Painting in Feeding Hills

A couple of weeks ago I was at the L5R charity tournament organized by Team Whiplash -- Eric, Ralph, Kevin, and... a couple of other guys I haven't talked with as much -- in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. I go nearly every year (and nearly every spring, for the Massachusetts Kotei they organize), and this time decided to do some painting at the event. I brought along my oil paints and the tired ronin from July, in a convenient 5"x7" travel size. It was a leisurely day of chatting and painting, and ended with a nice visit with my older brother and his family. I don't see them often enough.  Thanks for a fine day, everyone.

Here's a quick scan of where the painting left off:

April 2010

I had an excellent time in Calgary and Saskatoon Easter weekend at this year's Iron Samurai L5R tournaments. Thanks again to all involved.

Here are a trio of sketches from the trip. On the left, I was half remembering a story of Tomoe Gozen. I worked it up a bit more whilst recording part of episode 60 of Ninja Mountain. After so many weeks away it was great to catch up with Jeremy and Socar again.

Another trip is coming right up: next weekend, April 16-18, I'll be at C2E2 in Chicago. I will be in the artist's alley, perhaps looking very much out of place. Still, you're welcome to come by and wish me a happy birthday!

Wait, I'm Home This Weekend?

Yep, I've been traveling. Whilst in the Seattle area not only did I get to have a fine time at the Tacoma Kotei, I also got to catch up with friends I see all too rarely. Special thanks to (in roughly chronological order) Franz and Imelda, Jon, Mary, Jeremy, Richard, Greg, Leon, Drew, Dierdre and Raven. Obviously, I've left people out. Also obviously, it's because I'm a jerk.

Shortly after my Seattle jaunt I was off to LunaCon. It was my first real convention experience without a table to sit behind. I discovered things like panels, fresh air, lunch, people to talk with, and how an art show check in/out system works. (Also that if you don't follow the "whole dollars only" pricing rules you may get whapped on the head with a stack of papers. Repeatedly.) It was also great to see/meet Eric, Matt, Dan, Marc, Kelly, Hillary, Bill, Joe, Kris, Michael, Dan, Bob, Sue, Patricia, and... so many other people who also have names. I made no promises, right?

And look what my Golden Wyrm painting came back with! A hard worker, that one.

Upcoming Appearances

My 2010 travel season starts early this year. Here's what I have planned for the next handful of months. I'll be glad for anyone who stops in to say hello.

February 6-7: G-Anime 2010, Gatineau, QC Canada

March 6: Feeding Hills Kotei, Feeding Hills, MA USA

March 13-14: Tacoma Kotei, Lakewood, WA USA

April 3-4: Iron Samurai XP4, Calgary, AB and Saskatoon, SK Canada

June 26: Utah Kotei, Orem, UT USA

Cat Oni Attack!

I believe it was at the Aldershot Kotei in 2008 I talked with Mark Wooten about this piece. He had a drawing by his son Drew, and we thought it would be fun to take the design and work it up as a piece for an L5R card. I took some liberty with the design, but I think it's turned out well in the end. Hopefully Mark and Drew like it.

Some Older Sketches

Sorry for the dead air. Here's a page of sketches from earlier in the year.

Hida!

A Hida Kisada sketch for a fan in Brazil.