North Country Arts Council Fall Show

I'll be heading to Watertown, NY this Friday to attend the opening of the annual NCAC Fall Art Show. It's going to be quite a large show, with something like 200 pieces. I'll have 2 watercolors and 2 oil paintings in the show, including my alien paintings from Jerk Magazine :)

If you're in the area, stop by the Dulles State Office Building Friday night! There will be live music and appetizers and from what I've seen so far, some really great art.

Penguin-Random House Merger

This is the first I'm hearing of this! Apparently the two behemoth publishers are currently in talks to merge, nothing decided as of yet. Hit up the article below:

Penguin-Random House Merger Talks: Rumors Confirmed

October 25, 2012

Pearson notes recent media coverage regarding Penguin, its consumer publishing division, and Random House (part of Bertelsmann). Pearson confirms that it is discussing with Bertelsmann a possible combination of Penguin and Random House. The two companies have not reached agreement and there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.

If anything changes, I hope it's for the better, resulting in more opportunities for poor starving illustrators like me.

I Might As Well Quit Now

Oh hey, haven't been feeling inadequate enough lately? Yeah, me neither. Well, I've got a fix for that. Check out some of these award winners at the Transparent Watercolor Society of America:

http://www.watercolors.org/exhibitions/

Thanks for being so awesome, everyone.

Why Does Your Book Cover Matter?

I recently began working with www.book-editing.com, and wrote a series of articles on book cover design for my profile there (soon to come). Here is the first.

Why Does Your Book Cover Matter?

1. You want people to pick your up book in the store, right?

Most bookstores have rows upon rows of shelves just packed with books, all grouped by genre and author. As customers meander by, glancing at an entire row in a matter of seconds, why should they pick up your mystery novel, rather than that mystery novel next to you, or perhaps the memoir across the aisle? The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” came about because the cover is how the book makes its first impression on a reader. If someone can’t get past the first impression, they’ll never discover how great your story really is.

2. So the cover gets noticed. Now what makes a reader open the cover?

If you’ve ever browsed a bookstore, you know you can idly pick up a dozen books before settling on one. The cover’s job isn’t done once it catches the eye. No, its purpose is deeper than that. A good cover should connect emotionally or intellectually with the reader. A pretty picture by itself isn’t worth much if it has no meaning.

3. Don’t give everything away just yet!

An effective cover should prepare the reader, and set the mood, for the story, without spilling the beans. Telling the whole story is what the rest of the book is for. The cover should allude to more than it gives away, because that draws in the reader to find out for themselves. Otherwise, what reason does anyone have to actually turn to the first page? Leave them wanting more.

4. But I pictured it looking different when I was writing it.

Is a good book cover simple or complex? Overflowing with imagery or text only? Is it pretty, gritty, elegant, edgy, dark, light, shouting for your attention or quietly commanding it? Trick question. What matters is what works.

Remington Show 2012 Part 2

Here are the images of my own art hanging in the Frederic Remington museum

Remington Juried Show 2012

The show went well enough this past weekend. It's a small opening but there were still plenty of people there, and I talked to a few of the other artists. An odd show, it seems to attract a more eclectic group of artists than most shows up here, which focus mostly on "adirondack art" and landscapes, which I generally despise. But this show seems more focused toward contemporary art (though still with plenty of token nature scenes) from a very accomplished group. I only wish it was better advertised- I almost missed the call for art deadline because I didn't see it posted anywhere until I went looking for it.

Here are some of my favorite images:

Reception 9-29-12

Just a reminder, meet me tomorrow at the Remington from 2-4 pm! There may be food, there will surely be some good art, but more importantly, you get to hang out with me, and that's worth the trip any day! ;)