to boot. Making regular rounds, they offered bottled water, snack-sized bags of Oreos and chips (all of which were free of charge), and would sit at your table should you need to leave. Just incredible service. Regrettably, the only downside to Detroit FanFare was how little business we actually had, which wouldn't have been so bad were it not for the additional costs of a hotel, gas, parking, and dining out. Still, we're grateful for the business that we did get and for the comic con attendees, who took the time to talk and look over our artwork. Also, a personal thanks to Shawn Amberger, who neighbored us on my side of the table, for the friendly chats we had occasionally during the show. A real nice guy, who I'll hopefully run into again at future conventions. I'm sure that Jason feels the same way about the artist who was sitting on his side, though I didn't have the pleasure to chat so much with him.

As I mentioned earlier, the special guest star of Detroit FanFare was Stan Lee. Having Spider-man as one of my childhood heroes, I would've liked to have met with him. Given that the tickets were thirty dollars apiece (forty if you weren't an exhibitor at the convention, who had paid in advance) and already hemorrhaging money, however, it was an opportunity I begrudgingly declined. Stan Lee was also kept away in another room for signings, so to add insult to injury I never got the chance to even see him in person. From what the artist sitting to Jason's side attested, Stan Lee was accompanied by two bodyguards who acted as middlemen, taking whatever article was intended for autographing and passed it between themselves before going to him. Couldn't help finding that mental image of the elderly Stan Lee with a pair of imposing men both odd and amusing, like one of those diminutive mobsters bookshelved between two rectangular thugs in The Triplets of Belleville.

an excellent animation, by the by -- I highly recommend it
Not much to my surprise, there were many attendees who I've seen frequent the Motor City Comic Con. As I understand it, many of the exhibitors there were pulled off of the Motor City guest list and sent invitations. That might explain why after years of retaining to a springtime show they suddenly decided to revive their autumn show, which conveniently happened to fall on the same weekend as Detroit FanFare. Guess they didn't take too kindly to the competition. However, this convention was pushed to a later date, then altogether canceled. But I'm veering off onto another rabbit trail again. It was nice seeing a handful of familiar faces and even nicer when they recognize you. Among those attendees was Paul Maiellaro, who recruited Jason and myself last year for The Treasure Chest of Art, which auctions original sketch cards to benefit their pediatric charity. Especially since the "Shots 4 Sketches" after-show charity event fell through, I was more than happy to accommodate Paul with another sketch card.

Thor sketch card for The Treasure Chest of Art
caricature of Cajsa, whose bottom teeth made this all the more adorable
Given past experience, Sundays tend to be more casual but scant on attendees. That, and given this was also Halloween, neither of us expected a big draw. But it was a very pleasant surprise to see a pretty decent turnout. With the children's costume contest that morning, perhaps that helped. Either way, it was cute to see the kids in costume trick-or-treating from table to table. Afraid that I didn't take any pictures again of that, but I did manage to snap a few shots of some adult attendees in costume. The people are generally friendly, so I still don't understand why I have to work up the courage to ask. Slight case of social anxiety, I suppose. But I was very pleased with the pictures that I did take while we were there. A good way to preserve some of those memories, especially for someone whose memory isn't always so good.

Spider-man (left), Skrull Wolverine and Storm (center), and a zombie hunter duo (right)
The real highlight for myself on Sunday was meeting artist Guy Davis again, whom I've made a point of seeing since the past couple Motor City Comic Cons. A personal favorite, Davis does some amazing work for titles such as B.P.R.D., a sister series to Mike Mignola's Hellboy, and his self-created The Marquis. With each visit I've requested a sketch card of a Marquis character, and to show some of my gratitude made Davis one of the series' namesake. And I have to say, having him thank me for the personal token was rather euphoric. Getting that feeling of approval from a professional that you admire is one of a kind. And as if to put a little extra spring in my already spry step, Davis said that he would post the sketch card on his Marquis blog. So to return the kind gesture, I'll also post his sketch card. (Heck, I was already going to. Who am I trying to fool?)

Marquis character, "The Misery"
All too soon, Detroit Fanfare came to a close early evening that Sunday. Really, though, Jason and I were ready to be done. Lugging our luggage down thirty-eight flights of stairs twice, just to avoid using the congested elevators at the Marriott, had taken its due toll on us earlier that day. After saying our goodbyes in the parking lot we parted ways, myself driving back to the Marriott to pick up Adam and Comfort. Having worked it out over the phone, the couple were already packed and waiting at the entryway by the time of my arrival. Soon, all was loaded onto the van and we were off toward Flint. And let me tell you, having Adam and Comfort along for the ride made the time go by. Seemed like the trip was almost over as soon as it had begun, and truth be told I would've liked to have driven for a few hours more, just to continue our delightful banter over those delicious Quizno's sandwiches. Having dropped them off, it was a tranquil evening ride back home.

