Happy Birthday Laurie Lee Brom

The Bad Seed Fine Art Giclée Print Hand-Signed by Laurie Lee Brom

Happy birthday to artist Laurie Lee Brom, whose paintings are filled with enchanting fairy folk, curious ghosts, and odd characters inspired by ghost stories and folk tales of the swampy American Southeast. The wife of renowned fantasy illustrator and dark artist Gerald Brom (known simply as Brom), Laurie Lee Brom is a Spectrum award-winner. This fine art giclée print entitled The Bad Seed has been hand-signed by Laurie Lee Brom. Approximately 11 x 12.5 inches and printed with archival inks on museum-quality fine art paper. Authenticity guaranteed for life by Collector's Shangri-La.

Happy Birthday Brom

The Art of Brom Book Hand-Signed with an Original Drawing by Brom

Happy birthday to dark fantasy artist Brom! His art is a harmony of extremes: dark and beautiful, haunting and inspiring, majestic and raw. Our Collector's Treasure of the Day is this hand-signed copy of The Art of Brom with an original drawing. Collecting together the very best of his art spanning his 30 year career, The Art of Brom includes images made iconic through his illustrated novels and his work in film and games. Brand new First Edition hardcover. Authenticity guaranteed for life by Collector's Shangri-La.

Happy Birthday Laurie Lee Brom

The Bad Seed Fine Art Giclée Print Hand-Signed by Laurie Lee Brom

Happy birthday to artist Laurie Lee Brom, whose paintings are filled with enchanting fairy folk, curious ghosts, and odd characters inspired by ghost stories and folk tales of the swampy American Southeast. The wife of renowned fantasy illustrator and dark artist Gerald Brom (known simply as Brom), Laurie Lee Brom is a Spectrum award-winner. This fine art giclée print entitled The Bad Seed has been hand-signed by Laurie Lee Brom. Approximately 11 x 12.5 inches and printed with archival inks on museum-quality fine art paper. Authenticity guaranteed for life by Collector's Shangri-La.

The Penultimate Baby Tattooville

We didn't know it until our farewell brunch, but Baby Tattooville 8 was the second-to-last Baby Tattooville ever. For the uninitiated, Baby Tattooville is a weekend-long event celebrating the contemporary art community held at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. Organized by Bob Self and Baby Tattoo Books, this year's contingent included artists Laurie Lee Brom, Brom, Jeff Soto, Eric Fortune, Brian Smith, Miss Mindy, Brandi Milne, Joe Sorren, Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez, Tara McPherson, Bob Dob, Gris Grimly, Lola, and Rick O'Brien. Collector's Shangri-La has been fortunate to participate for the past four years, and we had an incredible time as always!

Baby Tattooville Exhibit Opening at the Riverside Art Museum

11 in 1 Signed Print with Original Art by Miss Mindy 

Lola and Brandi Milne adding Gumby and Pokey to the Art Jam Painting 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Lola 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Brandi Milne 

artists Laurie Lee Brom and Brom with Collector's Shangri-La's Kevin Segall 

Collector Chip Joslin with his Newly Acquired Brom Original

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Brom 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Darren Goldman 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Eric Fortune 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Gris Grimly 

Gris Grimly (and family) as he begins work on the cover 
for a new edition of Ray Bradbury's Halloween Tree 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Alex "Defer" 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez 

Stephanie Rogers with Scott Land's Clown Puppet 

Gabby Grave and Puppeteer Scott Land 

Bob Dob Customizing his Mousketeer Art Toys 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Bob Dob 

Lola and Andy Stern of Diesel Fuel Prints with Tara McPherson 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Tara McPherson 

Miss Mindy, KMNDZ, and Darren Goldman at work 

Miss Mindy and Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Rick O'Brien 

Tara McPherson, Rick O'Brien, Brandi Milne, Lola and Gabby Grave at the Art Jam 

Original Sketchbook Contribution by Jeff Soto 

Collectors Sandy and Tomas Brudvik with Chip Joslin and an incredible painting by Joe Sorren 

Kevin Segall and Stephanie Rogers at Tio's Tacos 

Stephanie Rogers and Kevin Segall at Tio's Tacos

Original Oil Painting by Brian Smith 

Assortment of Gift Bag Goodies from Baby Tattooville 2014 

Field Trip to Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 in Kansas City, MO

We had a blast at the second annual Spectrum Fantastic Art Live - a three-day celebration of the art and artists that bring to life worlds of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Organized by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner - the team behind the annual Spectrum art showcase book - now in its 20th year of publication.

