MidSouthCon31, where I had the honor of being a professional artist guest again this year, has come to a close and I feel energized and inspired for another year of creativity and expression. I have declared this year's con a wonderful success. :D And although art sales were down from last year (only three works sold), there is no replacement for the networking and relationships that were started and/or built upon. I rubbed elbows with some of the best writers and artists in publishing today. My co-panelist/art guest of honor was 2012's Hugo Award Winner/Best Professional Artist, John Picacio. How cool is that?! The two panels we shared the table on were: 03/22 (Fri) 6:00 PM Breaking Into Art As A Business What does it take to become a successful artist? What do publishing houses look for? Do you need a degree? 03/23 (Sat) 2:00 PM Digital Art: Past, Present, and Future From Andy Warhol's famous soup cans to the creation of immersive virtual reality installations. Where is digital art going next? The best part? He is so down to earth! He's not one of these uppity, condescending, entitled personalities. It was so great sharing space with him and even better spending some time outside the panels during tear-down and sharing a table during the after-con gathering in the con-suite, with both John and his assistant Tara (please forgive me if I am misspelling it), for a quick bite to eat. Oh ... and the coolest part? He knows my art-idol, Michael Whelan! I mean ... knows him personally! I have shared a professional panel with someone who knows Michael!!! Those of you who have followed me for any length of time knows my immediate drool factor when it comes to anything Michael has done or will ever do ... lol. OK ... lol ... before I get too giddy and lose all professional composure ... lol ... I highly recommend you follow John Picacio's website & Twitter pages. :D I mentioned I had three works sell in the art room. These are the three: