Monthly Archives: May 2019

Drag Brunch in Prenzlauerberg!

Mx Aleppo Pepper at Drag Bunch May 3 2019 by Suzanne ForbesIt was a quiet Sunday afternoon when I glanced at Instagram and saw my friend Dia was about to perform at Tipsy Bär, on the other side of town.

I hadn’t seen Dia work their moves onstage since we lived in the Bay, so I grabbed my art tools and jumped on the train. I made it just in time to catch Dia’s second act as well some other fabulous people!Ebony Rose Dark at Drag Bunch May 3 2019 by Suzanne Forbes

Ebony Rose Dark danced so gracefully, so delicately on those 6″ heels. She was amazing!

And she casually kept them on after her performance! We had a minute to chat and she told me about some of the other performances she does, including one in pitch dark with fellow visually impaired performers. Now I really want to go to Worn and Felt and draw in the dark.

Vivienne Lovecraft at Drag Bunch May 3 2019 by Suzanne ForbesVivienne P. Lovecraft was a vision of serenity in opal pastels, performing about Steven Universe I believe?

Which is a tv show that so many people I love are into, but I have never seen. I feel slightly guilty about that!

During the trivia contest, the question “What do the H. and P. in H.P. Lovecraft stand for?” was asked and Dia yelled, “Highly Problematic!” Another audience member pointed out that Lovecraft was from Rhode Island, which is hysterical, during Drag Brunch.

Vanessa Jupiter at Drag Bunch May 3 2019 Suzanne ForbesI drew hostess Vanessa Jupiter at a Full Moon Cabaret back in February, so I had a sense of her face already.

I loved her rainbow flag stole and a tender performance to Björk’s “All is Full of Love”, where she came out and hugged all the audience members. It was really comforting and hopeful. As Ms. Jupiter pointed out, a Sunday afternoon drag show may seem silly, but taking space this way is always, always a political act.

I’m grateful I can document moments like this in Berlin, thanks to my Patrons on Patreon whose monthly financial support allows me to make this art!

 

May 2019 Unterwegs, with bicycles!

Unterwegs April 25 2019 by Suzanne Forbes couple with bikeI am so bad at drawing bicycles.

It’s because I can’t ride one, I don’t understand the basic mechanics. But people bring their bikes on the U-Bahn, and their dynamics with the bikes are interesting, so I occasionally try to draw them.

Unterwegs April 15 2019 by Suzanne Forbes guy with bikeWhen I did the drawing above I was thinking about the looseness and easy mark-making of my pre-comics drawing style.

I recently scanned some drawings from 1990-91 for my archives, and realized how much rigidity I developed while I was formatting my drawing style for comic inking and printing. I want to try and rediscover that sketchy early 90s style.

I wouldn’t say this drawing succeeded at that, but it’s been a long road here and it’s ok for it to be a wander to try and go back a bit.

At least I drew this goofy hand, which is barely drawn at all!

Unterwegs April 23 2019 by Suzanne Forbes spare changeIn Berlin homeless people spare-changing on the U-Bahn announce themselves and say their names loudly as they enter the train.

That’s what the guy you see here is doing. There’s a sort of script panhandlers follow. It’s not clear to me if this is custom or required by some regulation. It does serve the purpose of giving people a chance to dig in their purses/pockets for change, if they are so inclined. I panhandled daily to support my heroin habit in the last year of my active using; I understand doing anything you can to ease the mechanics of asking strangers for money.

Speaking of money, I am deeply grateful to my Patrons, who crowdfund my documentary art project of Berlin public transit! You can help, with any amount you like per month, a dollar or euro is great ?

Previous unterwegs below. All unterwegs drawings are courtesy of my Patrons on Patreon whose monthly financial support allows me to make this free art available!

March 2019

Jan 2019 bonus round

Jan 2019

Dec 2018

Fall 2018

September 2018

August 2018 unterwegs

July 2018 bonus round

July 2018

April 2018

March 2018

February 2018 bonus round

February 2018

January 2018 bonus round

January 2018 round 1

December 2017

November 2017

September 2017

July bonus round

July

June

May bonus round

May round one

April

March 2

March

January

December

November