Last Day in NY

Well...the Big Apple Con is the last show of the year for me, I'm both happy and sad for it. Happy that I'm going home (finally), and sad that I don't get to see a bunch of friends. New York was a solid show for us, it's pretty rare for me to get out to the East Coast.

The best part...of being here...FOOD!

Anyways, I'll post a few of the pieces I did and some photos when I'm back home in a few days!

- LB!

New York! New York!

Well, I'm now in New York getting ready for the Big Apple Con, which will be on Pier 94 this weekend. I'll be setup in artist alley at table #3034 alongside good friends Gregg Schigel, Chris Giarusso, and Jacob Chabot! So come on down to check out the show, and drop by to say hi! I'll have the standard books, prints, and I'll be taking a few commissions too.

It's my last convention appearance of the year, and I'm kinda happy about it! We've done a lot of travel this summer, more then ever before and I'm getting homesick. Plus there's a bunch of work that I've got to get done. But I have to say the city of New York is awesome! So it's a great way to end the convention season!

There's a few potential new developments for me, and I'm very hopeful that some of them come true. I'm not gonna talk about them because I don't want to jinx it, but I'll let you know when I know!

- LB!

New Phoenix Commission

For whatever reason, I've gotten a bunch of requests for 2 characters in the last few shows. I normally expect a Harley Quinn, but Dark Phoenix and Zatanna have been really popular! Go figure! So, here's one of the commissions that I finished. I just got back from a great dinner with Frank Cho and a bunch of new friends (thanks Frank!), and I've got a few more pieces that I need to work on for day 2 of Baltimore!

Long Beach....then Baltimore!

Big thanks to everyone that popped by the table for the Long Beach Comicon last weekend, it was a nice laid back show instead of the frantic pace from the last bunch of shows we've done. Trip 1 of 3 on back-to-back...(to back) weekend events is done, and I'm hanging out in San Francisco between shows. Things have been super busy, so it's nice to take some time to see some friends in my favorite city!

As for next weekend, I'll be headed to the East Coast for the Baltimore Comic-Con for the first time! I hear it's a great comic show, so I'm pretty excited to see what happens. I'll have prints, books, and I'll be taking commissions too. So drop by artist alley and say hi!

And after that...New York!

Dragon Con Recap!

Whew! It has been a crazy-busy time. Since the big San Diego Comicon, I've had 5 back-to-back weekend events that I've gone to. Don't get me wrong, I love to travel and it's great seeing everyone, but it's not as glamourous as it seems! You get homesick after a while.....hence the delay on updating this blog. So...here we go!

This was our first time down to Dragon Con, and we really didn't know what to expect. A bunch of our friends told us how fun and 'different' it would be, and they were right! Dragon Con is an event like no other! On the Saturday, there was a parade (which actually blocked our way to get into the venue, so we had to go "over" everything)! I'm not really sure what's going on in this pic, but my favorite moment during it all was the Battlestar Galactica troops being led by Richard Hatch ('Apollo' from the original series). Kandrix and I had a photo op with some of the cast members that weekend, too!

Here's our buddy Mark Brooks with Christy & friends...Humberto Ramos took the exact same photo 2 seconds later! These girls were real sports, stopping for photos every few steps! True showmanship! I have to say, a lot of people in Atlanta are super-nice & hospitable, which is always a great thing when you're visiting a place you've never been to.

Now for some convention sketches! I apologize if the photos aren't really clear, I took them off our iPhone, and the lighting wasn't the greatest (and in fact the lights went out a few times during the show). Here's a Slave Leia and Zatanna...

...And a few less common requests for me...we've got a Groucho Marx which turned out pretty cool. For the piece beside it, I was given the parameters "Mad Science, Damsel in Distress, and Mind Control" ...So here's what I came up with! The girl has been captured by the mad scientist mouse, but she's made to believe she's in love with him! That was quite an exercise - flexing the ol' brain muscle to make it all come together, but all in all I think it's adorable!

A sexy red devil, along with a female Master Chief (she's pretty hot, if I may say so myself!)

...And for a quick break, award-winning artist Darwyn "Pooh" Cooke....if HE'S gotta dress up to get a crowd, the rest of us don't have much of a chance...!

And here's a sketch I did in a sketchbook of Harley Quinn that I'm really proud of. She's always a lot of fun to draw because of her personality!

And finally....here's a really cool sketch. Stephanie and Adam are a couple that came up to me on Friday of the con, and asked if I could do a portrait of them...but in costume! So on Saturday they popped by in full costume (which was awesome by the way!) and we took a few photos for reference. (By the way, Aladdin is my favorite animated movie - it came out during my final year of high school, and yes, "A Whole New World" was our grad song! Too cute!) They didn't want the portraits to just be a straight up drawing of the characters, they still wanted it to look like them!...
Well, here's the final piece! They loved it! Of course, they sooo looked the part, it made drawing it a pleasure! I also want to congratulate them on their upcoming wedding, too! Well, this has gotta be one of the longer posts I've ever done! Now to work on that website we keep promising to everyone...

LB!

Dragon Con!!!

I'm really excited about Dragon Con, this will be the first time I'm there! And as a guest too! Dragon Con is this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, (Sept 4 - 7) and we're staying with our good buddy Mark Brooks for the week (thanks Mark!). Actually, if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be at the show...in fact...I'm not even sure where we'll be. I've heard that Dragon Con is spread out over 3 or 4 hotels in downtown.

*Ok, so we're in artist alley, which is located in the Hyatt! Drop by and say hi!

- LB!

Fan Expo Day 2

All I can say is wow! Today was the busiest day, not just because it's a Saturday at the Fan Expo, but it was our busiest day ever at a convention! I can't believe the awesome support from all the great Toronto fans. I'm totally swamped with commissions, so it's going to be a late night. But I really can't complain!

Here's a quick photo of me working on a Zatanna commission for a fan, which I enjoyed a lot! What I find very interesting is how different cities have different "popular characters". At San Diego, Zatanna was one of the least popular characters (no idea why), but here it's been great. We're almost sold out of all our Zatanna prints!

Another thing I really love, is when someone in costume picks up my work. It's very flattering! ...and here's a perfect example! Power Girl awesomeness!!!