Getting Snug

So things are getting... snug. The anniversary book for Magic: the Gathering titled "The Gathering" was funded via Kickstarter within 22 hrs of launch. When the smoke cleared and the campaign was done, we raised just shy of $150,000.00. In case you are unfamiliar with the project, several of the early artists of this popular collectible card game wanted to celebrate the game's 20th anniversary which is this August. We decided to do that with a book of our artwork. Each artist has a double page spread showing a new piece of art, a card that we are best known for and some text about where we were then and where our careers have taken us.

Here's the snug part, one of the stretch goals for a specific tier was sketch cards with original art. I don't physically have those cards in my possession yet. We are trying to amass all our images by the end of June. That deadline is fine right now, but it will soon unworkable if I don't get them in a couple of days. I'm pretty fast with a pencil, but quality always suffers when you rush.

Actually, even the June deadline wouldn't be bad if I didn't have other commissions to get done. The drawing board is never empty these days and this is a good thing. It would be even better if everything sold, but that's another story. I have a recreation of the Mesa Pegasus from Magic and hopefully a book cover for a fiction story set in my home town in 1942 among other projects. I have to get the quote done for the cover, then try to keep a window in the schedule open if the job comes through. It will be a fun project if it comes together.

Later this month I will be the first artist in a series of events put on by a local wine shop. The Wine Makers' Boutique is hosting a series of Art Appreciation events at their shop at 2505 Main St, Stationhouse Square in Stratford, CT to celebrate the art of making wine. It will be a one-woman art show on Friday, April 26 from Noon to 8:00pm. If you can make it, I'd love to see you. You can see more details on the events calendar. I'll have my contribution, "Holly King and Oak King", from the "The Gathering" on display. That is also the featured image for this blog entry. That piece is sold, but there will be other originals for sale. I am working on a piece especially for the event. I should have it done by the end of next week, then photographed, then framed. Hopefully the wine shop will buy it and if not someone who attends will.

After that, the next show will be on Mothers' Day the 12th of May with the Stratford Arts Guild. It's the first "Art in the Alley" show/sale of 2013 and will run from noon -4:30PM in the alley next to the old Stratford Movie Theater in Stratford Center, 2399 Main Street, Stratford, CT 06614. That's listed on the events calendar too. Or you can go to the Guild's website or my own website, both of which I maintain, for more information. Huh. And I wonder why things are snug...