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Convention Appearances

My “Appearances” section has been hinky as of late. While it’s being worked on, I’ll have to make my Appearances announcements here on my Journal page.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER APPEARANCES

APE (Alternative Press Expo)

October 13 -14, 2012
Concourse Exhibition Center
635 8th Street
San Francico, CA 94103

EXPO – The Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo
October 20-21, 2012
Edmonton Expo Centre
7515 118 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5B 4X5 Canada

I will NOT be at the October Chiller Theatre show Halloween weekend. I MAY be at the Halloween weekend Monsterpalooza in Burbank. I’ll announce that appearance as soon as I get word from the show’s organizers.

Long Beach Comic Con
I will be part of the RAW Studios booth at this show.

November 3-4, 2012
Long Beach Convention Center
300 East Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, California 90802

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Van Dyke Parks

It was my great pleasure to spend a big chunk of my birthday evening in deep conversation with one of my musical heroes, the brilliant musical and lyrical multi-hyphenate talent, Van Dyke Parks.

“Well, to me, the tensile strength and the very definition of an artist is something that I would place at the top of a vertical hierarchy. To be an artist is to suffer and to lead a life without shelter. It takes a great amount of daring-do, self reinvention, imagination, familial loyalty, sacrifice, economic uncertainty, and the right to be wrong, the right to fail in order to achieve something of noticeable value. ”

Van Dyke Parks

If you’d like to know more about the amazing Mr. Parks, here are three good introductory links:
www.vandykeparks.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Dyke_Parks
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/van-dyke-parks-mn0000838241

You can also read a great new autobiographical piece he has written for the Los Angeles Times Review of Books at http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?type=&id=933&fulltext=1&media=

If you have any interest in the late 1950s/early 1950s music scene in Los Angeles, I think you’ll love it.

Here’s a favorite quote from the piece, as it applies directly to me and my work:

“Eclecticism wasn’t viewed as an illness in those days. It was applauded, and audiences were taken places in the ‘real’ sixties.”

Happy Reading!

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Happy Birthday to Me…

Thanks to all my friends, family and fans (and all of you who cross over into a couple — or all three— of those cherished groups) for remembering me today with your birthday wishes. I’m trying really hard not to feel so…old.

So, how am I going to spend my day? You guessed it: Working! But on fun stuff. I’ve just finished inking the last of my 100 portraits for my Legends of the Blues book from Abrams. I colored one last night; I have 54 more to color by the end of this week (don’t worry; the coloring goes pretty darn fast on these).

Tonight also happens to be a salon night, so that’s where I’ll be this evening. Our group includes an extremely interesting variety of very successful artists, writers, pop stars, designers and a few film folks on occasion. We gather at the end of a cul-de-sac of a prominent Pasadena artist’s (not me) semi-private street full of craftsmen homes that he owns (!) for great (and funny) conversations, good wine and mediocre pizza. It’s a really nice break from the grind…plus, it’s right here in Pasadena (short drive!).

My studio disaster…er…situation: I got a little bit of an extension at my old place, which is good because the guy who owns what I hope to make my new space has a lot of heavy machinery he still needs to move out of there before I can move in — hopefully sooner rather than later, as I don’t want to have to move twice! The packing is going amazingly fast as well. My friends Kris and Matt and I have have packed over 200 boxes of books already — in just four days.

I’m trying not to get too excited about my new space, as we haven’t signed the papers yet — but it’s bigger and nicer than my current studio space, and just a few blocks away from my current studio. Short move! (distance-wise, anyway)

Just one more thing here…This birthday has a bit of sadness to it, as Joe Kubert and I share the same birthday and this is the first year I can’t wish Joe a “Happy Birthday!” on our mutual celebratory day. I miss you, Joe. You never stopped pushing yourself and learning new things, my friend. You and your tremendous work ethic still stand as a role model for us all.