Pics above are from my time at a recent show in Rochester, MN for a tabletop board game convention. While the primary focus of the attendees was focused primarily on playing games rather than shopping, I did okay. I had low expectations as it was a first time show and tried my best with the expenses laid out. Incredibly humbled by my friends who often paid for snacks, meals and even drinks! It definitely made my weekend a much better with their friendship and company. It means a lot and I hope to return the favors soon enough despite their unwillingness to accept my paltry gifts!

I was also there as passive support for my friends competing in the big Warhammer 40K tournament, It was a big buy in and over 32 players there to showcase their skills and miniature hobby talents. I enjoy Games Workshop products very much, but I do not see myself as a competitive player anytime soon. It is quite busy enough to dedicate time for family, drawing and some hobbies without adding competitive gaming into the mix.

Up next is Adepticon! I will actually be going as an attendee for once and enjoy the show & take classes on all things miniature painting & color theory. I will plan on providing some details leading up to the event soon enough. After that I will be vending at DaveCon in Minneapolis, MN. That will be an old school, TSR, Dungeon Crawl Classics type of vibe. My artwork takes a lot of inspiration from these themes, so it will be nice to be in my niche for a little bit.

However we have been able to find some time to work on our craft and pencil in some commissions I was recently hired to do. Very thankful for the chance to work on new subjects and happy to work with returning customers.

First up are two out of three character sketches. These are part of some world building for the customer's RPG game/novel.

Working on my first ever Warhammer 40k piece!

A tabaxi wizard pinup for a local customer.

Lastly I've been inspired to work on a new original illustration for fun.

Being able to work on some exotic models is also a plus. This model is from Artisan's Guild.

During a move, my wife and I decided to make gifts for each other. She made me some baked goods and I worked on a mini based off of her D&D character. This was the first time I sat down and really put hours into a model.

While I am still learning to play 40k, I am much more interested in just painting the miniatures than playing for sure. Orks seem to be the best match up with my play style. Not sure if that is a good thing or not! Luckily the folks at my FLGS are great teachers and leaders, so they are more than happy to show me the ropes.

Currently I am working on this pinup model from HeresyLabs of a Death Guard. I had fun painting a Plague Marine from a previous competition, so I am trying to push my skills and attempt to learn some new techniques like NMM (Non Metallic Metals) and more.

Anyway, I hope to do more posts soon! It has been a hot minute since I have shared anything here. Things have been busy creative-wise. Have a wonderful week.

I did have some time to work on a black and white sketch commission as we passed through Minneapolis. Shout out to my customer Tony for the work! This is a sketch for one of his fellow players in a D&D campaign. This was a fun sketch to do and throwing in some OSR skeletons. I'm always down for these types of commissions, so I was very happy for the opportunity. Thank you, Tony! Hope your friend enjoys the gift.

Of course I had to get some supplies for miniature painting at the Source in Roseville, MN! 

My great friends at Now & Then have kept the space for my art display. Finally had some time to set it up since Coulee Con. Some originals have already sold off since I had finished the display, so stop in when and if you can. Thanks for the support

Other than that, I am happy to be back in Iowa with my family. We're so glad we took a vacation, everything worked out perfectly. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and until next time.....take care!

​-Jordan

While not the attendance size I was hoping for compared to last year, I still had an excellent time with my audience and my friends; Markus, Kris and Dominic. Kris and Dominic also ran their first booth for their shop Now & Then from Mason City, IA. 

The best part of doing things like vending or artist alley is that you're sure to learn and have mistakes along the way. While I enjoyed having most if not all of my work available to my audience, it did cut me off from interactions except for my brief opening. After some constructive criticism from my friends and other artists, I will evaluate and reconstruct it for future events. 

It is still a humbling experience being able to talk & interact directly with my audience. Last year I met a great group of friends who have made it their goal to gift me food and continually purchase my work. I even dedicated my latest zine project to them. To Grant, Angeli, Adam, Zach, Chynelle, Blake, thank you guys so much for your continued support. I look forward to chatting and planning next year.

I did a few commissions this year including, a dark elf fighter with a magic panther, a goblin pinup and a tiefling paladin using Spiritual Weapon spell on some undead.

I also received this lovely illustration from Angeli this year! I'll be sure to do a post on artwork I've commissioned or have done trades with soon.

This was a fun commission to do. This was ordered by the same lovely couple who ordered from me last year. This is their fairy OC for a novel they're working on. Had a lot of fun drawing the hiar and coloring it in. Thank you Klover Rae for the opportunity! 

One of my newest friends and patrons, Grant, gave me a fresh loaf of artisanal bread in his maid-cat café cosplay. It was glorious and so was the bread! Absolutely delicious!  He was also the owner of the Tiefling Paladin commission. Thank you, Grant!

There was a ton of gaming hosted by the local area group D.A.W.G. (Driftless Area War Gamers). You could learn new games, participate in the Warhammer tournaments or the Miniature Painting competition!

A very special thank you to the D.A.W.G gaming group and especially Megan & Tom Johnson for making the event happen and providing so much work to make the con grow even more. 

My friends and I decided to leave Thursday and stay the night in La Crosse so we could have an easy morning getting set up Friday. We definitely plan to do the same trick again for this show or any other if we decide to have booths at.
For almost 3 dinners straight we ate exclusively at Buzzard Billy's. It is a Cajun/seafood/American eats establishment.
We had nothing but amazing food and service every time we went. We had fun just ordering random things off of the appetizer list and sharing amongst each other. We even did that for our main dishes as well. If you find yourself there, the fries with Cajun seasoning is a must, the seafood alfredo & bacon wrapped andouille sausage will knock you out.

I had a few illustrations to work on while we hung out at the hotel. We made sure to have drinks, open up my friend's Pokemon booster packs & play some new games like Tiny Epic Defenders. Highly recommend for a short party game that can be done in 30 mins with multiple scenarios.

​The one downside to the convention was numbers. With Gen-Con happening the week before, some folks had already spent their cash, played their games, or were just overwhelmed with back-to-back conventions. There may have been other factors in play, but regardless I still had fun thanks to my friends and audience. If it wasn't for them, I do not believe it would have been as successful as we had hoped it would.

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Thank you Markus, Kris and Dominic for the fantastic weekend. Here's to many more in the near future!

Until next time
​-Jordan