Illuxcon 2010 - Day 1

Illuxcon Day 1! Illuxcon is off to an impressive start this year. A very enjoyable breakfast followed by some socializing at the hotel filled the morning. A parade in downtown Altoona caused the majority of us to stick close to the hotel till it had passed. Once the close was cleared we headed on down to the Heritage Center to see how the set up was going. The awesome was already being turned up to 11 by the time we got there. Ralph Horsley had cracked his box open and amazing gorgeous work was spilling forth. Finally seeing Ralph's work in person was indeed a special treat. As I have said last year at Illuxcon and at Gen Con, seeing any reproduction does not do the original any justice. The originals are AMAZING!

A wall of Ralph Horsley. Did I mention how big they were?

Soon there would be more awesome to see.

The Hall was still very bare when we got there, but slowly the artist began to arrive. Vincent Villafranca, Jordu Schell and Thomas Kuebler were almost done setting up their sculptures and from the looks of it had been hard at work setting up their displays for awhile.

One Vincent's bronze pieces. It centers around the horrors of the first world war. The amount and complexity of detail on this piece is astounding.

Jordu's massive collections of busts both big and small await their final placement on the table.

Tom has a large display consisting of two figures and a flying monkey. This is a close up of the main figure. Creepy and cool in the flesh!

As the afternoon progressed the hall filled. Familiar faces began to arrive. It was really starting to feel like Illuxcon.

More and more art fills the hall.

One of the interesting pieces that showed up later in the afternoon was an entire chess set created by Vincent Villafranca. It was a private commission and the owner brought it to the show for display. The set is robots vs. monsters and is candy for the eyes. Vincent had actually never seen the set all together since he sent off the pieces as he completed them. Definitely one of a kind!

I am rooting for the monsters to win!

Six o'clock arrives and it is now finally the official start of Illuxcon 3! The hall was jammed pack and the excitement was palpable. It seems like everyone was ready to begin their Illuxcon 3 experience.

The walls and table are full of art and the artists are reporting for duty.

So much to see and take in. I already feel I won't be able to take it all in.

Lars Grant-West was one of the last to arrive and he didn't disappoint. Lars was responsible for the brochure art this year and the piece is beautiful. Really excited to see more traditional pieces by Lars. He also finally finished his Autumn Dragon and has it on display. I hope to have a photo of the dragon later in the weekend. I did get a photo of the brochure piece though!

A really big really beautiful piece.

I wrapped up the evening with finally bringing my treasured original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual to Jeff Easley for a signature. He did me one better and capped an amazing day off with a thrilling treat!

Wow! Just WOW! Thanks Jeff!

More socializing back at the hotel and more folks continue to arrive. Really getting ready excited for Day 2 and can't wait for the classes and seminars to begin!

Tomorrow is a big day, a portfolio review and the Showcase event! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com