The Mine Studio's Drawin' Board

is it Friday? Free Lunch in Patch!

2012-01-27T05:27:00.001-08:00

There\'s a new Á LA CARTOON up at Patch.com! It\'s a Friday Free Lunch tradition! http://thegranbys.patch.com/articles/a-la-cartoon-cell-phone-nightmares#photo-8981691

Plainville show this weekend!

2012-01-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hey there, everyone! It's a new year and Cliff's got a show on Sunday, January 29th!
At the Plainville V.F.W. Hall- 7 Northwest Dr. (Route 10) from 10 AM to 3 PM.
99 CENT ADMISSION, CHILDREN UNDER 10 ARE FREE

Owners of Free Lunch Comics and Free Lunch Studios, Steve Kanaras and Matt Ryan will be there, now with a weekly strip just for Patch.com. Check it out and enjoy...

http://thegranbys.patch.com/articles/a-la-cartoon-riddle-me-this

...as well as conduct portfolio reviews, talk about upcoming classes, special events AND BRING MATT'S ONE BUCK BIN (sketches and drawings:all for a buck each!!). You can check everything that's going on at the site! www.freelunchcomics.com

Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

Alright, alright...

2012-01-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

...my last few entries have been important.....BUT not too much content. Today is different! I am involved with the Taste of Hartford this year in a "draw on a napkin" event. I was assigned the restaurant, DISH on Asylum Ave in Hartford. I went in for a visit before they opened and took some reference pics and was impressed. Pretty cool lookin' place. Here is my layout and napkin!

classes cancelled 1/21/12

2012-01-21T05:50:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately, due to the weather we are postponing Mad Science Cartooning and Comic Book Worlds. (^( See you next week kids.

New cartoon @ Patch.com!

2012-01-20T04:18:00.001-08:00

These strips are cooked up by Steve Kanaras and myself on a weekly basis just for Patch.com. Check it put and enjoy...http://thegranbys.patch.com/articles/a-la-cartoon-riddle-me-this

Free Lunch Studio's newest strip!

2012-01-12T17:45:00.003-08:00

Steve and I have a new strip that's exclusive for Patch.com! It's called A LA CARTOON! Click the link, log in and enjoy!

http://thegranbys.patch.com/articles/reintroducing-a-la-cartoons#photo-8885250

cover in progress!

2012-01-11T14:40:00.001-08:00

From Twin Robotz, COSMIC KISS! I\'d like to finish this today...we\'ll see.

Agent Images

2012-01-07T14:36:00.001-08:00

challenge sketch for 1/5/12!

2012-01-05T16:00:00.001-08:00

This guy I created a couple years back. Steve and I will be working on a book about him and some of his friends.

Granby Artists start a new challenge

2012-01-04T18:45:00.001-08:00

It\'s a new year and The Granby Artists Association\'s painters group has come up with an awesome challenge! Every day for the month of January, we have to draw a 30 minute sketch...so I decided to challenge myself in a few ways. One way is learning to draw on the IPad...here\'s one of \'em. I was watching some princess movies with my daughter...you can see the influence.
Plus, finished 4 Junkfoods today! Wahoo!

Year end reflection and new goals

2011-12-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

This year started pretty tough. Tough business decisions, tough new responsibilities, and pushing in new directions. Looking back, I could not be happier with weathering those tough times and seeing the benefits within a handful of months. Our Free Lunch business has grown and made new friends and products.

Here we are at the doorstep of a new year. A time of year that people challenge themselves to new levels. What will this new year bring? I will share my business goals with you.

I will think outside the box. Ugh, great. Corporate power terms. If you've ever stepped into Free Lunch Studios, you would almost guess we live outside the box! Well, that's just it. I need to be a strategist for success. In the immediate area and as far as I can both physically and virtually.

I need to finish a book a month (and more). That stupid storm at Halloween really threw me off. You will see me get back to basics and churn out great work in great turnaround times. I listen to sports radio a lot. One Monday morning, I heard my favorite quarterback talk during an interview about the long trip home after a road win. Instead of partying and goofing off with the team during the long plane ride home...he studied film for the following game. Who are your heroes? What did they do to be successful? What sacrifices did they make?

I will get representation. I know, it's crazy to think that I don't. I will be sending out solicitations all year if I have to. Prints are already on their way.

I will be more aggressive. Nuff said. See everything...

So there you have it. I have a couple more motivational papers to hang on the wall. I have an art space at home again.

I wish you all the strength and commitment to succeed in your goals.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a happy and safe holiday season!

Cartoon Anatomy finale

2011-12-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the pics I drew from our last cartooning/comic art classes for the year. I gave the dragon one (not shown) away. We'll start classes again in January. In the meantime...keep drawin' and have a great holiday season!

2011-12-02T19:22:00.001-08:00

Join me this weekend at the Holcomb Farm with 11 other Granby artists. Support the arts and shop locally for unique Holiday gifts.
This year our holiday marketplace will include original paintings, prints, pottery, sterling silver jewelry, ornaments, handwoven scarves and bags, photography, glass, calligraphy, T-shirts, note cards, mugs plants and much more. Free Lunch will be there with Elyse, intern extraordinaire and Matt Ryan, owner/illustrator. They'll be on hand to sell comic books, King of Monster Mountain games, original art and drawing commissions. A portion of all sales will benefit Holcomb Farm.

It's at the Holcomb Farm in Granby, CT on Saturday and Sunday! See you there!

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The first part of the Shuffle is complete

2011-11-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

Cliff's got a show on Sunday! (November 27th)
(and sport card shows are on the 3rd Saturday of every month.) All of these shows run at the Plainville V.F.W. Hall- 7 Northwest Dr. (Route 10) from 10 AM to 3 PM.

