events – Page 2 – Lucy Bellwood

TCAF this Weekend: Panels, Placement, Debut News & More

There is a fabled holiday in the East, my friends. A weekend celebration of comics and friendship SO GREAT, SO VAST it has been known to BLOT OUT THE SUN. Under a single roof one may find the grandest collection of independent comics practitioners in the Western Hemisphere. There is where friendships are forged in the fires of community bonding, where children frolic in the aisles and parents stagger forth laden with armfuls of glorious sequential material.

Yes, that’s right: it’s TCAF TIME!

It’s no secret that TCAF is pretty much my favorite show ever. The audience, the venue, the exhibitors, the panels—everything there is just the greatest, and I’m so proud to announce that Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea will be making its debut at this year’s festival!

Can you tell I'm excited? — Can you tell I’m excited?

Here’s a sneak peek at the lovely advance run of books that we had printed just in time:

A real book! With a spine and everything! Ahh!

AND JUST LOOK AT THESE COLORED PAGES:

Swoon.

Okay so here’s the deal: you want to say hello? I’ll be on the SECOND FLOOR of the Toronto Public Library this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 9-5 and 10-5, respectively. Admission is FREE! My table number is 279, and here’s a handy map of where to find me (along with fellow rockstar neighbors Katie and Shaggy Shanahan, Tony Cliff, Kean Soo, Tory Woollcott, Meredith Gran, and Mike Holmes—dang, y’all):

It’s gonna be a party.

In addition to tabling at Table 279, you can also find me at the following events (during which time I will, obviously, not be at my table—plan accordingly!):

Saturday, 1:30 – 2:30 — Comics 101: How to Start Publishing Your Comics
(Marriott: Summerhill Room)

Reading comics is not enough and your passion for the medium has manifested into the next form — making them! Self-publishing your own comics will be a snap with the helpful expert advice of indie comics pubs and creators Raighne Hogan (2dcloud), Hazel Newlevant (Chainmail Bikini), Lucy Bellwood (Baggywrinkles), Kevin Czap (Czap Books). Moderated by Rachel Kahn.

Saturday, 2:45 – 3:45 — Niche Comics (The Pilot, 22 Cumberland)

Sure we all love comics, but what’s the other thing that makes you light up like an incandescent bulb? Specialization isn’t just key to evolution—it can help bring new focus to your work and encourage readers to learn from (and share!) your enthusiasm. Join Kate Beaton (history), Erika Moen (sex and sexuality), Lisa Hanawalt (horses), and Lucy Bellwood (boats) for a discussion of how niche interests can lead to diverse, vibrant careers.

Sunday, 11-11:30 — Draw-Along Kids Room (Toronto Reference Library Appel Salon)

Bring out the inner artistry of your little ones at the Draw-Along Kids Room! All day, we are cycling in the best of childrens’ comics artists to draw alongside our youngest attendees. Come by and let your imaginations run wild with real, live cartoonists!

SEE YOU THERE, YOU FABULOUS BEASTS.

Art, Conventions, News

Emerald City: Pre-Show Commissions & Show Details

Hi friends,

Emerald City Comicon is upon us in just a couple weeks, which means it’s time for pre-show commission sign-ups!

Here’s the drill: I have a limited number of slots for folks to get artwork done before the show—this means a little more care and attention can go into your pieces, and they’ll be ready to pick up whenever you swing by my table at ECCC! Prices and contact details can be found below.

Speaking of my table, here’s a map of where I’ll be on the show floor [Booth 1214 with the rest of Periscope]:

EcccTableCloseup — (Note: I am totally not this buff and tattooed.)

Emerald City is a whopping four days this year, so there’s really no excuse not to swing by and say hello. I’m bringing lots of minicomics, stickers, prints, buttons, and anthologies, plus I’ll be taking preorders for Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea (due out August, 2016).

So here’s the run-down on commissions:

1. Little Paintings (Full Color /3×4″ = $35, 4×6″ = $45)

These cuties are done on high quality cold press watercolor paper and measure either 3″ x 4″ or 4″ x 6″. Featuring a bird or animal of your choice with an optional word balloon, they’re ideal gifts or tiny talismans of your favorite beasts.

2. Pin-Ups (Full Color / 9×12″ / $70)

These are larger pieces with minimal background elements and one or two figures. More figures generally equal higher costs, but let me know what you’re after and we’ll work together to achieve it!

3. Ships (Full Color / 12×16″ / $300)

A handsome portrait of a tall ship of your choosing on a calm (or tempestuous) sea! 12″ x 16″, full-color, lotsa rigging guaranteed. These are substantial pieces and make excellent gifts.

[A note on all commission options: if any of these strike your fancy, but you’re on a budget, ask about greyscale or ink-only work to cut the cost a bit.]

Sign-ups are limited since there’s only a couple weeks before the show, so shoot me an email at lucypcbellwood [at] gmail [dot] com and let’s get rolling! Payment for commissions is due up front via PayPal or your online money transference service of choice. All pieces will be ready for pickup at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle April 7th-10th.

See you in Seattle!

Comics, Illustration

XOXO Livesketches

This past weekend I had the exceptional pleasure of being hired by Medium to live sketch all the speakers at XOXO, an annual arts and technology festival run by my pals Andy Baio and Andy McMillan here in Portland. I’d heard great things about XOXO in the past, but this was my first opportunity to check it out in person—and BOY HOWDY IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Yes, I felt like my arms were going to fall off after each day’s sketching (20 minutes per speaker, with seven to ten people each day of the conference), but I met so many fascinating folks and got to hear some really wonderful presentations. Here’s a truncated image of all the speaker portraits from Saturday and Sunday (not including the pull quotes from each talk, which you can see over on Medium):

Crazy.

