The People of Chattacon 

All guests of honor, panelists, performers, presenters, artists or any other individual who may present in some way at Chattacon are booked in good faith and we have their guarantee that they will appear when we announce they will be at the convention. However, unforeseen events (illness, family emergencies or production work) may cause a particular guest to cancel. 

Melissa Gay

My inspiration for creating art comes from the natural world, both as explored through science, and as storied in myth and legend! I want my work to evoke that state of wide-eyed wonder we all viewed the universe with as children. To a child, reality itself is magic, and magic is everywhere!

I like for my paintings to have visible brush strokes and to look painted rather than smooth and realistic. Too much smoothness makes my teeth itch! I liken my space art to visions from a dream, or blurry views of impossibly distant civilizations through an ancient astronomer’s telescope. While my commercial illustrations have mostly been rendered on illustration board, my personal work is nearly always on canvas. Any extra texture is a bonus as far as I’m concerned! I prefer to work in acrylic, because it allows for quick drying and fast layering. I like to paint in many translucent layers to let the light bounce around inside the painting. I strive for atmosphere and texture that reward multiple viewings and let the viewer’s imagination become part of the story.

In my life as an illustrator, I have been a cover artist and interior illustrator of books and tabletop roleplaying games for about twenty years. My list of clients has included Baen Books, Llewellyn Worldwide, Hay House, Apex Press, and many tabletop roleplaying game companies. (Among the ENnie-award-winning and fan favorite games I have illustrated are the Dresden Files RPG, Fate Core, Part-Time Gods, Mermaid Adventures, Hero System, Over the Edge, Trail of Cthulhu, 13th Age, The Dracula Dossier, and Camp Myth.) I have won two Chesley Awards for my illustrations (“Offering”, 2018, and “Harvest”, 2019). My imaginative realist work has been featured in ImagineFX Magazine, io9, tor.com, and several of the Infected By Art anthologies. I’m a proud member of the Changeling Artist Collective and of ASFA, and I’m a co-founder of the Birdwhisperer Project.

Apart from drawing and painting, I am never happier than when in the woods hunting for secret waterfalls and climbing on rocks. Come visit me on the web at https://melissagayart.com!

Connect with Melissa

Programming Sessions

Late Night Double Feature Picture Show

Join our young couple, Brad and Janet, as they encounter unconventional conventionists and colorful characters in a night they will never forget. Warning: singing and

Vision Ballroom C

The Arctic and the Aether

A survey of the cultural traditions and fairy tales of the Inuit, their environment and the very real monsters which dwell within the Arctic. Stanley

Vision Ballroom B

Culture, Mythology and Spirituality

Moderated by Brian Cooksey The panelists discuss how the study of cultures, myths and legends, and spiritualism of past civilizations plays a part in the

Vision Ballroom A

Spontaneo-Painting

AGoH Melissa Gay asks the audience for key words and then makes a coherent painting out of all of those suggestions! Ongoing discussion will include