Saturday night's Cartoonistas meeting (actually, party!) was just what the doctor ordered after a rather sobering post I made earlier that day.
This momentous event was hosted by Cartoonista RAUL AGUIRRE JR. Yep kids, that's right, the host of the very lively MAN VS. ART podcast!
That's Señor Aguirre, in the red shoes, sitting comfortably under one of his lovely paintings. Raul is in fact such a whirlwind of artistic energy that my camera can only capture him as a blur even as he's sitting still!!
Raul and his lovely wife Hortencia were more than generous to host us at their wonderful home, which seems more like an art gallery and working studio space. Surrounded by all kinds of artwork, you really get a feeling for the love this couple has for art.
And another thing you get at Casa Aguirre is food. Lots of great tasting food!
Hortencia told us she was up til 2:00 AM earlier that day prepping all the food! Her homemade chicken parmesan pasta was especially exquisite, as was the one with ground beef. Cartoonista Grasiela Rodriguez, who by the way is one of the super troopers of the group, enjoyed one of Hortencias homemade brownies.
(You can see a bit of the dispenser in the foreground that was filled with several gallons of Hortencia's homemade horchata!! Man was that delicious!!)
It's a Cartoonista tradition to eat and eat along with all the art that gets created. Although that evening, even though we brought our sketchbooks, some of us didn't crack them open (I'm one of the guilty ones). What we did do was talk about comic artist's Neal Adams 'Expanding Earth Theory', Frank Miller's fall from grace (although some of us are hoping he actually starts making great comics again!!) and why the Godfather films are so &*^%$* great! I also shared with the folks why I first saw the EXORCIST on a sunny Saturday afternoon with all the living rooms curtains open (and yeah, I was in my 20s!!).
Some important business was conducted. We crowned two new artists into the Cartoonista fold.
. The man in the middle is Geo Brawn IV, comic book creator and artist, and to his left is an animator and cartoonist who came to us very highly recommended by Raul Agurrie, Mr. Luis Escobar.
I had actually met Geo on a few previous occasions, and took a liking to his get-up-and-go attitude. Luis I had never met, but found him to be very approachable and I think he'll be a great addition for us. Glad to have you two gents aboard.
Here's Co-Founder Jim Lujan looking satisfied with the festivities.
When Jimmy approached me about the idea of Co-founding the Cartoonistas with him, I'm not sure either of us truly expected how enriching this would be for us. Certainly I've made some new friends and associates in the group. And all the artists over the last two years have shared great experiences with one another. The live art shows we perform, many for young audiences, have been the things we're most proud of, and pretty much all the Cartoonistas feel the same way. Jim and I have talked about continuing to make the Cartoonista brand even better, and working alongside all our talented members, I think we're heading that way.
Another highlight for me last night was receiving a very special gift from Hortencia:
She made me a trio of sugar skulls, customized for El Muerto! I was floored by this wonderful surprise. Her creative talents, and generosity, are not to be overlooked. Not only are these sugar skulls labor and time intensive (made from scratch, naturally) but what a great idea! She truly earned my deepest gratitude, and I was flattered to have received these.
It's gonna be hard to top this Cartoonista get-together, but we like a good challenge!
Friday evening's ART NIGHT at the PASADENA CENTRAL LIBRARY was so much fun, I could have easily gone another couple of hours!
These truly are the opportunities an artist hopes for, if one is interested in these types of events! Enthusiastic crowds, a venue to showcase your work and promote various things you're associated with, meeting some very supportive and interesting people, etc. The Library had numerous exhibitions and events that evening, as part of their participation in the city-wide ART NIGHT, many of them with a Latino theme (music, folkloric dancers, etc). For their spotlight on Latino Cartoonists, I was invited to attend along with Jim Lujan and Grasiela Rodriguez (both fellow Cartoonistas), and animator/cartoonist Raul Aguirre, Jr. (who started out the evening NOT a Cartoonista!).
Like other library events I've done, I always look forward to meeting the young and old and everyone in between. There was a young girl who, after I talked to her about what I do, asked me if she could sit down and draw as well. I was talking to her mother about how it's great seeing kids draw and even more important that their parents support them. The little girl took her time drawing a face, really working at sketching out the details and making it 'just right'. I like how she was attracting her own crowd.