And now it’s time to gear up for Rose City Comic Con this weekend, where I’ve got a new comic making its print debut! Expect a post about that in the next couple days.

I’m also planning to collect some more complex thoughts about what XOXO meant to me once I stop being socially hungover from non-stop connections and late nights over the weekend, but that’s a story for another time. In the meantime, check out the full post on Medium!

Comics, News

Boston Travelogue Now Available via Patreon

Greetings, friends! For those of you not currently involved in my Patreon page, I just wanted to put the official word out that I’m updating my Boston travelogue comic there with a new page every week for Patrons pledging $1 a month or more. There are several patronage levels that nab you a variety of perks, from PDFs of all my published work to a weekly behind-the-scenes post about what I’ve been working on, and enable me to focus more on telling these kinds of stories. Win-win!

The Boston travelogue comic serializes my recent trip aboard the Charles W. Morgan–an 1840s wooden whaling vessel–and blends the page-a-day travelogue style of Grand Adventure with the historical interests of Baggywrinkles. I’m really happy with how it’s been coming together, and I’d love to share it with you early via this new platform. (The finished comic will be full color watercolor, but these sneak peek pages on Patreon are digitally toned.)

I’ll also be having a solo show at Portland’s Sequential Art Gallery in September to display all the original art from the journey. The opening reception takes place Thursday, September 4th from 6pm-10pm and I’d love to see you there. The completed print edition of the comic will be making its debut in full color at SPX later that month, too. You can check out my list of upcoming appearances on the lefthand side of this page for all Fall show dates!

See you on Patreon,

News

Boston Bound

The time is upon us!

I’m departing for Boston this evening for a week of historical research and sailing aboard the Charles W. Morgan, an original 1840s wooden whaling ship. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, feel free to refresh your memory with this post. I’ve got some fun stuff scheduled for the blog while I’m away, so stay tuned for news and thrilling events that will autopost in my absence. I’ll also do my best to update from the road — or water, as it were.

In addition: I would also love to see any and all of you in the Boston area at Trident Booksellers and Cafe, where I’ll be doing a reading/signing on July 14th at 7pm. This is my first solo signing event, and I’m really excited to meet all my East Coast boat comics people. Here’s a link to Trident’s site with some more info, plus a Facebook event where you can invite your friends.

See you on the other side, pals!

Main, News

Stumptown Comics Fest This Weekend!

It’s that time of year again, folks! The Stumptown Comics Fest arrives this weekend and I’ll be boating it up at table D02 with fellow nautical cartoonist Molly Hayden for all your Baggywrinkle-related needs. The show runs Saturday (10am to 6pm) and Sunday (12pm-6pm) at the Oregon Convention Center, and costs $10 per day or $15 for the whole weekend — a steal! Kory Bing was kind enough to make this goofy map, where you can see all the fabulous folks who’ll be tabling around me!

Basically, it’s gonna be a party.

Speaking of parties, I’ll also be participating in the annual Stumptown Art Battle during the official Saturday night after party at the Jupiter Hotel! Come see me duke it out with fellow cartoonists Ming Doyle, Dash Shaw, Jeff Parker, Mike Russell, and Cat Farris as we vie for your drunken approval.

ADDITIONALLY: Those of you who missed my Freelance Badassery talk in January can catch it in an all-new incarnation on Saturday from 12-12:45 in Room B113. The Righteous Creative will be a snappy 45-minute pep talk to help you navigate the pitfalls of dealing with inner critics and figuring out how to do the work you love. We’ll discuss strategies for conquering the blank page, building and maintaining momentum, and staying on target. Bring your best creative productivity tips, as there will be a skill-share portion of the discussion.

Apart from that, I’ll just be hanging out at the table for the rest of the weekend, so come say hello! Table wares include Baggywrinkles 1, 2, and 3*, True Believer, Tales from the Fragment, button packs, prints, ladies’ t-shirts, original watercolors (I only have a few of the super-popular talking birds left!), and the one, the only, SQUEAKY WALRUS.

*A note about Baggywrinkles #4: Although I had originally planned to have the issue out by Stumptown, my unexpected trip home to help my dad recover from hip surgery threw a spanner in the works and set me back a few weeks. Rest assured, I’m busting my buns to get it finished in time for TCAF, so if you’re dying for a copy it should be here by mid-May. Thanks for understanding, guys! I’ll bring some of the in-progress pages so you can all get a sneak peek.

See you on the floor!

Conventions

Emerald City Comicon THIS WEEKEND!

Okay gang, sorry for the suuuuper short notice, but it looks like I’ll be tabling at Emerald City Comicon this weekend! The show runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and boasts the biggest attendance of comics and pop culture stars in the Pacific Northwest. To give you an idea of just how massive this party’s gonna be, here’s a map of the Periscope Studio table block, where I’ll be squished in between Paul Guinan & Anina Bennett and Jonathan Case.

Yeah, that’s right. You have to cross a SKY BRIDGE to get to us. How cool is that?

Tickets are actually sold out, so if you’re already planning to go to the show, be sure to stop by table 2621 and say hi! I’ll have Baggywrinkles 1, 2, and 3, True Believer, Tales from the Fragment, Ladies’ FIGHT FOR YOUR ART shirts (sorry dudes, sold out of yours), button packs, mini prints, monkey’s fists, and some crazy little animal watercolors for your perusal, purchase, and enjoyment.

Hope to see you there!