Will I be attending Detroit FanFare, or perhaps Youmacon, next year? Well, unless my current financial situation should change considerably within the time before either show, I'm afraid that I doubt it, as much as I would like to. But fear not. I'll still plan on Motor City Comic Con again, come next spring, and possibly JAFAX near my college romping grounds in Grand Rapids. Hopefully I can persuade Jason into attending the latter as well, since the Youmacon crowd left a rather sour taste in his mouth. But as I've been told, anime conventions can be very lucrative and the attendees have an unparalleled exuberance not seen at most comic conventions. We shall see.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

She-hulk -PINK- sketch card


She-hulk presented something of a challenge, that being how to fit the pink ribbon into the picture. Given her super strength, bending an iron beam into a ribbon shape was my first concept. However, given that it was similar to what Wonder Woman was doing with her lasso, this idea seemed too much alike and so I abandoned it.

Instead, I went with my second concept, which was having her accidentally breaking thru a wall. Granted, the ribbon shape is a little obscure here, however the way it silhouettes She-hulk and the pile of bricks seems suggestive enough. It's not blatantly obvious and the more subtle approach works in its favor, in my opinion. That, and an embarrassed "Oops, oh well..." expression adds some amusement.

Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Seventy-five percent of the purchase will be donated directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Contact me if interested.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Batgirl -PINK- sketch card


I'll admit this sketch card gave me some trouble, but the result was well worth the headache. Purchase this original art for $30 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Seventy-five percent of the purchase will be donated directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Contact me if interested.

Monday, October 25, 2010

WW -PINK- sketch card


Finishing the black-and-white movie monsters set of sketch cards, I've decided to do a small handful of pink-themed, superheroine cards in honor of breast cancer awareness this month. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Seventy-five percent of the purchase will be donated directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Contact me if interested.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Fly sketch card


A personal favorite monster movie of mine, here's The Fly. And yes, that is indeed Vincent Price. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Golem sketch card


Precursor to the Frankenstein story, here's the mythical Golem from the German silent film adaptation, Der Golem. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Dracula sketch card


Another classic vampire, here's Bela Lugosi from Dracula. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Detroit FanFare: Mark your calendars!

As you may have noticed, there's been a recent appearance of sketch cards in the gallery. This is in part due to the upcoming Detroit FanFare, which is fast approaching. Be sure to mark this October 30th and 31st in your calendars, especially those who live nearby or within the Dearborn, Michigan area.

True, this convention falls on Halloween weekend, however there should be plenty to see and do for those who attend, including a "pre-show" zombie walk that Saturday morning. :zombie: I wouldn't be surprised if some of the artists and vendors handed out candy to the kids, either. Might do a little of that, myself. And I would be remiss if I failed to mention special guest Stan "The Man" Lee. Even if you aren't especially a Marvel fan, you've got to admit he's established one heckuva legacy in the comic industry.

If visiting yours truly for a little one-on-one time at the table isn't enough, I'll be attending the "Shots 4 Sketches" after-hours event on Saturday night. I'm not much of a drinker and Jason has given it up all together, but then again the artists don't actually have to drink the shots. (Working the following day with a nasty hangover is not my idea of fun.) A portion of the proceeds also goes to charity, and I'm usually inclined to help a good cause. In relation to that, the American Red Cross Detroit Chapter will be there that Saturday to take blood and money donations as part of the "Blood 4 Comics" event -- pretty self-explanatory.

So stay tuned for further posts, and if you can come visit the table that would be great! Expect to see more sketch cards and at least another zombie mini-print or two. Maybe another special addition as well, but for now that's my little secret.

On a side note, I'll be wandering about Youmacon for a time Friday, October 30th, as a visitor rather than an exhibitor. Adam Withers and Comfort Love, husband and wife duo extraordinaire, were kind enough to offer a carpool down to Detroit. Adam and Comfort will be attending that particular convention during the same weekend as Detroit FanFare, so it should be interesting to compare notes of our first-time experiences at our respective conventions.

