The Deep End

As I mentioned in my previous post, this past weekend was the annual Spectrum Fantastic Art Live (SFAL) convention in Kansas City, MO. Cathy and Arnie Fenner are the creators behind the Spectrum annual, and this is their third year hosting the live event. I have a ton of things to say about the experience, but I'll keep it short and say that it was absolutely amazing!

I started off the weekend meeting up with Cynthia Sheppard, with whom I'd spend my time during the event and subsequently became her booth babe. I also got to meet Iain McCaig, Jeff Miracola, Peter and Anna Mohrbacher, Aaron Miller, Noah Bradley, Marc Scheff, John Brassell, Steve Argyle, Dan Dos Santos, Eric Deschamps, John Schindehette, Karla Ortiz, and a bunch of other great illustrators I admire. I also met a lot of other artists who are budding in the industry just like me, and it was wonderful to start building relationships with these people that I will most certainly see over and over again in the future.

One of the highlights of my weekend was meeting a huge idol of mine, Iain McCaig. I literally ran into him on my way out of the hotel and got to spend a few minutes hanging out with him, chatting about Star Wars and Barbecue. I attended one of his workshops and even managed to fight my way through hordes of art students to get my copy of Shadowline autographed and sketched. Shortly after that moment, the convention hall closed down and everyone gathered at the Midland Theatre for the awards ceremony. I witnessed Iain McCaig win the Grandmaster title and it was a surreal experience. He was given a standing ovation and it was just incredible to see him take his place among other Grandmasters such as Frank Frazetta, Syd Mead, Ralph McQuarrie and James Gurney.

I can't get into every detail about every experience I'd be here for fucking days, but what I can say is this is absolutely the place for you if you're looking to network, or if you're a fan, a collector, a new artist, a professional artist, or whatever you consider yourself. There's so much to take in and I'm still trying to process it all. Cynthia told me she was 'throwing me into the deep end,' I'm just glad I can doggy-paddle.

Iain McCaig sketching in my copy of Shadowline moments before winning 2014 Spectrum Grandmaster.