Illuxcon V
This year marked my 5th Illuxcon experience. I’ve been to all 5 Illuxcons, and my first, five years ago, was when I had just decided that I REALLY wanted to be an illustrator. Illuxcon has been a major part of my artist’s journey, and I want to thank Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire for putting this show together. Without their contribution I would not be able to say that I am now a full time professional artist. When I first went to Illuxcon I thought that traditional art was dead, and that digital was the only option. Because of Illuxcon I discovered that traditional art was still viable and possible. For all of that and more thank you Pat and Jeannie.
Every Illuxcon has been different for me, and this one was no exception. For the first time I was seeing the convention through the eyes of a professional artist. I found myself drawn to panels about a long term career in illustration, and had some great conversations about the industry and its direction. On Friday night I set up in the Showcase, and I received an EXCELLENT response to my art. Several collectors and artists stopped in my booth to chat.
My favorite conversation of the night was with Steve Ellis, an artist I look up to and did several portfolio reviews with at the first couple Illuxcons. Steve walked up to my booth and said, “Holly Shit Sam, is this YOUR art?” “Yes Steve it is,” I replied. “Damn dude you got good!” Steve said as he smiled.
Later in the night I explained to Steve that his book was very influential on my progress as an artist. (I even made a blog post about it a few years ago HERE.) Which of course made him very happy. (If you want to get Steve’s book HERE is a link)
After four days I was exhausted, but very pleased with the direction my career is going.
To see more of my work or to contact me for availability to help with your project please visit: www.samflegal.com
STAY STRANGE!
An Artist's Journey 