Owly and I just got back from the awesome Maine Comics Arts Festival (MeCAF) in Portland, Maine, organized by the incredible Casablanca Comics and the amazing Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina! We had such a great time at both shows that I wanted to share a few pictures from our journeys! Full-size versions of all of these are also available on Flickr!

On the Saturday before MeCAF I gave a presentation at the Public Library and had a fantastic turnout! MeCAF is only a one day show and we spent every second enjoying the wonderfully cool weather of Portland and enjoying all that the city had to offer. When I got home and realized that I hadn’t taken many photos, so I dusted off my old camera, resolving to take more pictures of the beautiful city and amazing people next year!

For some amazing pictures of MeCAF, be sure to check out the reports by Jen over at The Beat and Jamie on his site!

After the show we returned to Casablanca Comics to sign books and say our goodbyes! Rick and Laura, the staff, all of the volunteers, and everyone who came to the show was so amazing. We can’t thank you enough for all of your support and can’t wait to see you next year, MeCAF!

After we got home from MeCAF we turned right around and headed to Charlotte, NC for Heroes! This show is always one of my favorites, but this year is extra special because they asked me to do the poster for the show!!

Conventions also give me the opportunity to draw Owly and all of his friends for all the fans and this year, I’ve started doing little Watercolor paintings at the shows. I was inspired by the super-friendly Matt Kindt to try this because he makes watercolor look so fun! I did a few samples with Owly as The Doctor to give people an idea of what to expect. :) Heroes is a great original art show and I did quite a few drawings while in Charlotte. In fact, I’ve already uploaded them to my “Owly As…” section of my site!

And nothing is more gratifying than seeing all of the younger fans…. MeCAF and Heroes are incredibly family-friendly and the excitement kids bring to the comics community keeps the electricity level on high throughout the day. Little Katheryn here is a die-hard fan and kept me company for most of the show. Her incredibly talented artist mom, Echo Chernik was set up nearby which gave her easy access, and she wasn’t alone! We saw lots of kids of all ages each day of the show. Heroes is a nice, safe environment for even the youngest comic-book fan. :)

My idol and all around great guy J.Chris Campbell and his Wide Awake Press was in full effect as usual. His mini-comics and design work never fails to inspire me. He was there along with Brad McGinty, Josh Latta, Duane Ballenger, the AdHouse crew, and Adam, Shawn, Ted, Kris, Devin, Heather, Brandon, and all the other guys from the Dollar Bin! There to represent the web-comics crowd was David Malki, Keith Yonai and Brian Dunaway, Angela and Nick, and Danielle Corsetto with her new McPedro plushies!

Favorites of the show, cartoonist Dustin Harbin and crafter Jennifer Bennett both live in North Carolina, but Heroes attracts artists from all over. All-ages artist came in from Athens, Ga while Chris Giarrusso and Jacob Chabot, made the trip from New York to the delight of their fans!

Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen, made the trip from Arkansas and Atlanta and were there with their full-size Pinnochio puppet! Dusty was even drawing anyone or any character as a wooden puppet… always with adorable and hilarious results. ;)

For more photos be sure to check out my Flickr sets and if you’d like to purchase a copy of the Owly “Indie Island” Print, it’s now available for purchase in my store! We absolutely cannot wait for Heroes and MeCAF to come around again! We hope to see you all there next year!! ^,^