Just When I Think I'm Out...

They pull me back in.

I thought I was done this year as far as personal appearances went.  Not so, apparently.  I have two additions to make to the list, and they're both in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

September 2-4: Magic Pro Tour in Philadelphia, taking place at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  I will be there along with fellow Magic Illustrator Eric Deschamps, signing, shaking hands, and doing a bit of drawing.  It'll be good to meet some more Magic fans there, and I look forward to it!  All pertinent information regarding the event can be found here: link.

November 3-6:  Illuxcon in Altoona.  I don't have all the specifics on this one, but the Illuxcon website has all the artist list and I'm sure will soon have other pertinant bits for you fine folks to digest.

That's about all for now.  I'm pretty sure I've got everything, but I'm sure I've left something out...  If I did, it'll be posted above.  Cheers!

Japan Thanks, Connecticon Reminder, Mail News

Well, I'm back from Japan and eyeballs deep in the backlogged work.  Fortunately, I'm starting to dig myself out a bit and am making progress one painting at a time.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the Nagoya Pro Tour event.  Thanks to Ron Foster at Wizards for giving me the opportunity in the first place, for the help he provided in my subsequent travels, and for all the good times.  Thanks to Matt Danner who made an unreasonable number of trips to the Circle K, found me a garbage can, and made sure that I wanted for absolutely nothing while I was there.  Thanks to Toby Maheras, Mark Purvis and everyone else at Wizards.  I really had a great time (TOO good a time some might argue), and appreciate everything.

I'd also like to thank the fans who were awesome, as always.  I continue to be very fortunate to have folks who seem to dig what I do for some reason or another.  Truth be told, if it weren't for the fans, I wouldn't have a career in illustration and I am very grateful for their continued support and kind words.  Thanks a ton!

Finally, I'd like to thank a few folks in particular for the gifts.  Thanks to Seishirou, Ohkubo, Masaobu Kondou, Yuusuke Yamamoto, and Junji Tsukamoto for the shadow box art they made for me.  Thanks to Dalibor for the bookmarks and the tasty treats from Mexico.  And thanks to all the rest of those who bestowed me with gifts whose names I failed to catch.  I apologize for missing your names, but greatly appreciate the fan and the delicious deserts.  I don't know what I did to deserve any of it, but I really am thankful for all of it.

Now, just as a reminder my next appearance will be July 8-10 at Connecticon in Hartford, Connecticut.  As before, here is the pertinent information for that con: link.  Unfortunately, I will not be at GenCon this year and after Connecticon, will likely only be at one further event this year which has not yet been finalized.  Should that change, I'll be posting the information here.

Finally, I want to let you know that I will be opening my mailbox back up to mailed cards as of July 15th.  I should finally be on top of everything by then and my travel schedule will have eased significantly.  As was the case before, I will require that you email me before sending any cards so I know to expect them and so I can help you avoid sending things when I won't be home to receive them.  Also, as before, I will require that a self-addressed stamped envelope be included in the package.  So, in just a couple weeks feel free to send away!

Big, Big Update

First off, I've added four new pieces of art to the gallery: Phyrexian Hulk, Glistening Oil, Etched Monstrosity, and Surrender, which was the art for the Magic card "Surgical Extraction," and the piece I got into Spectrum 18 which comes out this fall.  Hope you enjoy them.

Secondly, I thought I'd update everyone on the card mailing situation.  I am planning on accepting cards again starting sometime this summer.  I think I've managed to work out the kinks with the Postal Service, but in the meantime, I'll be traveling enough that it's unlikely that I'll be at home to receive anyones cards.  So, as soon as my schedule smooths out, I'll open the mailing up and anyone that's interested can send their stuff my way.  Watch this news page for updates!

Thirdly, I wanted to give a list of upcoming appearances with a little more detail.  So, here goes:

• May 27-29 I will be appearing at the Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix tournament in Providence, Rhode Island.  The event will take place at the Rhode Island Convention Center.  Other artists appearing include RK Post, Lars Grant-West, Ryan Pancoast, and possibly Cyril Van Der Haegen.  Additional information about the event can be found here: link.  Should be a good time and I look forward to seeing everyone there!
• June 10-12 I will be appearing at the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour event in Nagoya, Japan.  Everything you need to know about this one can be found here: link.  Also appearing will be the artist commonly known as Daarken.  This should be a really interesting one and I'm definitely looking forward to it.  The culture shock alone will be well worth the trip!
• July 8-10 I will be appearing at Connecticon in Hartford, Connecticut.  I know little about other guests at the moment, but in the meantime, you can check out the website here: link.

I will be updating with more information as it applies to these events and others as things solidify in the coming weeks.  Otherwise, I encourage you to check out the links provided.  I will be present at the events above, ready to sign whatever is put in front of me, to draw and whatnot, and show off and sell my wares.  Please stop on by if any of the events happen to be in your area.

Finally, I just want to remind folks that I have a blog and I update it fairly often.  It's got everything from tales of my childhood to recent works and sketches to articles with tips on being an illustrator for you to peruse.  I encourage you all to check it out and take a look at some of what I have to say.  If nothing else, it provides a nice peak behind the curtain of the life of this illustrator.  You can either follow the link above or just click here.  Also, please follow the blog if you're so inclined.  It's easy and the link to do so is right there on the blog itself.

Well, that just about wraps things up for now.  I'm off to get some drawing and painting done now.  Cheers!

Badass Appearance

Tomorrow night, I will be at the Boston University Barnes and Noble for the Legend of Badass book signing event.  The author, Ben Thompson, will be there reading, signing, and pressing the flesh and while I'm a little uncertain if I'll be doing a bit of signing or not as well, I'll happily sign anyone's copies should they put them in front of me.  Here are the details:

The festivities kick off at 7:00 pm and will be located at:

Boston University Barnes and Noble
660 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02215
(617) 267-8484

If you live in or around the greater Boson area, are a fan of the book, or just want to come out and say hello to me, I'd appreciate it.  This ought to be fun, if nothing else!

Upcoming Appearance and Mailing Cards

It's been a while since I've posted any news, but this is primarily due to there being a genuine lack of news to begin with.  I have, however, been plugging away on my blog in the meantime.  Hopefully you've checked it out, but please do if you haven't already.  What's here is rarely there and what's there is never here.  Honest!

Anyway, finally something of note has occurred and I will mention it here:

I will have some work up at Boskone, a convention brought to you by the New England Science Fiction Association.  The art show is more of a gallery affair and you will not find me sitting behind a table somewhere waiting with baited breath for someone to pay attention to me.  You may, however, spot me floating around the premises (provided you know what I look like).  Anyway, the convention will be held primarily in the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel, and runs from February 18th through the 20th.  So, if you're in the area and want to check it out, I encourage you to do so.  If nothing else, there will be some really great art there to check out — after all, Greg Manchess is the artist guest of honor!

Beyond Boskone, I am trying to line up a few more appearances for the coming year, though I will likely not be out and about quite as much as last year.  2010 had me away from home for almost three full months, and it wore me down.  Hopefully, the fewer appearances this year will allow for more work to share and a happier Steve.

Aside from that, you may have noticed that I am still not accepting cards via the mail for signatures.  This is due to unreliable mail delivery and pickup as a result of the weather.  I've got my fingers crossed that the issue will be resolved soon.  I will keep my contact page up to date with information pertaining to this.  However, if worse comes to worse, it's possible that I may no longer be able to accept cards in the mail.  If this ends up being the case, I apologize in advance.

More news soon...