Illuxcon 2017 - Part 4: The Crystal Cave

I will end my coverage of Illuxcon 2017 with something a little different. While this is not directly related to our time at IX, we got to experience it because of our trip to IX. About half way between Reading, PA and Allentown, PA you will find the Crystal Cave. We build in extra time at the end of our trip to Illuxcon so that we are not rushing to get to the airport and can take in some local sites on the way out of town. We never have a plan and just play it by ear to see what jumps out at us. This year we decided to stop at Crystal Cave near Kutztown, PA. I love a good cave tour and I find the formations of the rock to be gorgeous and I am humbled by the time it takes to forms the caves. Crystal Cave was really nice, but it was sad to see how much had been damaged or destroyed over the years by ignorant and destructive humans. Nevertheless, there is plenty of beauty to be seen in the cave and the tour was nice... though I could do without all the pareidolia. They are just rocks and rock formations, that is enough and they are a thing of beauty. If you have the time and are in the area I recommend stopping and taking the tour. Here are some images from the cave...

All images © 2017 Christopher Burdett

That's all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Illuxcon 2017 - Part 3

I had the fortune to be part of the Urban Sketching Workshop hosted by Sean Murray and Ron Lemen at Illuxcon this year. When I received the announcement email for the workshop and that it was limited to only a handful of people I made every effort to make sure I was a part of this awesomeness. I have been a huge fan of Sean's work for years and I love how he sees and creates architecture. As I continue working on The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia I inch closer and closer every day to begin visualizing the actual Bazaar and not just the monsters. I knew an opportunity to work closely with Sean would greatly benefit me and help me in my efforts. Both Sean and Ron had a lot to share as they talked about approaching sketching, architecture, and then abstracting and creating your own worlds. I can not speak highly enough about this workshop. It got me out of my comfort zone and got me to do a lot of things I never do, but really want to. I hope they provide this workshop again because I will definitely be there!

The workshop began with a brief conversation at the GoggleWorks about sketching and approaches to seeing rather than just looking at the world around you. Sean and Ron covered ways to approach abstraction and building complexity and that lived in feel that makes a world believable. A van was provided to transport us to a couple locations, which saved us a lot of time and allowed us to work outside the bubble of a few blocks of the hotel or GoggleWorks. The first location was an old shopping and manufacturing area. It was old but is still in use with layers of construction and remodeling from years of use. Sean and Ron would give a quick lecture about the area and approaches to working and then we were set free to sketch and move around the area. As a group we moved to a completely new area nearby on foot for more conversation and sketching. We sketched for 30-45 minutes in each area. We then took the van to a completely different area closer to the hotel. It was a small manufacturing area surrounded by a lot of very different buildings. Again, there was a small conversation about the surroundings and then we sketched. We moved as a group on foot to the last area a few block over that was more of a typical city street with large governmental buildings and architecture. Scale and detail was discussed and we had our last sketch setting. We returned to the hotel on foot and had final thoughts. In the end it was a four hour workshop and never a dull moment.

Here are some images from the day, as well a selection of my sketches that I liked...

Everyone's sketchbooks at the end of the workshop for review.

This was my favorite sketch from the workshop, it was also my last of the day.

It focused on something smaller and more intimate, which I prefer.

While these are not all of my sketches from the workshop, I feel these were the most successful and achieved the goals of the workshop. The fist two sketches of the day were my worst as I was figuring out which stylus to use and how I needed to approach what I was working on. I tried to stick with everything I was working on and did my best not to abandon a drawing if it was not working out as planned.

Here are a selection of images I took at the workshop. So might be recognizable as what I was looking at while sketching while others are just neat things I saw while exploring. Sean and Ron stressed that you sketch FIRST then you take your images. Once you sketch it you will remember it better and the image will help with details later.

After sketching in the first two areas we took a break to look at what every one was working on and do a recap before moving to out next two locations.

This is an invasive species that is reeking havoc on the local tree population.

They were everywhere... and I mean EVERYWHERE.

Tomorrow I will share some images and thoughts from after Illuxcon when we were in a cave!

That is all for another exciting Thursday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Illuxcon 2017 - Part 2

Continuing my coverage of Illuxcon 2017 I will be sharing my experiences from the Showcase. The Showcase takes place the Friday and Saturday nights of Illuxcon weekend. From 8pm - midnight over a hundred artist take over a ballroom at the hotel to share their art with all those attending IX. It is a super fun time to say the least. If you are set up in the Showcase or if you are simply attending, the energy in the room is crazy. It is such a great focused event and those four hours each night fly by. It was great being back in the Showcase and it is truly a special experience.

This year my focus of the Showcase was not to sell my work, but to talk about my current project The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. I brought all of my original drawings with me in a special portfolio so that everyone attending could see what I was working on. I also had with me my new table runner, stand up banner, and postcard that featured all new links associated with the project. I even had a computer set up so that people could join my new mailing list while at the Showcase. It was really wonderful to get to talk about my project with folks, share my art, and see the excitement that people had for what I am doing. It really made for a special time at the Showcase and one to remember. I want to thank everyone that came by my table, you made for a fun couple of nights!

