Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again- An Artist's Tale

The White Rabbit situated next to Ricardo's Pizzaria.

 Well, I went down the rabbit hole and lived to tell about it. Actually, the whole experience was a lot of fun. I met some really nice and talented artists, met a couple of old friends from my Ripley's Haunted Adventure days and sold a painting. Not bad. See what happens when you take a chance?

There were a lot of artists of varying styles present making art on site as well as bringing completed work to sell during the event. You could tell that they were Art Slam veterans because they all had one very important piece of equipment: chairs. There were times during the evening that I would have loved to rest my aching dogs. Oh, well. Live and learn. 

The artists on one side of the space setting up.

Shortly after the doors opened the crowd grew rather quickly and it wasn't long before I had to watch out for people standing directly behind me as I stepped back to check the progress of my work.

  I've been in art exhibits where there was live music and so forth but this was a very unique experience for me where I felt very comfortable. It was not a "stuffy" event and there was definitely a party atmosphere especially as the night progressed. It's nice to have a cold brew as you paint and schmooze.

My cozy little spot twixt two doors leading to the bar and stage. Sorry for the blurred image. I think the music vibrated the camera.

I arrived a little after 6p.m. just as the artist were about to go in. I set up my space on the side of the building opposite the main entrance along with about a dozen other artists. Right at seven 'o' clock I started my painting of several bounty hunters  seen from The Empire Strikes Back plus Jabba the Hut, Darth Vader and the Emperor thrown in for good measure. For a while there I thought perhaps that I'd bitten off more than I could chew by illustrating so many characters in one piece with only five hours to complete it. 


Two hours later the painting was more than halfway complete and I felt a little more relaxed knowing I still had three hours to work. The biggest challenge for me was the lighting. I had no where to properly hang my light so next time I'll bring a stand of some sort on which to hang it. I made due with as much of the spillover light from the neighboring artists on either side of me. It all worked out in the end. A couple of hours before I completed the piece  I had a buyer.

 It was a real mix of patrons that evening. On the one hand there were people that came for the Art Slam who didn't seem like White Rabbit regulars and then there were those patrons who were the regulars that also enjoyed the art. It was a great mix of people which made it all the more fun.  A number of patrons took photos as I worked and one commented how he liked my method of using paints, mediums and brushes referring to it as "old school". One fellow asked why I had included Boba Fett in my painting because he felt he wasn't a true villain. 

I'm looking forward to the next Art Slam in September. I hope to be a part of that fun evening too.