The Burgies '10

Here are a handful of photos taken during the second annual Burgie Awards hosted down in Miami, Florida, at the Transit Lounge by the Burger Beast himself, food critic Sef Gonzalez. Unfortunately, I wasn't there to partake in the food and festivities. But for those of you who are curious, read the details here. Despite not being there in person, seeing the winners holding my artwork as a trophy of sorts gives me a certain degree of pride.

Charm City Burger: Best Burger Broward

Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog

La Camaronera: Best Sandwich

Latin Burger & Taco: Best Burger Miami-Dade

Quickie's Burgers and Wings: Best Specialty Burger

The Filling Station: Best Wings

Yellow Submarine: Best Hot Dog

Mummy sketch card


Imhotep from The Mummy, still wearing the bandages but sporting a fez. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Frankenstein sketch card


To compliment the Bride, here's the first Frankenstein's monster. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Wolf Man sketch card


When rendering The Wolf Man, how can you not have him howling at the full moon, I ask you? Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Black Lagoon sketch card


Even though I haven't seen Creature from the Black Lagoon, I felt that the monster was pretty cool, even as a young kid. So here's the Gill-man almost on top of Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) in this sketch card. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Nosferatu sketch card


Another horror-themed sketch card, this time of Count Orlok of Nosferatu. Purchase this original art for $20 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bride sketch card


After illustrating the Witchfinder sketch card last Sunday, it put me in the mood to do another card. So here's Universal's classic Bride of Frankenstein. Depending on how this sells, I may do more. I'm currently setting the price at $20 USD. Because of its size, there's no additional charge for mailing costs and comes in a plastic protector. Contact me if interested.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Witchfinder sketch card


When the individual issues were being released, I followed along with another of Mike Mignola's Hellboy offshoot series, that being Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels. However, it wasn't until this afternoon that I borrowed the graphic novel and read the series in its entirety. Good stuff, needless to say.

Recently, I was also sent a reminder of a sketch card charity event, The Treasure Chest of Art, which I had agreed to participate in at the last Motor City Comic Con. And having just finished Witchfinder, it seemed like a fun choice for my subject.

If you would like to have this original piece of artwork, purchase your very own chest set, which includes an additional forty-nine sketch cards. All proceeds will go towards the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation, a worthwhile cause.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Perry Fest '10

Two weekends ago, September 17th-19th, marked our annual fall celebration in my hometown, known as Perry Fest. As of last year's festival, I've been attending among a handful of other guests as part of Edna Bentley Memorial Library's Literary Alley. Literary Alley, unfortunately, is a Saturday-only event. However, seeing as they've offered the table space to me for free, I really can't complain.

The weather, on the other hand, I can complain about. Despite forecasts the evening before that called for a pleasant Saturday, it was, needless to say, less than pleasant -- typical Michigan weather. There was a light shower that turned into a downpour during the morning, and personally owning no space covering posed a serious problem. So instead of setting up and ready to go by 10 AM, as was scheduled, I had to take a drive out into Okemos to purchase an instant canopy. Not a particularly cheap purchase, either. At any rate, the rain had cleared up when I returned to City Hall and set up my tent, table, and displays around noon.

As luck would have it, though, another downpour came around 3 PM that afternoon and essentially ended the rest of the day's festivities. Fortunately, Saturday was not all for naught. Two little girls posed for caricatures, Maddie and Ella, while attending Perry Fest with their parents and eldest sister. Natalie, a teenage girl, also posed even as the second downpour came, sitting underneath an umbrella and I under my canopy. I'm sure that anyone else watching would agree that this sight was somewhat surreal.

camera shy, and needing a nap, poor lil' Maddie was less than happy in this picture

Ella must be short for elephant -- she sported pachyderms in her hair and around her neck

sitting amidst the rain, just for a drawing -- very flattering for an artist

Regardless of the rain, Perry Fest still had its high points. And in spite of losing a few prints to water damage, much more artwork would have been lost if not for the instant canopy. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that next year will fare better.

Lovecraft ink drawing


A simple ink drawing of cosmic horror author H.P. Lovecraft.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

SAC Fall '10 class schedule

It occurred to me that it might encourage more parents to sign-up their children for art lessons at the Shiawassee Arts Center, at least perhaps those who happen to follow along online, if the schedule was made available. There are other instructors and Fall classes available, certainly, however here I'll only include the courses that will be taught by myself. The rest can be read on the Arts Center's website.

Classes are available to age groups Kindergarten through 3rd Grade from 1 PM - 2:15 PM, then 4th through 8th Grade from 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM. Each is held on a Saturday afternoon, since we keep in mind the active school season. The cost is twelve dollars per class, but SAC members have a reduced rate of ten dollars. Annual student membership is fifteen dollars, for those who are interested. Contact Linda Ruehle at lindar@shiawasseearts.org to sign up for Fall classes or Arts Center membership.

