Today I want to return to the May 17-19 weekend to revisit Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 in order to talk about Charles Vess. I have been a fan of the work of Charles Vess since first discovering it in his World Fantasy Award winning run on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman with the Midsummer Night’s Dream storyline. His work hearkens back to illustration greats like Arthur Rackham, his visions of the realm of Faerie having an ethereal quality that gives his art the kind of unique impact that Rackham enjoyed in the golden age of British book illustration. My fondness grew when I discovered the illustrated version of Stardust, compiled in four issues by Vertigo comics. All these years later any time I see a book cover and/or interior illustrations created by Charles Vess, it brings back a rush of memories of that first discovery and sparks within me that childlike dream of a fantastical realm just beyond the veil.

You can imagine, then, how thrilled I was to see Charles Vess listed as one of the Special Guests at this year’s Spectrum Fantastic Art Live.

It was already an exciting prospect to be able to see Charles Vess in person. This would be my first time doing so. That excitement increased tenfold when, earlier in the week prior to SFAL2, I received an email from the Event Director, Arlo Burnett, asking if I would be willing to interview Charles Vess live onstage on Sunday afternoon. It seems the group Sidebar Nation, who conducted the other Special Guest interviews, had to leave early on Sunday thus leaving this slot open for someone to step in. The nerves immediately hit but there was no way I was going to turn down such an honor, so I immediately took the gig.

Allow me to insert mad props to Sidebar Nation. These gentlemen do an outstanding job interviewing guests and keeping the conversation lively. I had big shoes to fill. If you click on the link you can listen to their podcast feed with interviews from other Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 guests including Tara McPherson and Peter de Seve.

Interview thus agreed to, I entered Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 with both the nervous anticipation of an art show to top all art shows and the nervous excitement of speaking in front of a crowd interviewing an artist that I have admired for decades.

Heaven must have been smiling down upon me for midway through the first day, before the show opened, Charles Vess came by John Picacio‘s booth and I took the opportunity to walk up, introduce myself, and inform him that I would be interviewing him on Sunday. It went a long way towards easing the nerves. It was a good thing this happened when it did because I did not end up getting back around to Vess’ booth until early Sunday morning (yes, SFAL is that overwhelming with cool stuff to do and see).

On Saturday evening at the Spectrum 20 Awards Ceremony Charles Vess won a Silver Award in the Book category for illustration work he did on his latest collaboration with Charles de Lint, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest (which is a lovely book). When I managed to make it to his booth Sunday morning I was able to see his award.

There are many, many pleasures to be had at the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event, and one of the greatest is to be able to walk up to a booth and gaze (up close and personal) original art work by artists with prodigious talent. It is an experience that leaves you in awe, as seeing the art right before your eyes only increases the mystery of how artists can create works like this. It is an unforgettable experience. Charles Vess had several of his paintings there, including the one shown in the banner after the jump and the cover image for The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. He also had a huge booth-spanning painting that he brought with him. Unfortunately the image I took was all blurry.

I took my limited edition Stardust novel with the new Vess illustration and the hardcover re-release of the fully illustrated version of Stardust with me to have him sign. I was thrilled that he drew a little illustration in the later for me. A few hours after he signed these books I joined him on the main stage to spend an hour talking with him about his art and his career. I felt fortunate that they had asked me to interview an artist that I was already quite familiar with, although I still did several hours of research, wrote out questions and notes, and did some early morning practicing before the event. While I remained nervous on Saturday, I woke Sunday to a feeling of peace and calm and had a thoroughly enjoyable time conducting the interview. Sadly I did not think to ask any of my friends/family in the audience to take a picture and so do not have any evidence to share other than my fond memories of the experience. Charles Vess was an absolute gentlemen and answered the questions with thoughtfulness and care.

I cannot thank Arlo Burnett and Cathy and Arnie Fenner enough for making this Spectrum Fantastic Art Live an extra special event for me personally. I remain sincerely honored for the opportunity. I also want to thank Charles Vess for not only the inspiration his art provides but also for the way he made me feel comfortable and at ease during the interview. Even now, two weeks later, it seems hard to believe that this actually happened.

It is an experience, and a memory, that I will cherish forever.