Most of the posts this month have been uploaded from our old site, so I hope you guys aren’t too disappointed at the lack of original blogging.

I am very deeply involved in my work these days and can barely concentrate on anything else. Also, the Leechblock has me in its grip. That thing is merciless.

I had to temporarily bypass it to do the work on the new website, and between that and some other not-at-the-board obligations, I lost nearly two weeks of drawing time!

Very little progress made from a full day’s work, lately.

I had started a new project and sat down to do my layouts only to realize the proportions of the new book were to be completely different than my other works. None of my layouts would do. Back to – oh, dare I say it – the drawing board.

Further irritation: Got the templates via email. They were created with non-photo blue. Non photo blue which would not print. Not even on my printer. Even the people in the publisher’s art department could not get the template to print. What the heck was up with that Photoshop file?

After a frustrating evening, I finally realized “Hey, I know how to draw simple shapes in Photoshop, all by myself!” so I did. Black lines applied. Wow! It’s so easy!

Duh. I keep forgetting I have a computer.

I measured the templates carefully to enlarge them to fit my drawing paper, only to realize I had measured carefully and yet wrong. There goes two more hours of drawing.

I swear I know how to use a ruler.

I don’t mean to give the impression I am experiencing deeply annoying days of wheel spinning worthlessness, because I am quite alert and working very hard. But progress is slow, and it is always on those days when you can least afford it that one does something profoundly stupid that gums the works. And then the self hatred bubbles over and the only cure for the deep wound to the superego is ice cream.

I just got my car back from the shop (again) and desperately hope it doesn’t die tomorrow because I need to go to Fedex. However, we are supposed to have a winter storm, so I may get stuck. I have to get my stuff off to New York Comic Con. I’ve got a couple of finished commissions I have to pack, too.

Frankly, I would just like to get out of here a bit, and get some city sights. I would like to go to Starbucks, and maybe buy some nice gloves.

Since I last posted pics of my office, I moved the furniture and it is even more comfortable in here, though I am sure the new treadmill will take up lots of room (it’s still in the garage.)

Now, my board sits right in front of the window where the birds feed all day. Delightful! Often, several times every evening, raccoons climb up to have a treat. Can’t seem to get a decent photo. Dead annoying.

Every time I see them, I wish I had a kitty.

Here’s a commission I did for Christian Berntsen. Quite fun. Meant to get double duty out of it by using it as a trading card design but the editor went for something else.

I’ll be in Artists Alley at table G10.

Basically, go inside the front door, go to the extreme right until you hit the wall, TURN LEFT keep walking. I’m in the right hand corner next to The Artists Choice display. Bad sale location, great for security.

My panels are:

Writers on Writing with Chris Claremont, Jimmy Palmiotti, Tom DeFalco

Friday 5:45-6:45 Room 1A18

Men are from Krypton, Women are from Paradise Island with Jimmy Palmiotti, Jamal Igle, Barb Kesel

Saturday 4:15-5:15 1 A17

Creator Resources

Sunday 12:30-1:30

Free Creator Resources list for 300 participants. Insurance, legal, online resources.

There will be a small snippet preview of the new GN I am drawing for Vertigo at the Vertigo panel, but I can’t recall when that is.

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Here’s a commission that got completed just in time for New York Comic Con. I finished a number of pieces over the last week, including the long awaited lettered states and remarqued editions. After ten years, they are all completed. I almost can’t believe it.

As of next week, I will be up to date on commissions for the first time since…well, I dunno. The only one I have left is an oil painting, but that is an open-ended work. I want to have it completed by the end of the year.

One of my favorite patrons, Ray, commissioned this piece of the character Malikai from a series by the late Michael Turner called Soulfire.

I used professional quality markers for this. They are great, but my set is drying out. I almost didn’t have enough to finish the job.

Tricky things those markers, and no corrections possible if you botch something.

I was able to scan most of my commissions before I left for New York, but won’t be able to post them until I get back.