And now, here are the available Fall '10 children's art classes, instructed by myself:

September 25th - Symmetrical Aliens
"Extraterrestrial special, out of this world art! Learn about symmetry."

October 2nd - Watercolor Sunflowers on Rice Paper
"Big & Bold."

October 9th - Downtown Architectural Drawing
"We will be walking downtown, weather permitting. SAC, inside if not."

November 20th - Watercolor Portraiture
"Bring a good reference photo to work from."

November 27th - Illustrating Children's Books
"Be it The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Grimm Brothers' fairy tales, or your own short story." (one class only, 1 PM-2:30 PM - $15 Member/$17 Non-member)

CCAC '10 summer art camp: caricatures

As you may remember in my past post, SAC '10 summer art camp: caricatures, there was mention of teaching a similar children's summer art class over in St. Johns, Michigan, on behalf of the Clinton County Arts Council. Unfortunately at the time, my netbook which contained photographs of my students and caricatures from that class were presumed lost, since the computer was malfunctioning. I feared the most likely solution was that the hard drive would have to be wiped. However, with help from a much tech-savvier friend than myself, my netbook was restored to its prior state before the malfunction with all files intact. *Phew!* Much thanks, Jon! And with that, here are the aforementioned pictures.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Adventure Time: Algebraic!


A little gift art for my girlfriend, Dara, to help cheer her up. And from what I've seen, it's an amusing little cartoon. If you enjoy this style, regarding both artwork and humor, then I suggest that you might also take a look at The Perry Bible Fellowship webcomic. Fair warning, though, P.B.F. does often make use of adult-oriented humor.

Monday, August 2, 2010

2nd Burgie Awards poster


If regular followers are having a sensation of slight déjà vu, it's only natural and for two main reasons. This commissioned piece parodies one particularly iconic theatrical poster of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). The commissioner was Sef Gonzalaz, a.k.a. Burger Beast, for his second-annual Burgie Awards event, the first of which I also illustrated as a parody poster in the style of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

The Burgie Awards is set to take place in downtown Miami, Florida at the Transit Lounge (729 SW 1st Ave.) on September 13th, starting at 8 PM. Again, like last year, I would go if I wasn't living on the opposite side of the States. However, if you happen to frequent the Miami area then be sure to stop by for good food and friendly competition. Tell Burger Beast that Silent Sketcher sent you.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Haslett Community Yard Sale

Hosted by the Friends of the Haslett Library, the Haslett Community Yard Sale was created in an effort to help raise funds for the Haslett Library's upcoming move. Applicants, such as myself, reserved a parking space at the town high school for a nominal fee, which went to the charitable cause, and there set up shop to sell goods and services. Talk about convenience. It doesn't get much easier than arranging a table and displays directly out of your own vehicle.

I must confess, I wasn't expecting to have a parking space for my van and an additional one for my wares. My thought was that I would have a single space, which would be filled by my van with the table and displays set up right behind. Compared to the tightly-fit comic conventions that I've attended in the past few years, this was an excessive amount of space that I honestly wasn't prepared to fill.

first time having all three display panels for myself

note the distance between the table and the displays

table covered with my wares, namely: prints, sketchbooks, and monochromatic drawings from last spring's Motor City Comic Con

Yesterday's forecast predicted rain, which would have put a significant dampener on the entire event. (No pun intended.) However, the high school was fortunate enough to not see even a slight shower for the duration of the yard sale. Overcast and cooler, the weather actually made for a very comfortable summer day. But as I've learned this can be awfully deceptive. Being sensitive to sunlight, I had turned a nice shade of medium-well pink by the end of the event. Curse my melanin-deficient heritage.

Business wasn't particularly booming, speaking solely for myself, but a few folks came by to have their caricatures drawn and a handful more took business cards. Potential clients are still good, regardless. Plus, afterward I spoke briefly with one of the "ladies in pink" who helped to coordinate the event. This summer was the first community yard sale that Haslett had put together, and next year they plan to publicize any attending specialties, such as artists like myself. So should I attend the second Haslett Community Yard Sale, it promises to have better potential for vendors with artwork. Sunburn aside, I had a pleasant time and hope to do this again next year.

penciling out my first caricature of the yard sale

regular patrons should recognize librarian Joe

awwwww -- two and too cute

"Better than the one I got at Cedar Point." -- I'll take that as a compliment