(Eddard Stark, copyright 2011, image created for 2012 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar)

John Picacio is an award-winning illustrator and quite possibly the most friendly person you will ever meet if you ever have the privilege of meeting him. I’ve corresponded with John on his website, through Facebook, and Twitter for a few years now as he is an artist whose work I admire. Late last year when I learned he would be attending the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event in May 2012, I immediately shot him a message that I would be tracking him down when the moment arrived.

That moment arrived minutes before the doors opened at the start of the event of May 18th, when I saw John walking down the hallway outside the main venue. In a moment of boldness I called out his first name and proceeded to introduce myself with a hand outstretched. John immediately identified me as the host of this blog and brushed off the handshake for a hearty embrace. That is John all over. As I wandered the convention floor I would see John embracing fans, giving them a pat on the shoulder, devoting his full attention to them and, if my personal experiences are any judge, making their day. That brief introduction emboldened me for the remainder of the weekend as I spent time not only conversing with John, but also with artists I’ve followed for decades and others whose work was new to me at the show.

John Picacio was an ambassador for the open, friendly interactions that would come to be the hallmark for this 3-day art extravaganza. I had such a strong emotional reaction to the event that I knew I would have to blog about it in shorter increments and one of the things I hoped to do was to offer a few artists the chance to share about their own personal experiences at the show. John Picacio was the natural choice to kick this off.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you John Picacio:

Continue reading John Picacio: An Artist’s View of Spectrum Fantastic Art Live →

It was with a feeling of great reluctance that I removed my 3-Day Member badge from the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event when I arrived home, excited and exhausted, last Sunday evening. It was as if the lifting of the lanyard over my head would break the spell, extinguishing all the magic that had surrounded me for the past three days. It stayed around my neck as I drove across Kansas City to my home in Blue Springs and I know that I uttered more than one contented sigh as I conversed with myself, internally and aloud, about the sheer wonder of this experience.

And a wonder it was.

It will be impossible to accurately convey the immense satisfaction, the inspiration, the camaraderie, and the joy that filled these three days.

I will try, and I will fail.

I had HIGH expectations. Sky High! And by the end of Friday evening’s brief four-hour opening, those expectations were so far exceeded that I could only stand there amazed, wondering why I had set my sites so low. Take every excited word I will write, filter it through your hyperbole detector, and then magnify it to the 10th power and you might start to come close to just how special this event was. There were geek-out moments in abundance. I am, after all, an admitted fan of Fantastic Art. But once the initial shock of “oh-my-gosh-I’ve-just-met-Michael-Whelan” and “I’ve-just-stood-inches-away-from-original-Donato-Giancola-oil-paintings” passed–sort of–what I was left with was a number of genuine personal interactions with artists I have admired for years and others that I had just discovered. I was left with an impression of just how generous this community is to each other and to the fans who admire them so deeply. I was left with a feeling of awe that something of this caliber happened in Kansas City.

I was left with an unforgettable experience.

Continue reading A Blissful Melancholy: One fan’s perspective of Spectrum Fantastic Art Live →