99 CENT ADMISSION, CHILDREN UNDER 10 ARE FREE

Free Lunch Studios has hosted it's fourth COMIC BOOK SHUFFLE! This is the final part of an event where writers and artists were randomly matched up and competed to try to complete a 5 page story in 5 HOURS! Every attendee of the show will receive votes that they can cast for their favorite team-up. The winning team will be awarded with a number of honors and one voter will win a great prize just for voting!

Hosting this part of competition is Free Lunch Comics own, Steve Kanaras, creator and writer of Only in Whispers, Pork and Beans, Beyond the Kuiper Belt and upcoming Hostile Universe.

Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

Junk Food is on the move...

2011-11-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

There's a NEW home for Free Lunch Comics Junk Food!

http://thegranbys.patch.com/articles/introducing-junkfood

Click the link and enjoy! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! We'll be at the Plainville Comic show this Sunday (11/27) selling the first collection of Junk Food.

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Black Friday Comic Fest!

2011-11-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite events is coming up! The Black Friday Comic Fest is a very fun, all ages, annual workshop where we create our own Post-it Note comics, eat snacks, watch cartoons & movies and hold a great comic sale! This event runs from 12:30p - 4:30p and is only $10 each! If you want to stay for the Drawing and Painting class, you are welcome to for an additional $20. Maybe I'll see you there! www.freelunchcomics.com

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I am in trouble...

2011-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

After work loads, massive power outages and huge fires...I am up to "here" with crazy deadlines. BUT...you are invited to a new Free Lunch event!!!

Free Lunch is taking back Halloween! The first ever Free Lunch Fear Fest will feature the works of horror painter, David Davies, Zombie comic publisher, Guild Works Publishing (that also published the work of your Free Lunch hosts, Steve and myself), freaky photographer, Coelynn McIninch and scary specialists, The Horror News Net! Special events that will include: a EXCLUSIVE RELEASE PARTY FOR: WORST CASE SCENARIO from GWP, a wandering zombie just dying to have his photo taken with you and more!!!

Food, folks and fear will all be on tap for this first ever Free Lunch Fear Fest!

Here's the cover I promised PLUS...

2011-09-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

...another cover I did! One is for a scary novel and the other is for OUR FIRST JUNK FOOD collection!

New Monday Night Jam episode!

2011-09-29T07:01:00.001-07:00

Finished a lot today.

2011-09-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

No finished pages for the last couple days...I finished four Junk Foods! Can't sneak peeks of those panels...it'd give everything away! The newest one was just put up at www.freelunchcomics.com

Also finished the cover for our first Junk Food book! I'll sneak you a peek at that later!

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Couple days...couple pics

2011-09-21T14:44:00.001-07:00

Couple pages...AND the cover for the Junkfood Book - yup I said BOOK. Yeehaw!

Alright, so I owe you 5...

2011-09-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here we go...5 panels from 5 pages of a new Twin Robotz comic.

Crazy day today!

2011-09-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

Finished a job, booked 3, sent of a print job and resolved a page...and I'm not even done yet! Also found out today that the FIRST ISSUE OF I, SHERMAN will be available at Free Lunch Studios for the Granby Artists Association Open Studios Tour! How awesome is that? By the time I get to the end of this one - I will deserve the break! Let's see if I can start a little challenge...how 'bout a panel a day from another Twin Robotz comic?

MNJ Round Table Show!

2011-09-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

The return of the Monday Night Jam Round Table Show! Yay! You want to see some of the cool stuff we do at Free Lunch? Watch or come on by!

It was our first recording in a while so I was a little rusty...I'll be a much better host next time!

Summer ends...

2011-08-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

...with a slap from Irene! I thought that August was going to be a big catch up month...boy was I wrong...I ended up doing a ton of work on the road at places like the Farmington Valley YMCA and University of Hartford's Summer Place. I hosted a couple King of Monster Mountain tournaments and Mad Science Cartooning events too.

It was a great summer...but you never feel like you did enough. We're working on the "connectivity" of everything Free Lunch...so that's taken me some time too. Check out our Free Lunch Studios biz page on Facebook and keep an eye on our Free Lunch Comics.com site for some changes too.

From here I can see 4 comics that I need to finish, along with Junkfoods and other jobs that will come down the path. No complaints though...I love every second of it!

Comic Fest next week! Sunday!

2011-08-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

You should TOTALLY come by! It'll be our first outdoor comic festival with vendors, creators and more! To top it all off...it's FREE TO ATTEND! The fun starts at 10am and runs 'til 3pm at Free Lunch Studios in the Granby Commons, 518 Salmon Brook St (rear) in Granby CT! I'll be drawing FREE quick sketches for the first 50 who attend!

Zombies!

2011-08-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

My second contribution to the upcoming Guild Works Publishing book - spot illustrations for a prose story by Valerie Finnigan. The other is a 11 page comic story that Steve Kanaras wrote. Here's a peek at one of the spots!

Last day at The Summer Place

2011-08-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had at the Summer Place. This is one of the little treats that the kids are going to get today on our last day. It's a collection of some of their Mad Science cartoon work. The other treat, a little KING OF MONSTER MOUNTAIN! Yes! Thanks to Brad for referring the job for me, to all the kids for making me feel so welcome and thanks to Nikki for being such an awesome partner in there!

It's not very offen...

2011-08-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

...that I post something other than my art here...but I received this the other day from one of my cartooning students at The Summer Place at the University of Hartford. We're having a lot of fun in that class!

I'm halfway done with another comic from Twin Robotz Comics...

