Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Pensacon 2019 THIS WEEKEND!

I am THRILLED to be returning as a guest to Pensacon this coming weekend, February 22-24! I LOVE Pensacon, and I always have a fantastic time there. Not enough good things can be said about Pensacon, and I hope to see you there!
I will see you at Pensacon February 22-24, 2019!

The map for Pensacon is up, and you will be able to find me at table 20N on the third floor of the venue in the artist alley. There are a ton of fantastic artist appearing this year at Pensacon, and I will be tabling near several of them. It should be an excellent time with lots of yummy art for the eyes to take in.

Come find me at table 20N, I will be right next to Sam Flegal!

Lastly, I will be part of two events this year. The first will be a sit down with Brain Stillman and Sam Flegal to talk about making art for gaming and dealing with collectors and collecting art. It should be a fun chat and the first time I have had the opportunity to panel with Sam. This panel takes place at the opening of the show on Friday, so don't miss it. The second event will be the screening of the Eye of the Beholder on Saturday. There will be a Q&A after the screening, and since I will be the only artist in attendance that is in the film, I will be there with the filmmakers, Brian Stillman, Kelley Slagle, and Seth Polansky. I hope to see you at one or both of these events! 

Come see me talk about things!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here next week after Pensacon! Until then...

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

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Spectrum 26 - Sunken Stalls

To be honest, I never thought this day would come. For many years I certainly hoped and dreamed it would. Now that it has, I find my reaction a little strange. Yesterday they announced the artists included in Spectrum 26, which is coming out later this year. For those unfamiliar with Spectrum, it has been the preeminent fantasy art annual for over a quarter of a century. For a large portion of the morning, I was under the assumption that once again, after nearly a decade of trying to get in, I had been rejected. It turns out I was mistaken. It turns out that I have been accepted into Spectrum 26.

Spectrum 26 Call for Entries poster (detail) by Tyler Jacobson

When I realized my error, I was surprised by my reaction. I did not jump around or feel dumbstruck in excitement. I merely stared at my name and said, "Huh." Maybe it is because I had thought I did not make it in, perhaps it was because going into this year's submission process, I had no expectations, or maybe in it is because I am now in a place with my art that I don't really look to outside recognition to validate my work. Whatever it was, it left me with a quiet, introspective moment when I learned the news. Do not get me wrong, this is a tremendous honor, and I am thrilled to be included in the book with so many other fantastic artists. I have spent close to a decade trying to get here. I have spent a fair amount of money over those years on submission fees. To fight to be included in something for so many years knowing deep down that my work is really not suited for what Spectrum selects and to finally get in, well, it feels strange. I am thrilled, but it feels strange. Here is the piece that was chosen, Sunken Stalls, which will be appearing in The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia.

Sunken Stalls
16 x 20 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals
© 2018 Christopher Burdett

One of the reasons this all feels rather strange is that being accepted does not make me feel any different about my art. For years I think I was looking for the validation of Spectrum to show me that my art is good and that I am a good artist. I needed someone or something else to prove to me that I was doing a good job. After twenty years of making art professionally with fifteen in the gaming industry, maybe I don't need that anymore. Maybe when I finally get that thing I so desperately needed, I realize I no longer need it. What it does show me is that now that I am doing MY work, telling MY stories, and sharing MY world is when I am accepted. It shows me that I have made the right choice in focusing my time and energy on my creations.

I distinctly remember when Spectrum 1 was released. I worked at a comic book store while trudging through junior college with no goals or plans for the future. An art career was not even a remote glimmer in my eye. The shop owner ordered many copies of the book because it would be the next big thing, and he loved art. I poured over that book, drinking up all the gorgeous work having no clue of how it was made or how one gets to the point to do such work. I guess, for me at least, it takes twenty-five years of life to get there.

I should also mention that I almost did not submit this particular piece to Spectrum this year. I had my favorites from the Grand Bazaar and was planning to only submit those. The way the submission process works is that there is a price break on a series, and I was submitting around two more than the price break allowed. This meant I had to submit an additional series and double my entrance fee. I thought long and hard about it and almost played it cheap. In the end, I decided to do all or nothing. So glad I did.

I would like to extend to huge thanks to everyone at Spectrum, Flesk Publishing, and the jury. It is an honor to be a part of Spectrum 26, and I cannot wait to see the completed book later this year.

That is all for another exciting TUESDAY on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

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

Monday, February 18, 2019

BLOG-a-versary - Ten Years of Yammering!

On February 17th, in 2009, which was yesterday, I began this blog. If my math is correct, that is ten years ago, and somehow I have kept this thing afloat this whole time. If you can believe it, this post is my 1512th post on the blog. Apparently, I can yammer on and on about things for many years.

Not sure how many of you have been here for all ten of these years, maybe some or maybe none. It is a lot to keep up with, and there is always about a dozen too many things to deal with. The last ten years have certainly been an adventure. I really need to write my 2018 year in review post, so much has been happening. When I started this blog ten years ago, I was desperate to get more involved with the gaming industry, and now I am neck deep making my book and focusing on my work. Funny how ten years can change things. Speaking of my book, there is this to share.