Ragnar, Coop, Bob Self, and Collector's Shangri-La's own Stephanie Rogers at the Baby Tattoo booth

Our friend and Baby Tattoo publisher Bob Self is part of the jury panel for the Spectrum awards. So naturally, he brought his roadshow down through town to stop at the exhibition. Artists Coop, Gris Grimly, Ragnar (who has provided incredibly cool graphics for Collector's Shangri-La), and doll-maker Marina Bychkova, were all on hand to sign their books.

Baby Tattoo Roadshow Poster signed by the Baby Tattoo Family

Special Guests Peter de Sève and Terryl Whitlatch

Special guests Brom, Peter de Sève, Terryl Whitlatch, and other artists were on hand at the Flesk Publications booth to sign the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 Commemorative Book.

The Dancer and the Drum by Charles Vess from Moonheart by Charles de Lint

One of the highlights of the event for me was a presentation by illustrator and comic artist Charles Vess exploring the three major aesthetic themes that continue to influence the look of Fantastic Art today: British Fairy Tale Art, American Pulp Illustration, and European Visionary Art. I was lucky enough to purchase the incredible illustration above by Vess. It was published in the 20th anniversary edition of the fantasy novel Moonheart by Charles de Lint.

Cathy and Arnie Fenner at the Spectrum Live Awards

The Spectrum 20 Awards Ceremony at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City, MO was a visual treat! With it's opulent 1927-era interiors, the Midland was the perfect venue to showcase the incredible fantasy art of the past year.

The winners this year were:

SPECTRUM 2013 GRAND MASTER
Brom

ADVERTISING
Gold Award: Dan dos Santos, "Dragon Empress"
Silver Award: Android Jones, "Ganesatron"

BOOK
Gold Award: Dave Palumbo, "Fed"
Silver Award: Charles Vess, "Tanglewood: I Didn't Know She Was a Bottle Witch"

COMICS
Gold Award: Paolo Rivera, "Daredevil #10"
Silver Award: David Petersen, "Mouse Guard: Black Axe #4, pg. 19"

CONCEPT ART
Gold Award: Allen Williams, "Tree of Tales"
Silver Award: Daniel Dociu, "Guild Wars 2, Norn Lodge"

DIMENSIONAL
Gold Award: Virginie Ropars, "Acanthopis III"
Silver Award: David Meng, "Sashimi"

EDITORIAL
Gold Award: Sam Bosma, "Stability"
Silver Award: Sam Weber, "Cancer Monster"

INSTITUTIONAL
Gold Award: Kekai Kotaki, "Stampede"
Silver Award: Lucas Graciano, "Dragon Swarm"

UNPUBLISHED
Gold Award: Cory Godbey, "The Fish Master"
Silver Award: Andrew Mar, "Tell-Tale Heart"

Mouse Guard FCBD page 4 original art by David Petersen

One final treasured purchase I'd like to share is this original art by Spectrum 20 Silver Award-winner David Petersen from Mouse Guard FCBD 2013. Medieval mice with swords - what could be better?

Looking forward to next year!

Our Favorite Kickstarter Projects

We've seen the future of creative media funding, and it is Kickstarter! Though most of our favorite Kickstarter projects are no longer accepting funding, there's still time left to contribute to Ralph Bakshi's  (Fritz the Cat, Lord of the Rings) latest animated project and an exciting MAD Magazine documentary starring Sergio Aragonés, Jack Davis, Mort Drucker, and the usual gang of idiots. Kickstarter is a great way to support independent media - and score limited editions and autographs as an extra bonus!