Brass City Comic Show tomorrow!

2011-07-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

Waterbury, Conn. – Naugatuck Valley Community College and local comic book store Legends of Superheroes will co-host the second annual Brass City Comic Convention from 10 am – 3 pm on Sunday, July 31 in the NVCC Ruth Ann Leever Atrium. Admission is $.99 and free for kids under age 10 who are accompanied by an adult, with proceeds to benefit Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury.

See you there!

Junkfood for 7/27/11!

2011-07-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

Polite Co Magazine has a new Junkfood up! Click it and check it!

Junkfood!

2011-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a timely one!

If you need more Junkfood (and who doesn't) go to www.politecompanymagazine.com

I've been bad...

2011-07-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not updated in a while, still trying to dig myself out of a hole leftover from going on vacation. (it was worth it though!) I've been finishing up Junkfoods and I just started a New Comic Job! Up til now I've been doing the prework for it, but a lucky turn of events (Wally coming to the office to approve the layouts) I was able to start the pages today!

Our friend Mel from Rely Local has come in and is cracking the "social network" whip. We've been doing all sorts of stuff to create better connectivity with...everyone including ourselves. If you want to help out, here's the link for my "Matt's Mine Studio" Facebook page....if you "like" it, that'd be great! http://m.facebook.com/pages/Matts-Mine-Studio/170338829701528?m_sess=DSRTV-jPJOZsE3#!/profile.php?id=170338829701528&view=feed&refid=17

I was invited to the Greater Hartford Arts Council volunteer recognition gathering this past week too. It was at the uber fancy, Society Room in Hartford CT. I was accompanied by two fellow Granby Artists AKA "The Party Girls". One was Wendy Van Welie, owner of Indigo Images and one was potter extraordinaire, Claudia Karimi.

Aside from that, there was our unofficial 24 Hour comic challenge that I was able to complete (but this one seemed much harder) and that silly movie that was just released that I had to see a few times!

So...I'm sure there's a Junkfood post I can put up tomorrow and I can guarantee there's going to be some "connectivity" updates too. I'll see you soon!

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Resolve some work - then Connecticon bound!

2011-07-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Knocked off some Junkfoods and hope to finish this piece for the Yankee Flyer today before class starts. I'm going to try to get better at updating the blog when the Junkfoods get published - I promise!

Once class is over, off to Connecticon to catch up with Steve, Rachael and Lonnie!

A new ...

2011-07-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

New job! This one you can come along for the ride! Today - script read, concept art and thumbnails. From the mind of Wally Czyzniak, creator of I, SHERMAN. Hang on friends...!

Decent couple days

2011-07-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Your job is not the easiest to return to after you return from vacation, right? Well, the good thing was I was productive. With the Comic Book Artists Guild meeting tomorrow, Connecticon, a Granby Artists Association board meeting and our Unofficial 24 Hour Comic Challenge all coming up...things will be busy, busy, busy!

Here's what I've been workin' on...Junkfood art, 2 4 Peace layout and a piece from GWP's Worst Case...

New classes, events and CAG

2011-06-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

My new classes and workshop dates have been added to Free Lunch Studios! Starting this weekend are: Character Building Workshop and Mad Science Cartooning.
Our final Drawing and Painting for Teens: Fifth House Festival and Unofficial 24 Hour Comic Challenge events have been scheduled! I'm hosting a Comic Book Artists Guild Jam/movie meeting 7/3 at noon too!

Money...and I didn't even know it.

2011-06-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

How cool is this?! Remember this job? My friends at Granby Pharmacy in Granby CT used my banner art that I did for their window for their in store gift card! How cool is that?

One of three pieces I did today

2011-06-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

One of the three Junkfoods I worked on today....

unlettered, unzipped, unframed and unpublished.

Be on the lookout for the final!

Alright, so I took a break...

2011-06-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while...but I am back! Just finished my addition to the Granby Artists Association's Granby 225 Postcard event. We'll be collecting these all summer to put up on display at the Granby 225 event!

Next, I'm going to get caught up on my Junkfoods! I'll keep you posted!

New classes!

2011-05-21T13:23:00.001-07:00

New classes and workshop dates have been added to Free Lunch Studios! New dates for: Graphic Novel Writing Workshop, Character Building Workshop, Mad Science Cartooning, Graphic Novel Writing Project, Cartoon Anatomy and Comic Book Storytelling were all updated!

Our final Drawing and Painting for Teens: Fifth House Festival and Unofficial 24 Hour Comic Challenge events have been scheduled! Find these events and more at our Free Lunch Studios Events Page.

We'll be at Cliff's Con on May 29th

2011-05-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hey there, everyone! It's a new year and Cliff's got a show on Sunday, May 29th!
(and sport card shows are on the 3rd Saturday of every month.) All of these shows run at the Plainville V.F.W. Hall- 7 Northwest Dr. (Route 10) from 10 AM to 3 PM.
99 CENT ADMISSION, CHILDREN UNDER 10 ARE FREE

Owners of Free Lunch Comics and Free Lunch Studios will be there with Matt's 24 Hour Comic: Sentinels of Blood Island as well as conduct portfolio reviews, talk about upcoming classes and special events. You can check everything that's going on at the site! www.freelunchstudios.com

Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

Frogs, Pigs And Bears. . . OH MY!

2011-05-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

Learn how to draw characters from the Muppets (and more) with cartoonist/writer Brad Gilchrist. Find out in a fun and informative, “Meet, greet and drawing session. “ Brad will give a talk about his history in the world of comic strips and cartoons, including The Muppets, Nancy, and sports feature, CT Fan. Along with the talk and drawing demonstration, visitors can view a Gallery Show of Brad’s personal collection of original comic strip art, including: Blondie, Hagar, Gasoline Alley, Zits, B.C. Beetle Bailey, For Better Or For Worse, Rose is Rose, and many more.

