2006 NCN Convention Report

I’m back from my very brief trip to Orlando which included a quick visit to the NCN convention, which had just gotten started yesterday. It’s too bad the one day I was able to pop in was day number one, as the walls had very little art on them even as late as I hung out last night. By Wednesday night this giant conference room will be overflowing with thousands of caricatures on every available wall space. I snapped a few pictures late Monday (technically early Tuesday) but all I could get was people working. Pictures below.

I’ve been to seven conventions, and they get bigger and better every year. This was no exception from what I could see. One thing that struck me almost right away was how many new faces were there. It’s usually the same 100-125 or so regulars, but this year I am sure over half the people there I had never met before. That is very exciting for the organization… new blood is so important for growth and to keep something like the NCN fresh. I met a number of artists I had ‘virtually’ met via the NCN on-line forum, but there were many others I had never seen before. It’s a shame I didn’t have time to meet more people… or to draw at all.

I also got a chance to see the guest speaker’s presentation. David O’Keefe is a florida-based artist who’s work is phenomenal. He does caricatures in both 2D and 3D sculpture, and the results are truly amazing. He’s also a very nice guy and it was a great pleasure to meet him. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera on me when I went in to check out the gallery of his originals, but you can see his work at his website. His originals are fantastic, and his presentation was very enjoyable.

Here are some pictures of some artists in action, with links to see their websites:

2005 “Caricaturist of the Year” Court Jones

Canadian caricaturist and
convention first-timer Sam Gorrie

Denver caricaturist and sculptor Brooke Howell

Wisconsin caricaturist and Illustrator Chris Rommel

Chicago artist and painter Grigor Eftimov

2003 “Caricaturist of the Year” Joe Bluhm

Belgian caricaturist and illustrator
super-talent Jan Op de Beeck

East coast caricaturist Paul Roustan

Next year I hope to be able to stay the entire week.