C2E2 Recap

Hey Folks,

I've been a bit off of my new schedule of painting because of The Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2 for short).
I thought I'd give you guys a mini recap with some photos and art.

Day 1: I was up early and out the door with coffee and snacks. As I was driving downtown the sun was coming up over a line of houses, creating a gorgeous skyline to drive next to. I pulled over real quick and snapped a photo. I was feeling pretty electric with pre-show jitters and excitement.



After I got into the show and set up my table, arranged my supplies and downed the rest of my coffee, I decide it was a good time to take a quick stroll to get the lay of the land. I found a balcony area where you could see almost the entire show floor. This was about 20 minuted before they opened up to the public.


Doors have opened and I'm ready to roll!

I decide to warm up and set the pace. I knock out a Darkseid sketch in watercolor. I notice right away that people seem to enjoy watching me paint. I finished this up and leave it on the table as bait.
A guy walks by soon after and asks me to put it on hold so he can come back and buy it later. We're off to a good start!

The rest of Friday was a bit slow but I sketched a few commissions and then completely forgot to take a photo before the customers walked off with the art.

Saturday was insanely busy and I managed to only get a couple of photos in between a bunch of commissions, regular sales and various chat breaks with an assortment of new and old friends
who stopped by the table.

During a slow moment I made a bet with one of my table mates that I could probably get a crowd if I painted a Yoda sketch. I did this sketch and had a nice little group of about 20 people watching me while I did it. The sketch sold quickly.


Knowing that post festivities were going to make me pretty tired the next day I went ahead and cranked out one more sketch before leaving. I was hoping to have something fresh to show people first thing in the morning on Sunday.

I painted this little guy. I think this was my favorite sketch of the weekend and it was a hard one to let go of but I figured I could always recreate it in the studio if I really wanted to.


Sunday morning was a little rough and mercifully slow. The show picked up speed after lunch and I was busy selling prints and doing more sketches. I managed to finally get out from behind my table for about an hour and walk around Artist Alley to see what else was going on. I bought a few sketchbooks and a couple of drawings and then was back to the table to wrap up the rest of the show.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend. Many more highs than lows. These big shows are nerve wracking and can end up costing quite bit but I had fun and made enough to make it all worth while.
I met a lot cool people, made some new friends and handed out a ton of business cards.

Time to start gearing up for the next show but first I'll be getting back to painting more of the fantasy/children's book art.


Thanks for reading!

Cheers,
Kyle

P.S. My cat Noodles was inspecting the damages to my con poster late Sunday night. I think he approves of the destruction.