I may not be posting as much new art, but there is work getting done.
This is the rough draft #5 of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia from last month.
So much in it has changed since then, for the better!

Can't stay longer, there is too much to do. I promise that I will be back to fill you all in on things the moment I have the time. I am hard at work on multiple fronts and pushing forward as quickly as I can. More on all this soon!

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

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

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Creatures of the Galaxy Adversary Deck - The Return of the Ronto

I keep stumbling across instances of my Star Wars illustrations being reused on various other Star Wars projects. This time around I have for you the Creatures of the Galaxy Adversary Deck from 2016. It has been under my radar for over three years, so better late than never to share it. The adversary deck sees the return of the Enraged Ronto that I originally painted in 2013 for the Suns of Fortune Star Wars RPG supplement. Here is a look at the new incarnation of the art as the Enraged Ronto.

Ronto
Creatures of the Galaxy Adversary Deck
© 2016 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

To be honest when I learned that I had work in this deck I was expecting it to be the Nexu or a Rancor. Not really sure why I had not considered the Ronto as an option. I was a little surprised but glad to see it saw the light of day a second time. Not sure how many people ever saw it in Suns of Fortune the first time around. If for some reason you are hunting down Creatures of the Galaxy Adversary Deck to complete your collection of my work, here is an image of the front of the packaging so that you can get the correct one.

Creatures of the Galaxy Adversary Deck - For all your creatures of the galaxy needs

Lastly, here is the original illustration for the Enraged Ronto. You can have a look at the entire beast and not be distracted by the stock background they added to it in the deck version.

Enraged Ronto
Suns of Fortune - Star Wars RPG supplement 
9 x 11 - Digital
© 2014 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

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

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

Monday, February 11, 2019

Art vs Artist - 2019

The art vs. artist meme is going around again, and I thought I would once again take part in it. I previously shared art vs. artist images in 2018 and 2016, not sure what happened in 2017. This time around I using my most recent works from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. Granted, some of these are a little older from last year because I am currently focusing on writing I am not creating new pieces for the book. That said, here is my submission for #artvsartist.

Art vs. Artist 2019

Not much else to say about this, I think it speaks for itself. I need to get back to work. RAWR!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, I will see back here on Wednesday! Until then...

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

Friday, February 8, 2019

And Another Unexpected Installation

Last week while walking in the morning I came upon another art installation. You might remember some of the other installations I have shared recently. This time around it was a two piece presentation at the entrance of a pedestrian tunnel under train tracks. On one side was a hand-painted Native American statue and on the other side was a metal pair of palm trees. I found the statue to be very interesting and the paint job compelling. Here is a look at the installation.

The Native American statue.

Metal palm trees for all your metal palm tree needs.

A closer look at the statue...

...and an even closer look.

Unfortuanlty, we can not have nice things, and after two days the installation was destroyed by some cretin who finds it easier to destroy than to just keep walking. The palm trees are gone, and the statue is completely smashed. There is a mark on the sidewalk where it shattered.

We can not have nice things.

I wish I had gotten photos of the statue in the daylight. Its paintwork is a lot more complicated than I initially thought. Oh well, next time. 

I hope that this does not deter the artist from continuing these installations. I do love finding them, and they make my day so much more exciting and happy.

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

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

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Portent Artist Proof Sketch

Recently worked on another Magic the Gathering artist proof sketches. This time around it was on a Portent card, and since it was going to friends, I wanted to have some fun with it. They have already shown a great deal of enthusiasm for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia, so I tried to tie it all together. I present to you Ethra acquiring the Portent sphere.

Recent Magic the Gathering artist proof sketch on a Portent card

Yet another quick post today. I continue to have a backlog of posts to put up, but my schedule has been rather busy, and it allows for only the briefest amounts of time for the blog - if any. Eventually, I will push out some beefier content. 

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

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

Monday, February 4, 2019

Scum and Villainy Adversary Deck - The Return of the Mon Calamari

I keep stumbling across instances of my Star Wars illustrations being reused on various other Star Wars projects. This time around I have for you the Scum and Villainy Adversary Deck from 2014. It has been under my radar for nearly five years, so it is going to be the first I share. The adversary deck sees the return of the Mon Calamari arms smuggler that I originally painted in 2013 for the Hidden Cache card from the Edge of Darkness expansion for the Star Wars LCG. Here is a look at the new incarnation of the art as the Arms Dealer...

Arms Dealer
Scum and Villainy Adversary Deck
© 2014 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

If for some reason you are hunting down Scum and Villainy Adversary Deck to complete your collection of my work, here is an image of the front of the packaging so that you can get the correct one...

 Scum and Villainy Adversary Deck - For all your scum and villainy needs

Lastly, here is the original illustration for Hidden Cache. When this piece is reused, it is usually heavily cropped. We will see the opposite of this cropping later this year when this piece is reused again. More on that when it finally happens.

Hidden Cache
 Edge of Darkness LCC Expansion
10 x 6.5 - Digital
© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

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

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