John Fleskes blog post Q&A on Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2014

Publisher and art fan John Fleskes isn't just a great booth neighbor at conventions! He writes a thoughtful and instructive blog on lots of facets of art. His recent post on Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2014 offers great pics and insights into this Kansas City-based show. Here's link to John's Flesk Publications blog post:
http://fleskpublications.com/blog/2014/05/22/spectrum-fantastic-art-live-2014-pictures-and-qa-with-john-flesk/

Pic below from John's blog shows (l to r) Mark Schultz, James Walker and John Fleskes at Flesk Publications booth, Comic Con San Diego 2012.

Frank Pe visits store, discovers inspiration from Terryl Whitlatch book, UPDATED 6/7/14 WITH PICS OF SKETCH HE LEFT ON SNB DRAWING BOARD!!!

UPDATE 6/7/14 - Scroll to end of post to see SURPRISE!!!

We were honored with a visit from artist Frank Pe, who stopped by the store before leaving the US. He was a guest at the recent Big Wow convention in San Jose -- and used some extra time in CA to see our local zoos and aquariums. Frank has seen most of the great zoos of the world -- and knows the names of most of the animals in English and German, as some of the best zoos are located where these languages are spoken! Who knew? It was delightful to show him our various animal art books in stock -- and to introduce him to animal artists he wasn't familiar with yet.

Frank's visit was yet another example of how the best artists are ALWAYS LEARNING -- and always drawing. You may feel you "can't draw" on some days -- but anyone can make the effort to learn more and draw more, and that's how you get better!

 Frank Pe -- one of the best animal artists working today -- was inspired by the work he saw in Terryl Whitlatch's book "Animals Real and Imagined." Listening to artists talk about the books and artists who impact their own work is SO INSTRUCTIVE!! It's a great way to learn how they see things and what they are looking for when it comes to reference material and new ways to explore their own art. Discussing art books and exhibits with other artists opens interesting doors to the creative process.

What fun it was to hear him in awe of her command of animal anatomy -- and marvel at the expressive life in her drawings. He was especially impressed by her unique ability to render drawings full of all sorts of scientific detail and yet also retain so much vitality and animation in each animal's character and expression. He appreciated her command of knowledge about so many very specific types of animals -- and all this from an artist who is renowned for his own animal art!

If you're a fan of animal art, we have a number of books available on this subject. Here's a link to more info on this particular book:
http://stuartngbooks.com/whitlatch-animals-real-and-imagined.html

HERE' ARE PICTURES OF SNB DRAWING BOARD WITH FRANK PE SKETCH --

Aren't we lucky at SNB that many of our artist visitors leave a sketch on our drawing board! Frank added his big cat (Snow Leopard) right near Terryl Whitlatch's sketch of one of her favorite animals -- The White-Tailed Gnu (aka Black Wildebeest). All artist visitors from kids to pros have braved the board and left their drawing. Will YOU be next??

Walt Disney Family Museum a MUST SEE (UPDATED 5/29 with link to Deja View blog post and updated 5/26 w/ WDFM link & pics)

The Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM) in San Francisco is a MUST SEE destination. Not only is it a state-of-the-art museum facility, with all the bells and whistles -- the location is stunning, serene, and reflective. In addition to the permanent collections on display, they offer amazing programming and special exhibits. We were there earlier this year for the opening of the Mary Blair show .. and returned to see the new Marc Davis exhibit (while we were in nearby San Jose for Big Wow). In every gallery, you not only see the development of the Disney company, but also information about what was going on with the Disney family during that same era. Here are some pics to give you a flavor of the place --- plan your own visit soon and allow lots of time!!! There's more to see than you might imagine. Cafe on-site is outstanding -- and there are all sorts of treasures in the Gift Shop. Find more info at their website: http://www.waltdisney.org/

These 4 pics are from the WDFM website:

The rest of the pics on this post are ones I took during our visit. A BIG PLUS for artists who visit here -- you can take photos (just turn off your flash).

 Storyboards were invented by Disney film making process

 Walt had a team of polo ponies...

 This display invites visitors to turn these triangles and learn more about the many artists who contributed to the classic Disney films and "look"

 beautiful concept art for Bambi

 old-school animation desk

 multi-plane camera...

 goodwill tour

 concept art  for Lady and the Tramp -- by EYVIND EARLE!!!

 Walt Disney had a fondness for miniatures and some of his collection is on display

 these were gifts to his daughters ....

 more miniatures ...

 on the upper floor -- there is an entire wall of window so you can look out on a billion dollar view of Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz!

 working model replica of Disneyland --

 quick pic at entrance to Marc Davis show

UPDATE 5/29 --- Here's link to post on terrific blog 'Deja View" by Andreas Deja -- his 5/28/14 post features actress and voice of animated "Malecifcent" Eleanor Audley -- as well as a pencil animation sequence by Marc Davis -- below is pic from Deja's blog post -- his lobby card signed by Davis and Audley!

Here's link to blog post:
http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2014/05/listen-well-all-of-you.html

The Walt Disney Family Museum is so state-of-the art it offers all sorts of recycling... honoring the past and an amazing legacy -- while thinking of the future ...

Big Wow 2014 -- getting started (1st of 3 posts on Big Wow)

It all has to start somewhere -- and this is what a convention hall typically looks like at move-in ...

We literally build the booth, bringing tables, covers and bookcases with us ...

We get to see the other exhibitors arrive ...

When our pallet of boxes shows up at the booth -- the real fun begins!

And all those grids and displays you see that vendors use to display their wares -- THEY BRING AND BUILD THEM!

Doing shows is lots of physical labor -- it's part of the bookseller fitness plan :)