From July 1st to July 29th, I have an art exhibit called at Gallery Seven in Lockport, IL. This is a showcase of the original comic art I made for Shirley’s Day and Incident at the Game Store!

You’ll see the real pencil drawings and ink brushwork in person! The Opening Reception is on July 23rd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm CST during Comicopolis! Here, you can meet and chat with me about my comics and the process of making them!

I’ve been preparing for this even since last November. On a recommendation from a friend, I reached out to Gallery Seven to see if they accept art from local artists. The people at Gallery Seven were so enamored with my art that they wanted to give me a full feature for July. As I’m a comic artist, They also wanted to coordinate my artist’s reception on the same day as Comicopolis as well!

Here’s a look into the extensive plans for this event and learn how to frame my original comic artwork.

When I first reached out to Gallery Seven, I was nervous about putting my comic artwork in a gallery. I assumed you had to be a legendary artist like Charles Schultz to have a gallery with your comic art.

I went to the Art Guild Members with my portfolio and copies of my books, and they loved my work! After more explanation of the gallery requirements, the date got arranged. It’s now up to me to have work that’s ready to hang on their walls!

After the meeting, I had some figuring out to do for this show. I went to the Chicago Comics Exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, along with the Marvel Comic Exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. I took some points from there to understand how I can set up my art.

At first, I purchased Basics Collection by Studio Decor Black Multipurpose Frames from Micheal’s Craft Store. I wanted frames that weren’t too fancy and distract from my art. I learned from my good friend, Marisol Del Valle, that I got incorrect frames that could ruin my art in the future!

So I bought better frames from Micheal’s. These Lifestyles by Studio Decor Black Frame With Mat are good frames because they don’t touch the original ink artwork. That will reduce any potential sticking of the inks or finger oils to the glass and damage the art.

Once I ordered the new frames in bulk, and they arrived to my home in a timely manner, I got to work! Here’s the run down on the process of mounting my frames for anyone else who’s interested in framing your or someone else’s comic art:

First, I open up the frames with the mat frame and default picture inside. I’m not using paste or any permeant adhesives. I use Masking Tape Tape to stick the edges of the default paper to the mat frame.

With the tape sticking to the mat frame, I fold it over the paper like a book. The paper is the base I’m using to hold my artwork in the frame.

I adjust the art page inside the frame to make sure it’s even with the frame. Need to make sure nothing sticks out or has gaps.

Once in place, I put an object on top of my page to keep it still.

Now, I use Black and later Clear Photo Corners to hold down my art without damaging it.

One side of the tape is adhesive, and the top is where you insert the corners of your paper.

Put all four corners around the borders and the page will stay together for the greatest security!

Finish it off by adding rolled tape pieces to key corners of the Mat frame, close it back up and everything is solid!

Again, the mat frame inside raises the glass, so I don’t have to worry about my artwork sticking to it.

From this point on, I do the rest of the 39 pages and montage the entire situation!

After all the long, careful work, things got packed and ready to take to Lockport and hang on their gallery walls!

After a long drive, I arrive at the Gaylord Building in Lockport where I have my work on the second floor!

The tough part was getting the large boxes of frames in my car and up the stairs. Lucky for me, the Gallery director helped me out with the boxes and hung them on the walls!

After all this, it’s time to hang up all my art on the wall, place a bunch of copies of my comics on a little shelf, and I’m ready for July’s show!

All my pages are up for sale! They’re the original artwork of my comics, so they’re one of a kind! I also have my print comics here for sale here and at Comicopolis. If you’re in the Illinois area, come to Gallery Seven in Lockport IL to see my comic art for yourself! I’ll see you on July 23st!