I do have a few lettered states (volume II only) and a handful of remarqued editions that I will be able to sell later, but I won’t be taking any orders any time soon. I will let you know when they become available. I will ship the remainder of the books over the next few weeks as time permits. And I thank EVERYONE for their patience!

The only customer we were not able to track down was Devin Timothy Stevens. If he ever pops up, we will have to issue him a refund.

Out of nearly 1000 orders, I guess that’s not too bad, but I have no one to blame but myself for taking so long to get these books completed! I will not be doing this sort of thing again, obviously.

I will not have any limited editions for sale in New York. Sorry. I will have paperback GN’s.

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Here’s one of the roughly two dozen commissions that I finally finished over the last couple of months. Aubrey Stallings kindly waited several years to get it! Nowadays, I finish them within twelve months or less.

The best way to make sure I get them done on time is to have people contact me several months before a show. With a 50% deposit, and a solid deadline, both the patron and I will be there and the job will be finished. It is so easy to procrastinate on commissions, especially when I have deadlines for clients.

At this year’s New York Comic Con, I had dozens of requests. The economy doesn’t seem to be hurting fans who want original drawings! Alas, I could not do any of them because my schedule is full, but I did give a few people a rain check if they asked me to draw something I liked. One person requested a Shade the Changing Man, and I will be taking that job on.

I’ll be posting a number of the sketches over the next couple of weeks. I mentioned I only had one left, but I forgot about a major Sandman piece I’ve been struggling with. That and a large painting are the last of them.

This also means the remarqued edition books and lettered states are completed. They will be shipped out in installments over the next couple of weeks and that will be it.

While I won’t be selling art on ebay and the like, I will let you know if I have time to take on any more small commissions. I may have time for a few before Charlotte Heroes Con, which is the only show I am scheduled for the rest of this year. If you are interested, please let me know at least two months in advance.

Come back over the next couple of weeks for more sketches. I get a lot of Legion of Superheroes requests! I hope DC Comics lets me have another crack at that book someday!

I’d almost forgotten: at some point in the dim and distant past, I was hired to be the new artist on a Tarzan comic, but it went under before the work could be published. I will see if I can find the sketches.

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Hi Colleen,
I just wanted to let you know that I got my books in the mail today, and they are awesome! I didn’t realize that they had wooden slip covers- I can see what you meant about them being too big and bulky to bring to comic con! Really, they’re just so beautiful- I can’t wait to show them off to my friends. Anyways, I’ll see you on Saturday, and I’ll pay for the second book then. See you soon!

Best Wishes,
Sue

You’re most welcome, Sue!

Lettered state editions of A Distant Soil are about as rare as red diamonds.

I originally intended to do 24 (one for each letter of the alphabet) copies, bound in leather with hand laid in hand made marble endpapers and handmade custom boxes. For each book, I drew a full color character portrait. This I made available for $200.

That seemed like a lot of money back in the day, but it quickly became apparent that my retail price was too low. Shortly after beginning the project, the manufacturing cost on the books increased.

If I were to have them made to the same standards today, they’d cost about $500 per book just to make! To sell would cost $1,000.

So, all the people who ordered the books at $200 may have had to wait for YEARS to get their orders, but I finally finished them all off. I had a few copies of volume II left over and will offer those for sale someday, but there will be no more of any of the others. They really are beautiful, but even I don’t have copies now. I had to use my reserves to fill the last orders.

I listed a lettered state for future volumes on all the A Distant Soil GN limitation sheets just in case I was able to find another manufacturer. I doubt this will ever happen, if for no other reason than the days of my being able to take time to do sketches like this may well be over.

Those who were able to get their orders were very happy with their books, and even though it took forever, I am so relieved to be able to finish them off and ship them out! There’s only two more left to ship, and after I pack them later this week, I will post the art for them as well.

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PS: Brian Holst: you have books shipping, too.