May 15th - First session from 1- 1:45pm. Second session: 3- 3:45pm. Space is limited, so please sign up for a spot. Call for a reservation: (860) 305-6621

Free event

There will also be a public Comic Book Artists Guild meeting at 2, between the sessions!

Free Comic Book Day!

2011-05-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

What a great time Gabby, Mason and I had at Sarge's this past Saturday! It was great to see a lot of my friends/fellow creators at the event along with a great amount of kids! I drew free sketches for any kids that walked by...let's just say I drew a TON! Got some free books myself and bought some good ones too! All in all a good time. Pretty exhausted by the time I got home though...

Free Comic Day Debut!!

2011-05-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Yeah...this looks like a person crazy enough to stay up 24 hours to draw a book...Sentinels Of Blood Island will be available at Sarge's!!!

I'll see you at Sarge's Comics in New London for Free Comic Book Day this Saturday!!! I will be doing commissions on regular Bristol stock PLUS a whole new kind of commission...you'll have to come and visit to see what cool, new and different kind this'll be!

Look!

2011-04-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's T'Konk from my 24 Hour Comic: Sentinels of Blood Island! He and the comic will be at Sarge's for Free Comic Book Day!

This is the kind of cool stuff we do in our Friday Drawing and Painting for Teens class!

Two Places at Once?!

2011-04-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Free Lunch will be at two events this weekend! Steve and Rachael will be at the Boston Comic Con roaming the isles, talking to friends and making some new ones! Yours truly will be at the Family Funday Sunday in East Windsor CT. I will be there to do commissions, caricatures, sell comics and show what I'm working on these days. You want to hang out and support a good cause? Meet me there!

http://walkforrides.org/index.php

Oh yeah...it's comin'!

2011-04-20T12:02:00.001-07:00

It's official! We're printing my newest 24 hour comic! I'm pretty excited about this! Rachael and I put the finishing touches on it yesterday! I've actually been thinking of doing a follow up to the story...over a 24 hour period too!

Still working on the character design job as well as the bumper sticker job.

Wally, creator of "I, Sherman" came into the office for a surprise visit yesterday. It was cool to sit down with him and talk about the future of poor Sherman (and other things!! Stay tuned!)

Keepin' Busy!

2011-04-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hard at work on a whole bunch of things...Here's a cover that I've been working on today. It's for a custom comic job that Rachael and I are doing. I got another job that I'll be showing you the "step by steps" on. Stay tuned. I'm about half-way done with the character design job that I can't show you :^( ...but there will be other things...I promise!

Couple of Comics

2011-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

One thing I was doing (when I wasn't goofing around with Rachael or the customers) during the Chocolate and Wine Fest was drawing these covers. Thanks to our friendly neighborhood comic vendor, Oliver, we get these great variant comic covers with nothing drawn on them! For these, I drew them with pencils and inks followed by a nice ink wash. Pretty cool. I'm going to start selling these and taking requests to do them at shows too. So be on the look out for me!

Woo! Busy, busy!

2011-04-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Had the Windsor Locks Career Fair on Friday and then Rachael and I worked the FLS booth at the Chocolate and Wine Fest in East Windsor yesterday! Great times at both! This 1st pic is from the Career Fair...you can tell we're havin' fun! Today I got caught up on my character design assignment and started final image concept thumbnails. Good day. This other pic I did during Drawing and Painting class on Friday afternoon! It's 18x24 and drawn with chalk pastels.

Windsor Locks High Career Day

2011-04-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

I want to thank Dot and Kate for inviting me to such a fun day! It was a pretty early start this morning, but what a great bunch of kids! They all had great attitudes and questions...I did a portfolio review, got to see Brad Field again (last time we worked together was at the Granby Leprechaun Hunt) and I even had fun goofing off with quite a few of the kids. It didn't hurt being placed right next to my cousin either. I'd love to come back for it next year!

Chocolate Festival? Umm, YEAH!

2011-04-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

It's happening - Saturday April 9th the "First Annual Wine and Chocolate Festival" located at Golden Gavel and Joe's Fine Wine and Spirits! Join Free Lunch Friends, Rachael Meyer and Matt Ryan anytime from 3pm-7pm. Free Lunch will be there drawing commissions, caricatures and more! Browse through a variety of Specialty Wines and Tastings. ALL tastings are FREE with your paid admission of $20! Designated Drivers, Seniors and Children get special 1/2 off discount.
For more information about this fundraiser and TICKETS please call Lori at 860-982-5837

Original Comic Strip Art Gallery

2011-04-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Free Lunch Studios in Granby, CT is pleased to present a gallery of the private collection of comic strip art of Brad Gilchrist. Mr. Gilchrist is a long-time writer and artist of comic strips including The Muppets, Nancy, and The Rock Channel. The collection features original strips from such features as Garfield, Broom Hilda, Zits, and others. The display will feature approximately 30 strips and sketches. The gallery opening will occur at the Free Lunch Studios at 6 PM on Thursday, April 7, 2011. The exhibit will remain open for viewing for the period of a month. Please call Steve Kanaras at 860-810-4927 for hours and availability for viewing.

This just in...

2011-03-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Free Lunch Comics will be participating in the Annual Free Comic Book Day at Sarge's Comics down in New London, CT! Free Comic Day is the first Saturday of May and Sarge always delivers on a rich selection of books to try and talented artists for you to meet!

