Heroes Con 2022

 

This is my first time exhibiting at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. I was hoping to find a new audience and meet new collectors. I was pleasantly surprised it actually happened. It was not overwhelming but my audience is out there and I’m so happy to make many new connections with those who enjoy viewing the same chaotic and emotional images that I love to create. 

Several of my originals found a new home, to include “As the Pendulum Swings”. This image captures an emotional state I feel I am constantly in, of swinging back and forth from darkness to light, in perpetual motion and never reaching a resting state. I found out that many of my audience connect with this piece.

I had some great conversations with a variety of convention attendees. I talked to an abstract art admirer who commented on how misunderstood and under-appreciated abstract art is as an art form. A common misconception is that abstract art is created without thought and just laid in a random manner on paper or canvas. My process for creating my semi-abstract art may start with chaotic randomness but each mark in my creations are guided by my subconscious thoughts and feelings. This particular admirer noted that their love for abstract art comes from having the freedom to look at a creation and interpret the images for themselves, rather than being confined to just what the artist may have intended to convey. It felt great to talk to someone who admires art and to hear their thoughts. 

A topic I discussed with many visitors to my gallery was my thoughts on capturing light and darkness in some of my lesser abstracted images. One particular visitor commented that many of my images are dark or about darkness. Although my images at a glance may appear to be about just darkness, they are actually equally about the light, about being uplifted, and coming out of the darkness. In my piece titled “Awaiting Dawn”, the darkness is shrinking from the lone figure who is slowly being enveloped in a sunrise as darkness fades. It is a commentary on how we all have moments of darkness, but the sun always rises and the light shines through. In my creation titled “Broken”, there is an image of an angel holding her broken wing. Again at first glance the situation looks hopeless, but if you look closer at the image you will notice there are spirits all around the angel that represent the angel is being uplifted. This is such a personal image for me because there are times in life we feel broken, but we can all be uplifted with hope. 

I met so many fascinating people at the convention it is hard to remember all the great conversations. I enjoy and valued tremendously the positive feeling I get from all my interactions and I appreciate all who collect my art.

Awesome Con 2022

 

During conventions I attended over the years, I always get interesting questions and comments about my art, my art process and my creative inspiration, either in general or for a specific piece of artwork. I want to start sharing these questions, comments, insights, the interactions and stories with my patrons, followers and casual readers, beginning with my most recent event in Washington, D.C..

The recent convention I attended was Awesome Con, a pop-culture comic book convention at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, located in Washington, D.C..

A young artist asked me what art genre do I categorized myself under. I’ve thought about this very topic over the years, since I got back into creating art about eight years ago. I can’t say that I fit under any currently established art genre, that I know and are aware of. Even though I have figures in my art, they’re not completely figurative. I have abstracted elements in my creation but the entire piece is not completely abstract. Surreal? I certainly see myself as a surrealist, but I heard that surrealism covers an era rather than the artistic style. I could be wrong about that. My art, my thought process for the art, is so chaotic and so abstracted that I feel like Chaotic Abstraction should be its own genre and I would fall under that. 

Another young artist purchased the print “Where the Wind Blows” and asked what was my inspiration for creating this particular piece. To me, this piece represent a release of an inner self, so to speak. Release your inner self and let “the wind” takes you where it may, or just flow with the wind and allow it to take you on an adventure, a journey to some far off place that you might not have thought of going. The white ghost-like birds flowing from the figure into the wind and maybe to as far away as the moon.

It’s also very satisfying when someone identify with a piece the same way I identify with a piece. Over the years, many individuals have identified with the piece Broken and relating to how they feel internally. The idea of feeling like you’re so broken and trying to mend yourself at every turn in life is a general feeling that I think most people have. To capture that feeling is very cathartic for me and I’m glad that people can have a sense of peace when they view this artwork. 

My next convention is Heroes Con, in Charlotte, NC. This will be my first time attending Heroes Con and it is also their 40th anniversary. I can’t wait to go. If you’re in the area and are also attending Heroes Con, I am in Booth 769. I would love it if you come by and say Hello.