JAVILAND Episode 38: Art shows for galleries and other venues

Exhibiting artwork in galleries and other venues allows you to expose your work to different audiences beyond your comic book readership. Besides the exposure, you've also got the opportunity to sell the work as well as meet other artists and like-minded people that can lead to further opportunities. I've been involved in group shows, as well as solo shows, both as a participant and an organizer, and they've always been rewarding experiences for me on various levels.

Here's a photo that I mentioned on the show, so I'm sharing it here with you now:

Back in October 2004, I had a solo art show at the Froden Gallery in Los Angeles. We were in the process of putting together the EL MUERTO film and had just signed Wilmer Valderrama (THAT 70s SHOW) in the lead role. Wilmer came to the Opening Reception, with his date, Lindsay Lohan. It's the first time I met him, and his appearance at the event brought some extra buzz to the show. He even bought a couple of my original pieces. This photo was actually taken by our director, Brian Cox. Brian would shoot us again some 5 months later when I filmed my cameo scene in the movie with Wilmer.

On this episode we talk about the various issues related to displaying artwork in a gallery, particularly the commissions that galleries often ask for. We share our various experiences in appearing in art shows, and the different situations that come up. The exhibit is a two-way partnership, the artists and the host both have to work together to maximize the event, at least that's what we find to be the case. We discuss strategies to get the most bang for your buck, and we also discuss a few of the 'downsides' of art shows.

I'm joined, for the first time on JAVILAND, by Joseph 'Chogrin' Games, illustrator and President of the Autumn Society of Philadelphia. Joseph and his group will be exhibiting in The G3 Show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles on September 3. Also joining us on this episode is web cartoonist Ryan Dow of LI'L BUDDHA fame. Ryan was recently in a group show called Lutefisk Sushi D in Minneapolis. 

To listen to the Episode 38, use the player located on the right or just click here to go to JAVILAND page at Talkshoe. And remember to subscribe to JAVILAND for free on iTunes so you can get every episode delivered to your library!

JAVILAND Episode 32: "Making Web Comics: The DOs and DONT'S"

This episode we put our focus on web comics. Something I personally have had little experience in, aside from two of my comics that I've put on WebComics Nation. But I've been asked to do an episode on web comics, and I thought I had just as much to learn as any listening to the show, so I put together a pretty good panel of web cartoonists who shared lots of valuable info on the ins and outs, the do's and dont's of online comics!

Joining us on the call for the first time on JAVILAND were Jules Rivera of MARSH ROCKET and Jimmy Aquino of THE PALACE. (Jimmy, by the way, is also the host of the internet radio show A FISTFUL OF SOUNDTRACKS, one of my favorite radio shows to listen to when I'm drawing.)

Our other callers included: Tyler James, Ryan Dow, Krishna Sadasivam and Peter Palmiotti.

This may be the most callers I've had on one show at the same time. But the good thing is the experience they each brought as web comic creators really added a lot of valuable content to the show. Issues we talked about included:

-Having as much of your comic done before beginning to release it online
-Creating a reasonable schedule that allows you to maintain consistent quality in your work
-Maintaining a fixed schedule for the updating of your webcomic (same day every week, for example)

One interesting news item we heard on the show was from Ryan Dow. He had just won the BEST WEB COMIC for the 2009 SPACE Prize! Congratulations to Ryan. I've been reading his web comic for about a year or so, and it's always nice to read his personal, reflective comic. It really captures his voice.

To listen to the Episode 32, use the player located on the right or just click here to go to my page at Talkshoe.

Thanks to all in the chatroom, the callers, and of course the people who listen to the show!