This Saturday I'll be hosting the Comic Book Shuffle Challenge at Free Lunch Studios.
Sunday I will be at the Shuffle judging at the Plainville Cliffs Con. We'll be debuting the 2nd issue of the 'Shuffle titled, SECRETS. Once the Shuffle is over, I'll be hosting a Comicbook Artists Guild meeting at 2pm right there at the show!

I'll see you there!

Today I'm going to try to finish a couple pages for a future project.

A lot goin' on!

2011-03-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the Granby Leprechaun Hunt here in town had come and gone and I felt pretty good about it. All the Leprechauns that were painted were auctioned off! If you want to see all of the photos from it, go to my facebook page.

The following day, I received the absolute honor of meeting one of my idols, Mr Bob Camp. If you know me well, I am a fan of specific things...Conan the Barbarian stuff, Ren and Stimpy cartoons, Start Wars, Jaws and a handful of other things. Well, Mr Camp worked on the CONAN comics from Marvel AND the original REN & STIMPY cartoons. He was gracious enough to invite Steve and myself to his Artist Party. What a cool event this was! Bob was welcoming and super approachable, and on top of that - there were tons of other artists there too! It was a great day! A great day!

The Shuffle returns to Cliff's Cons! 3/27

2011-03-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

There will be a Plainville show this weekend as well as the Comic Book Shuffle voting AND our CAG meeting! The show opens at 10am, Shuffle voting ends at 1:45pm and the CAG meeting is at 2pm. Come to the show for some cheap books, support your indy artists and enjoy a Comicbook Artists Guild meeting!

Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

The Leprechaun Hunt Gallery FRIDAY!

2011-03-09T15:34:00.000-08:00

Come to Free Lunch Studios Friday night, March 11th at 6:30 pm for a special gallery event! For one night only, all of the hand painted Leprechauns for the town wide Leprechaun Hunt will be in one place! Come and enjoy the talent of featured local artists including members from The Granby Artists Association, The Granby High School Art Club, Free Lunch Studios and more!

PLUS: Rob the Leprechaun from Lazer 99.3!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hard work

2011-03-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

Working on a very exciting project these days...and hope to complete it soon (within a week?). I'll give you a peek.

Aside from this...I was given some sad news. I'm not going to go into too much detail...but...a good friend of mine, who I'd known, and who knew me since birth, has passed away... This was hard news for me to take. BUT- I quickly remembered that this man had left behind a legacy of positivity, kindness and goodness not only by his own acts...but those same traits are evident in those he worked with, mentored and loved. He will be missed, but his methods will live on through those he impacted including myself.

Show Sunday!

2011-02-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY, February 27th, 2011 from 10am - 3pm

Golden Gavel Plaza
149 North Road (Route 140)
East Windsor, CT 06088

(Off of I-91, exit 45 - Follow Route 140 east for 1 mile, the plaza is on left)

I'll be on hand to talk about upcoming events in March at Free Lunch Studios, like new classes, a Leprechaun Gallery and the 3rd Comic Book Shuffle competition.

A measly 99 cent admission.

Showcasing dealers of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comic, C. C. G., Sport/nonsports cards, Action figures, Collectible toys, Diecast, Paper/pulp collectibles, Comic/card supplies and VHS/DVD's and more!

See you there!

CAG meeting this weekend!

2011-02-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

I'm hosting a Comic Book Artists Guild meeting this weekend at Free Lunch Studios! If you are a writer, artist or any other creative talent that is interested the comic art form, you should come by! Free Lunch Studios is located on the back side of the Granby Commons Plaza, 518 Salmon Brook St, Granby CT. The meeting will start at 3pm. Come on by! http://comicartguild.org/

Whew! Things are happenin'!

2011-02-15T06:36:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since my last entry here...we'll just call it an adjustment phase.

The Granby Artists new year is underway and things are going in a orderly fashion. I've hosted two board meetings and one general meeting with positive feedback from all. I held my intro Comic Book Artists meeting at the tail end of January and my first REAL meeting will be this Saturday at Free Lunch Studios (from 3pm to 6pm if you're interested) where we'll go through the meeting and then draw/write together.

Our Junkfood strips continue to get out there. One of our most recent strips was published by the American Humanist Association

Steve and I continue to work on our next book...it's looking cool so far. I'll show you some peeks again soon....I'm contemplating working another 24 hour day soon (believe it or not, I really enjoy those!)

I can finally tell you...!

2011-01-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

Back in December, I was approached by the president of the Granby Artist Association to replace him in the upcoming year. I didn't want to say anything before last night, just in case it didn't happen.

FLASHBACK:
When I graduated college, I was living a pretty good lifestyle as an artist. After eight years of working full time at different studios (including my own), I went through a seven year period after that where I pursued the arts only as a part timer if at all. That was a rough period of my life. When I decided to jump back to where my passions lived, I knew that doing pro-bono work and joining groups (the Granby Artists Association and the Comic Book Artists Guild) were going to help me achieve my goals in the creative field. If you saw how much growth I've had since joining the Granby Artists Association, (and you might have if you've followed this blog from it's inception) you'd understand why I would happily accept the role of president for the group to do what I can to pay back the organization.

My return to the Comic Book Artists Guild is also a very special honor for me. When I left the group, I was not happy about it, and I told Keith Murphey (founder and at that time, the president) that I would return one day. Now, I am returning. I am returning to that leadership position with a very different scenario. Now that Steve Kanaras and I have been managing the Free Lunch Studios office, I believe I can provide the best functions that I am able for the New England membership in the coming year.

So that's it. I've been dying to tell you and now I can. ahhhhh

As promised...