I did bring a selection of client and other personal work with me that I did have for sale. My work on Magic the Gathering, Star Wars, and Dungeons & Dragons continue to bring people in and it is what I am know for. It was nice to be able to then point them in the direction of The Bazaar so that they could see what I do when I have complete control over a world. There is part of me that hopes one day that people will know me for my personal work... but I have a lot of work ahead of my before that would ever happen.

Here are some images from both nights at the Showcase...

My table is all set up and ready to go for the Showcase!

One half the table was dedicated to The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia.

Hopefully it is the beginning of things to come with my presence at events like this.

I was against the wall in the back of the room, so I could see everything if I stood on a chair.

While the Main Show is for traditional artists, the Showcase has no limitations, so you will see everything from watercolor, sculpture, digital, to pencil. It is a great cross section of veterans, students, up and coming artists, and everything in between.

A drawing I did in someone's sketchbook. I guess this counts as Inktober?

So monster sketches on the back of Magic cards.

Another view of the ballroom.

Saturday night was costume night. There was a lot of great costumes to be seen, including this Freakazoid!

Set up is done a few hours before the Showcase opens on Friday evening and tear down happens immediately after it closes Saturday night. Since I packed light I was set up in about 20 minutes and tear down was about the same amount of time. Only if every show was that easy!

Another Showcase has come and gone and I miss it already.

Tomorrow I will share some images and thoughts from the the urban sketching workshop!

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Illuxcon 2017 - Part 1

Another amazing and AWESOME Illuxcon has come and gone. This year was the tenth IX and I was so happy to be able to attend. I feel like I have always been a part of IX, but in fact I missed the very first year (I learned about IX after the first one was already over) and I had to drop out of attending one a few years back due to family issues. Eight Illuxcons is not to bad when you think about it, and I treasure each one. After being in the Main Show last year I decided I needed a break and went with being part of the Showcase which allowed me to once again attend IX and get the most out of the workshops, panels, discussions, and socializing. I absolutely LOVED being a part of the Main Show last year and the Weekend Salon the year before that, but it was really exciting to be once again being able to be at IX as an attendee and to take it all the opportunities to learn and to be free to look at the all art and catch up with so many great friends. I am still processing my time at IX2017, which is some of the reason these posts are so late. Every year I find myself at a different place in my life, at a different place in my career, and at a different place in how I see my art, which in turn means I interact with IX in different ways. I get something different out of it every time and, of course, seem to get just what I needed each time. Funny how that works.

This time around I am splitting up my posts about Illuxcon 2017 a little differently. Each post will be about a different part of my experiences with IX this year. Hopefully it is obvious that this one is more of an overview of my experiences and thoughts about another IX. I will also be doing a post about my time in the Showcase, a post about the urban sketching workshop I took part in, and finally a post about our visit to Crystal Cave after IX... it was cool and I would share the images from there no matter what. Also, don't forget about the Burdetticorn shirts!

After eight Illuxcons I still can't truly put my finger on what it is about IX that makes it so very special... well, I have my hunches, but it seems like when people have tried to duplicate it, it has not worked the same. There is an energy and excitement that is just so contagious about IX. No matter the venue, since IX is now it its third home, it follows it and seem to increase with every move. I don't necessarily leave Gen Con wanting to make more art feeling revived and energized, but I sure do when I leave IX. Every year I say it and I will say it again, if you are an artist, student, or someone that loves imaginative realism you need to get to IX. There is so much amazing art and nothing but time to talk about art, learn about art, and meet and interact with some truly amazing people. Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire have created a magical and amazing event and my yammering on this blog will never do it justice.

Here are some images and memories from Illuxcon 2017...

I always love a good gratuitous image out the window of a plane.

Almost to IX!

We fly into Allentown, which I HIGHLY recommend, and drive 30 minutes to Reading.

Fun fact, Allentown is where Peeps are made. There is a lot of fun things to do between Reading and Allentown, so if you are like us and like to build in some time at the beginning or end of a trip there are many things to check out before leaving Pennsylvania.

Another beautiful piece by Tom Kuebler!

Iris Compiet brought along a couple of here sculpted faeries to IX.

I love the presentation of this one so much!

A view of the second floor gallery space.

The fourth floor was rocking some amazing art this year!

Ralph Horsley got in some painting at his table while in the Main Show this year.

The Kickstarter panel by Jon Schindehette and Margot Atwell was extremely informative.

A peek at what Ralph Horsley is working on.

Huge pumpkins were huge.

This piece by Tom Kuebler really caught my eye.

Seth Polansky had a great panel on intellectual property!

Another image from the fourth floor...

...and another...

...and another.

Back to the second floor!

All good things come to an end and it was time to pack it all up.

 To be honest I did not miss having to pack up all my art in all the boxes at the end of the show like last year.

The last night saw the appearance of some very comfortable monsters, RAWR!

End things with another image out the window of a plane.

Tomorrow I will share some images and thoughts from the Showcase!

That is all for another exciting Tuesday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com