At times, I would end up drawing for about 5 or 6 kids in a row. Most were happy to receive an EL MUERTO drawing, although some opted for a WOLVERINE or something else. At one point a mother came up to me and thought I had said I was tired of drawing and so told her son he couldn't get a drawing! Well, the little boy was very upset and so his mother wondered if I could possibly draw him something. I felt terrible that they had left in the first place, as I didn't intend to turn anyone away! I asked the young man he could have any drawing he wanted: Spider-Man, Batman, even El Muerto if he wanted. Well, to my complete and welcome surprise, he wanted, a DEMOLITION DOVE drawing! He had seen one of the color prints I had of that character (who has only appeared in one preview book I've done so far!) and really dug the cyborg Dove-turned-commando! Well, as happy as I was that he picked that, as I was drawing the picture I would look up at him and see he had the most enthusiastic smile lighting up his face! That's priceless, I tell you. To say the least, he was very happy with the drawing!
(By the way, notice how I draw on pre-printed sheets of cardstock emblazoned with some character images, my name and websites? I stole that great idea from Canadian D.I.Y. comic creator, Blair Kitchen!)
Among the folks I had the chance to meet was an older gentleman by the name of Ray. He specifically wanted to check out the Latino Cartoonist exhibit and was an interesting person to get to know. Ray's been and actor, filmmaker and musician in his life, and told me that his daughter was also an artist. He was interested in how I created my comics and we also talked about THE SHADOW radio drama! I ended up doing an EL MUERTO
drawing for his daughter, and he promised to send me a CD of a musical piece he had created. He introduced me to his wife, Adelita, and we all happily posed for this photo, with me telling everyone "Hey, Ray just adopted me!". These are the type of interactions with people you don't usually expect, but that's what makes these events more than the standard 'show and sell'. Which I don't mind doing at all, but some rich human interactions are pretty priceless.
Raul Aguirre had several of his newest paintings on display and spent lots of time drawing for everyone. This guy's a real people person.
Jim Lujan was well represented by a slew of new paintings he created just for this event. I love the old school superheroes, and I love Jim's art style. Combine the two and you get some real great looking pieces. C'mon, check out that IRON FIST!!
Amidst all this hoopla, I asked Jim to pencil one of his characters for me to ink later. He inked one of my sketches a short while ago, so now I'll be returning the favor. I'll post the inked piece here later this week!
Grasiela also had several new paintings debut here (although none of us seemed to have taken any pics!!). Here's Gras sitting by a collection of some of our work. Amidst all the Jim Lujan luxury items are her Spider-Woman painting and my EL MUERTO DVD (she placed that in there!).
I actually sold a lot more comics than I anticipated. What really struck me was that most of the sales were to kids, about 8-10 yrs old, boys and girls. Previous experience has told me that while my books aren't specifically created 'For Kids', the appeal of the character, at least visually, has pretty strong appeal. In an age where NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and X-MEN movies seem to be in many kid's homes, perhaps kid's can be exposed to a little more than Sesame Street level content? Of course, I can already see a couple instances in my next book, EL MUERTO:DEAD & CONFUSED PT. 2, that will probably test that theory!
Well, besides me analyzing my own market appeal, the other significant event of that wonderful evening was near the end of the exhibit, Jim Lujan formerly invited Raul to join the Cartoonistas. Raul was more than happy to join, and I declared to the remaining patrons there that they had just witnessed a secret initiation ceremony that most humans will never see!
Who makes a good CARTOONISTA? Well, Jim and I, as Co-Founders, have some pretty particular criteria. Moreso now, having built this organization from scratch over the last 12 months. Now that we have an exact idea of the crowds we attract and venues we display at, we are committed to keeping this a tight group of like-minded individuals with what we think is a perfectly suited art style and aesthetic for the group. Building this Cartoonista group with Jim and Grasiela and others has been one of the most rewarding things I've done as an artist, and the response we've received from the communities and organizations has proven our dream. And we're not done dreaming, either. This is an ambitious group!
Thanks to all who came out to see us,thanks to Nick Smith and the wonderful staff at the Pasadena Central Library, thanks to my fellow Cartoonistas and thanks to Enrique Diaz and the Nuvein Foundation for all the support they've given us!
Jim Lujan has more pics (and a video!) at his blog and on the site.
. The man in the middle is Geo Brawn IV, comic book creator and artist, and to his left is an animator and cartoonist who came to us very highly recommended by Raul Agurrie, Mr. Luis Escobar.