2011-01-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peek at another project! Drawn in ballpoint pen to be light-boxed. Believe it or not, Steve and I started this project during a 24 hour work day!

Comicbook Artists Guild at Cliff's Con 1/30

2011-01-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hey there, everyone! I am honored to have returned to the leadership team of the Comic Book Artists Guild, a group where comic artists and writers gather to network, show their work and more. It's a new year and Cliff's got a show on Sunday, January 30th, so I figured we'd have our first CAG NE meet there! I will introduce a ton of new and exciting features for all of the upcoming meetings. You will want to be there! Want to find out more? Go to http://comicartguild.org/ and http://cliffscons.blogspot.com/ The meeting will take place at noon IN THE SHOW. The show runs from 10am to 3pm.
.
Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

Arisia 2011

2011-01-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

Big show this coming weekend! Members of the Free Lunch Family will be at the Arisia show in Boston Mass. This is a FOUR day show that offers tons to do and is a lot of fun! Check it out. Here's the link for the show!

I'll be showing Junkfood originals and we'll be there supporting Norman Katz with his new book "46" and a huge "Kitten" gallery. Norm and I will be on hand to do commissions, caricatures and panels!

Want some Junk Food?

2011-01-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Polite Company Magazine just posted one!

Just finished a caricature job at the end of the year and we slapped the colored pic on some mugs! Pretty cool!

Junkfoooood!

2010-12-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

Come and get it! These Junkfoods keep poppin' up! This one is at Polite Company Magazine .com They are fun to do! And they're getting noticed too. I'll end up having a couple HUGE announcements coming up very soon...so stay tuned!

By the way...The signed Ronn Desrosiers Tim Burton portraits prints are IN! If you are interested, come on by Free Lunch Studios or contact me if you want one.

Working in the fridge!

2010-12-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Hard at work at the Studio today. Scanning Val pages, drawing some cover layouts and returning to Hostile Universe! It was cold in here this morning! It seemed to take forever for this place too warm up! Maggie came to work with me today and she happens to be taking a nap right now.

I promised a peek at one of my Mad Science critters today so here you go!

By the way, our "Night at the Movies" Gallery will be up for one more week...so if you want to see some beautiful original work, swing by tomorrow night for the Monday Night Jam.

Granby Pharmacy window

2010-12-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well the big holiday gathering in the center of Granby was last night...I missed most of it. It sounded like it was a good time. I hung out with my fellow Lions club members at the Christmas tree sales booth for a little while and then went a took some pics of the Granby Pharmacy store front. Pretty cool.

New Junkfood! New Banner!

2010-12-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.politecompanycomic.com/2010/12/junk-food-diary-wiki-kid/

Along with that, Tomorrow (Friday 12/3) Granby Pharmacy will be revealing their front window banner that I drew. If you live in the area (Granby CT) be sure to check it out!

Show in Plainville CT Sunday!

2010-11-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hey there, everyone! Did you eat too much? Spend to much on Friday? Well, I have good news...Cliff's got a show on Sunday, November 28th, and if you're looking for bargain comics, toys, movies and more...you're in luck! All of these shows run at the Plainville V.F.W. Hall- 7 Northwest Dr. (Route 10) from 10 AM to 3 PM.

99 CENT ADMISSION, CHILDREN UNDER 10 ARE FREE
We will be there to do portfolio reviews, talk about upcoming classes, special events and more stuff going on at Free Lunch. www.freelunchstudios.com

Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

Big push before turkey day and comic fest!

2010-11-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

Very productive day today! Colored this beast most of the day. It's 22 x 17 inches! Would've liked to have finished it...Friday morning for certain. Also finished this tattoo design!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Come on by Friday for the Black Friday Comic Fest starting at 1230 pm! Post it comics, bargain comics for sale, comic movie marathon and the gallery will be open to viewers! Only $10 per person from 12:30 - 4 (add $20 to stay until 6:30)

Pharmy Friends!

2010-11-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here's the Pharmacy job that I've been mentioning every now and then. The selected concept sketch and final inks here. This piece will be split in two and hung in the Granby Pharmacy front window. I'm starting the digital painting tomorrow...you know me...I'll show you part of it!

Junkfood everywhere!

2010-11-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

Our Junkfoods are starting to get popular! As of this week, they are being published in three places! Parcbench, Polite Company Magazine and The Granby Drummer! If you publish a paper, magazine, comic or web site, and are interested in some Junkfood...let us know!

Here's a link to the newest one at Polite Company Magazine

Workin' on the gallery piece...

2010-11-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

Hope you can make it! http://freelunchstudios.blogspot.com/2010/10/night-at-movies-gallery.html

Gettin' ready...for our first Gallery!

2010-11-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

As you can see, big changes here at Free Lunch...

Still preparing for our first gallery event. It'll be very exciting...20 pieces total for this show, and they're all great! Be sure to swing by Thursday, 11/11 from 6 - 9 pm! We're in the back of the Granby Commons, 518 Salmon Brook St in Granby CT. See you there!

Enfield Collectibles Show

2010-11-07T05:09:00.000-08:00

Off 2 the Enfield Collectibles Show! @ St Bernard School, 232 Pearl St, Enfield CT! See ya there! 9 - 3

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hard at work...

2010-11-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Kickin' some butt here at the office today!

Early this morning, took care of the humm drumm stuff like the bills and stuff. Yawn! After that I managed to finish the blue line sketches for a banner that I'm designing for the Granby Pharmacy right here in town. I will show you the progress on that as we go along. Scanned in a couple of pieces for our first gallery event that we're holding at Free Lunch. I should have three pieces in it...we'll see.

