2005 - 10/2005 Meeting

Page Created: 09/25/10. Last Updated: 10/29/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 12/06/08.

KEN KELLY

Books:

The Art of Ken Kelly

The artist's official website is: http://www.kenkellyart.com/home.html.

MEETING SUMMARY:

Meeting Date: October 8, 2005.

Meeting Site: Yeager Residence, Paramus, New Jersey.

Official Attendance: 26.

Meeting Program: Talk by Fantasy Artist.

Notes:

Mr Kelly also spoke at the October 8, 2008 Meeting of the Association.

Meeting Memories:

Newsletter Account:

The October meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County was held at the home of Robert Yeager in Paramus, New Jersey on Saturday, October 8, 2005. Despite the heavy rain which kept attendance down, it was a very enjoyable meeting.

Both pre meeting events were lightly attended. Since Chuck Garofalo and Chris Hasselkus were the only ones interested in the 60's anime, Chuck switched the program from ASTRO BOY to one of Chris's favorites, CRUSADER RABBIT. At the same time Vincent Carlucci lead a cozy but fun gathering of the Frontier whos topic was, appropriately enough considering the weather, science fiction beneath the waves.

Artist Ken Kelly was the featured speaker and he brought with him a jaw dropping display of originals, books, and prints. He is a born storyteller, and he had plenty of stories to tell.

Mr Kelly had been drawing since his childhood days and had been encouraged to continue in his efforts by sympathetic teachers. He was not able to give it his complete attention after he was discharged from military service in 1968. While waiting to hear back from a variety of civil service and other job applications, he began to study the work of his uncle, artist Frank Frazetta.

Frazetta did not instruct him in painting per se, but he allowed Mr Kelly to spend days examining the finished product, reflecting and absorbing what he was seeing. He also gave our guest useful business advice, like concentrating on covers instead of interiors because even though they took a lot more time, the higher payments made it worthwhile.

In late 1968, both artists believed that Mr Kelly had refined his style to the point where he could break in as a pro. His first professional sale was "The Lurking Terror," a cover of VAMPIRELLA, one of the Warren horror magazines. Frazetta repainted the face of a woman in peril to give her a more terrified expression. Warren thought enough of the finished product to give Mr Kelly a contract to do over a dozen more magazine covers. This in turn allowed the artist to give up working three jobs.

Most of the Warren jobs were horror and fantasy, but one of them, "Tin Man" which depicted a robot, led to a completely new career path. It was spotted by an art director at Casablanca Records and led to some very lucrative covers for Kiss and other artists. He cautioned any aspiring artists in the audience to be very careful when working for rock groups -- they will find any excuse to avoid paying you.

Mr Kelly has also done a fair amount of work for toy companies. They have their own set of special problems but are not as bad as music companies

Ken Kelly is an enthusiastic fan of the internet which serves as both a sales and a marketing force for his artwork. His website generates a steady flow of sales of prints and books. His on line gallery makes his work instantly available to anyone interested in giving him an assignment, from a private commission to an art director. It also gives him a lot of useful feedback from his fans.

Mr Kelly was a down to Earth, completely unaffected guy and a great story teller. Lack of space prevents recounting how he lost the "Bat Out of Hell" cover for Meatloaf and many other interesting yarns.

Our thanks to Robert Yeager for his hospitality and for making the arrangements to recruit our guest.