Author Archives: Suzanne Forbes

About Suzanne Forbes

Suzanne Forbes is a traditionally trained figurative artist who makes documentary art of queer culture and Berlin life. She also works in mixed media. She is a former New Yorker who immigrated to Berlin with her third husband and their two cats. Her work is crowdfunded by the support of her Patrons on Patreon; you could help! In previous lives Suzanne was a graffiti artist in downtown NY, a courtroom artist for CBS and CNN, a penciller for DC Comics on Star Trek, and a live-drawing chronicler of Bay Area alternative culture.

Black and white illustrations, from when I kind of had a style thing going on?

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Graduate Drawing 2 for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel KetchumIt’s hard to believe I could draw this confidently back then.

I would love to be able to make this kind of black and white drawing, made for Tom Garrett’s Illustration class at MCAD in 1990 or 1991, today.

Graduate Drawing 1 for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel KetchumTom would give us an assignment and we’d do sketches and comps and finals, like real professional illustrators.

Somehow the repetition, and his charm as a teacher, let us cut loose. The final is the top one, the one above is the comp. And yes, this assignment was something like “Boomers vs Gen X”! Abandoned House Drawing 1 for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel Ketchum

Look at this great horse I drew!

I still kinda wish I’d had a reason to put my skill at drawing horses to use at some point in my career.

Abandoned House Drawing 2 for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel Ketchum
White inks or paints can react with the pigment in black pens to create blue or purple tones.

It happened with this long ago mixed media illustration, and some drawings of boylesquers I did here in Berlin a couple years ago. It’s hard to predict; it shouldn’t happen with quality materials, but it still does sometimes.

Tool Drawing with lace and smoke for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel KetchumHow about this still life with a collaged real lace shadow?

What fun! The dark tones across are actual smoke – I still smoked cigarettes then, and I used matches or a candle to leave carbon on the board.

Tool Drawing with glue resist for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel Ketchum aka Suzanne ForbesThis one used plain white glue as a resist!

Then I washed over it with black acrylic paint. The glue areas remained white (although you can see the pencil drawing underneath). This is a great technique for kids, you can use carboard (so it won’t warp under watered-down paint) and kids’ tempera paint. Just make sure to let the white glue dry for at least a couple hours first!

Ralph Steadman style pliers for Tom Garrettt Illustration Class Fall 1990 Rachel KetchumAnd I found this ridiculous one in the style of Ralph Steadman, too!

None of these pieces have ever been photographed; no modern media record of them existed – if we had a fire or flood they would just be gone forever. And of course, I am the only person who knows when they were made and why, the story of the pictures.

As a highly-vulnerable person with asthma and auto immune illness, it seems more important than ever to document my life’s work. Not morbid, just pragmatic!

I am so grateful to my Patrons on Patreon, whose monthly financial support makes it possible for me to take time to document my art archives.

The Alien Carnivorous Venus Flytrap Finale!

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Alien Venus Flytrap Headpiece by Suzanne Forbes March 2020Used the last of the Audreii Two’s to make a terrifying headpiece and hair clip.

I had a lot of silk leaves and plastic plants left over from the potted Alien Venus Flytraps and fascinators, so I used ’em up! This moment in time is all about using all my hoarded materials.

Alien Maneating Venus Flytrap Headpiece by Suzanne Forbes March 2020I had planned to make the headpiece and donate it to a fundraiser or raffle for Berlin queer performers.

Now, of course, I can’t imagine when in-person raffles or fundraising auctions will happen again. But I am filling a box with things that can be donated to raise money for the incredibly hard-hit performers of our city, who have lost all their income in a swift stroke.

And when it’s time, these wonderful things can be sold, donated or raffled to help my beloved Berlin nightlife folx, whose inspiration has made the last years the most fulfilling of my life.

Alien Venus Flytrap Hairclip by Suzanne Forbes March 2020The Carnivorous Venus Flytrap hairclip uses a very special piece of recycled material.

Suzanne Forbes making Bettie Page at Chicken Johns for Balsa Man 2009In the second half of the Oughts in San Francisco I wore my hair and eyebrows bright red.

It was part of my brand, how everyone knew me and spotted me drawing at an event. I’m only five four, but the hair and flowers piled on top of my head helped me stand out!

For special events I added feathers and tulle and tiny tophats, but for everyday (or I should say, everynight) going out I wore two double-flower red dahlia hairclips.

I have no idea where I got them, probably Target or Claire’s, but I wore them whenever I went anywhere for five years.

You can see me wearing them in the photo above, taken at Chicken John’s warehouse in the Mission in 2010. I was working on a balsa wood Bettie Page for Balsa Man.

Suzanne Forbes photographed by Libby Bulloff 2009Here I am wearing them when photographed by Libby Bulloff in Seattle in 2009!

Alien Venus Flytrap Hairclip by Suzanne Forbes March 2020 2

Then somehow I lost one in 2010, while having sex in my car outside a SOMA goth club with a bouncer half my age.

I wore the other til I went blue-haired again in 2013 or so, and I kept it, afterwards, because I had this idea I’d use it for something. It went in the shipping container with all the craft materials, and arrived in Berlin, and has been sitting in a craft drawer.

Alien Venus Flytrap Hair clip by Suzanne Forbes March 2020 3I found the thing to use it for!

It came out so well! This is a pretty special item, and if the virus doesn’t get me I’ll offer it up for sale worldwide whenever it’s safe to ship things again.