Started coloring the I, Sherman cover (which you can see here).

After working in New Britain Monday, I picked up a new friend for the Great White...looks mean, doesn't he?

Comic Show on Halloween!

2010-10-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

East of the River Comic Show's next event is HALLOWEEN!!
SUNDAY, October 31st, 2010 from 10 - 3. It'll be at the Golden Gavel Plaza, 149 North Road (Route 140) East Windsor, CT 06088. (Off of I-91, exit 45 - Follow Route 140 east for 1 mile, the plaza is on left)

Wear a costume for a chance to win a prize! Contest starts at 12:30 Free cider, donuts and Halloween candy (while supplies last)

Steve Kanaras and I will be there! We'll be on hand to talk about upcoming events in November at Free Lunch Studios.

99 cent admission
NEW VENDORS!
CHILDREN FREE UNDER 10!
FREE GIVEAWAYS AT THE DOOR!
HOURLY RAFFLES

Showcasing dealers of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comic, C. C. G., Sport/nonsports cards, Action figures, Collectible toys, Diecast, Paper/pulp collectibles, Comic/card supplies and VHS/DVD's and more! (more to be announced believe it or not!)

Big day today...

2010-10-27T04:46:00.000-07:00

I'm kinda in the zone these last few days...I'm finishing the "I, Sherman" issue 1 today as well as giving 3 mini workshops at an elementary school. I think I'm going to start my Jaws tribute painting today or finish the Polite Company crew for Steve Kanaras. I have to complete two more of them. I'll debut them here with Steve's character bios (they're funny!). - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Something Creepy This Way Comes...

2010-10-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

King of the Monster Mountain is ONE WEEK AWAY so it's time to start celebrating! Today I'll show you a pic from my Mad Science Cartooning class (which happens to be a hit!) where all we do is create beasties! This one's a good one because he can fly - just one of the boosters you can select in the game!

If you are interested in Mad Science Cartoons, just hit this link for more info. If you want to come to King of the Monster Mountain, click here for more info!

Current Projects vid!

2010-10-17T07:28:00.001-07:00

As things continue...Mad Science!!!

2010-10-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

First off, let me address this... Barring any weird internet problem, I will record a catch-up show tomorrow morning. I will show you the I Sherman pages. I swear!

Taught our first Free Lunch Studios based Mad Science Cartooning today! What a great time! This class I've taught at other venues, like the YMCA for example, but never at the office. There's a little bit of a difference though...at the office it's a parent/child event. This makes it so much cooler!

If your interested in joining the fun...check out www.freelunchstudios.com or www.freelunchcomics.com

New York Comic Con and Open Studios

2010-10-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

WHEW! Crazy couple of weeks have come to a close. For starters...we hosted the 24 Hour Comic Challenge again this year and you can read mine at www.freelunchcomics.com

The New York Comic Con was a lot of fun! This was the first year that we didn't have a table in a while...and it was cool. I forgot just how big the show was. When you are behind the table, you don't see how crazy it is.

Open Studio was great. Met some returning guests and quite a few new ones. It was so busy, Each day I ate lunch at 5 or later! If you didn't get to stop by...you can swing by tonight and every Monday night for our Monday Night Jam from 6 to 8:30.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Open Studios this weekend!

2010-10-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

Make sure you take the time to come by this weekend to Free Lunch Studios in Granby, CT. We'll be doing tons of fun things like caricatures, commissions, and selling original art. Along with all that, you could get first looks at original Junkfoods cartoons, I Sherman pages, The Last Nativity pages, my 24 Hour comic pages and lots, lots more. See my earlier Granby Artists Open Studios post for downloadable directions.

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New York Comicon

2010-10-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'll be at the show tomorrow...so let's have a little fun! If you see me or my partner, Steve Kanaras at the show and come up and introduce yourself to either of us...we'll give you 20% off a class or event! I'll be wearing the Free Lunch Great White tee shirt. (if you néed to see what it looks like, go to my Facebook page)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Free Lunch Moat!

2010-10-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

PIZZA!

2010-09-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

In the middle of all the crazy stuff going on...I still have to produce art! Here's a piece that we did for our neighbor and pizza supplier for our comic themed classes, New England Pizza! MMM mmm...makes me hungry just thinking about it! The next step for me on this job is a kids menu that kids can color! Should be fun!

Almost done with I, SHERMAN...that means you'll be seeing partial pages REAL SOON! Next week?

24 Hour Comic Day approaches...

2010-09-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow 24 Hour warriors! As this great event approaches, I found one creator's tips for a successful 24 hour experience. Kevin Cannon's 1st four chapters of his book, Far Arden were 24 hour comics. Sage advice.

PRODUCTION TIPS

Obviously there's no one way to draw, but here are Mr Cannon's tips:

- Have your paper ready and, if possible, pre-ruled.

- Come prepared with drawing materials.

- Bring a lamp and extension cord for direct light.

- Pace yourself. You have to carve out time for meals and bathroom breaks.

- Try doing a page every fifty minutes. That gives you 240 minutes to rest and recoup and eat.

- If you're chatty, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Don't be surprised when you end up with only 20-30 minutes to draw each page.

- Some people like to pencil the whole book and THEN ink. I HIGHLY discourage this. Try to COMPLETE a full page every hour. This lets you accurately budget your time.

- Do as little penciling as possible. Nobody's going to win an Eisner with these books, so why not jump into the inks right away?

- Bring comfort items: extra clothes, an iPod, a cushion, etc. Better to bring too much stuff on your first time.

- On the flipside, don't bring a bunch of unnecessary crap.

http://24-hourcomic.blogspot.com/2007/10/kevin-cannons-24-hour-comic-tips.html

Granby Artists Association Open Studio Tour

2010-09-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Got a copy of the Open Studio Tour map in the mail! Yay! This is where a bunch of the Granby Artists Association opens their doors to the public to show what's going on where they work. We will be participating again this year with some new changes! I'll be doing caricatures and commissions, selling original art, comics and prints. Be sure to come by!

If by chance you did not get in the mail like me (which you most likely did not) here's a link for a pdf version to download. Click on "maps and locations".

Free Lunch at Sarge's!

2010-09-24T06:27:00.000-07:00

COMIC WORKSHOP WITH FREE LUNCH STUDIOS

Sunday, September 26th 1pm-5pm Free Lunch Studios will be teaching a 4-hour Cartoon Anatomy workshop for creating comics. Please sign up early as space is limited.

Cliff's got a show on Sunday!

2010-09-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hey there, everyone! Cliff's got a show on Sunday! (September 26th)
(and sport card shows are on the 3rd Saturday of every month.) All of these shows run at the Plainville V.F.W. Hall- 7 Northwest Dr. (Route 10) from 10 AM to 3 PM.

99 CENT ADMISSION, CHILDREN UNDER 10 ARE FREE

I'll be there a little bit with Free Lunch Comics own, Steve Kanaras, creator and writer of Only in Whispers, Pork and Beans, Beyond the Kuiper Belt and upcoming Hostile Universe will be there to do portfolio reviews, talk about the Comic Book Shuffle, 24 Hour comic day and discuss scriptwriting. Classes at Free Lunch Studios will restart in mid -October! www.freelunchstudios.com

Directions to the V.F.W. Hall: 84 East or West, take exit 32 and turn onto Route 10 North from the off-ramp. Follow Route 10 North for 4.5 miles, and turn right onto Northwest Drive. The V.F.W. Hall is on the left- follow the signs.

Busy times!

2010-09-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

I know...I have not been around...if you follow this blog, you know it happens here from time to time. Here's what's up:

Spoke with the creator of I, Sherman, I will be teasing art from that book starting soon! Wonder Woman Day V is coming up and Free Lunch Studios will be sending our group package soon. We're an official host for the 24 Hour Comic challenge October 2nd-3rd and we've already got quite a few players. The Granby Open Studios Tour is coming up the 2nd weekend in October and everyone's invited.
We're hosting a movie themed gallery in November.

whew!

Step One

2010-09-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

We're hosting a gallery event dedicated to classic movie posters at Free Lunch Studios in October. Our pal, Elyse is running it! I'm trying to prepare two pieces for the event, one for Jaws, the other will be my secret! The Jaws one will be a multimedia challenge for me...but being the fan that I am...I'm up for it! Here's a warm up sketch for the project...

Yow! Couple days make a big difference!

2010-09-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Summer is indeed over and my test truly begins! As we speak (type) I've just put The 'Bug down for a nap, started some laundry, scanned some Junk Foods, folded some laundry and zipped the Junk Foods. Sheesh. I want to sit and work on "The Sherman Project" too.

I've got two classes starting this weekend, Mad Science Cartooning and Cartoon Anatomy. If you want to enroll, go to www.freelunchstudios.com or www.freelunchcomics.com

Here I've given you a Partial Page of one of the Junk Foods....enjoy!

New Britain Museum of Modern American Art (last day)

2010-08-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

Official last day (I should say couple hours) with Elyse as my intern and with the kids from the Studio @ 4 class. We had a great time working on our last MC Escher themed piece. It ended up being the most difficult challenge during class but I feel like the kids really grabbed hold of the concept. They were all really thankful at the end of the session and one, sweet little girl painted thank you cards and gave Elyse and I her own handmade bracelets. Pretty awesome. I'll be heading back there this coming October for classes that continue to tie in with the Escher theme.

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The end of summer

2010-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, if you saw the last post, you saw that today was the last day of Elyse's internship. Even though it's at it's end, we'll still have a place for her at Free Lunch. While she was here, she not only completed some really nice artwork, she helped with meetings, scanning, road jobs and more. It wasn't all hard work though...we must not forget the Twin Peaks lunch breaks, nerf football golf, punchdubs, streaming soundtrack radio, Russian see saws, grape lady, foreign dignitaries, world cup football, riding bikes to work and "ghosting" (look it up). It was an honor and a pleasure to have Elyse at the office and I'm really glad that she'll be with us for the gallery, The Shuffle, workshops and more. Have a great school year and I'll miss having you around all the time.

Matt

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Elyse Took Over

2010-08-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hullo. I'm Elyse, the summer is coming to a close and that means I have to go to school. Which also equals no more internship with Matt at Free Lunch Studios. Until NEXT SUMMER! So, I'm going to inform you what I've been doing for the past couple months. I worked at the YMCA twice (including today), we did two different things. We did "Mad Science Cartooning" and "King of the Monster Mountain". The kids LOVED it. Also, for the past three weeks we have been traveling to The New Britain Museum of Modern American art to work with more children on impossible architecture themed pieces during the M.C. Escher exhibit. Along with traveling to all of these places I had the "pleasure" of scanning a lot of Matt's original artwork. I was put in charge of organizing a gallery event to be held at the studio, this fall. And another event is a Harry Potter themed workshop.
I learned a lot this summer, I learned a lot from Matt's lectures about why you shouldn't smoke and why the most important thing to do is be yourself. He also taught me how to digitally paint pictures in photo shop. But the greatest thing is how much fun I had. It's hard to describe it. My summer was saved by enjoying two out of the seven days at the studio.
See ya next summer,
Elyse