Crunching Leaves

I'm so excited for it to be fall.
In honor of October my amazing friends Heather and Jen have created an event called 31 postcards in 31 days.  Since it's fall I decided to make my postcards all be my favorite fall things, here is a peek at the first batch:

I can't wait to send them out to everyone!  I just have to stock up on some postcard stamps now.

I've been doodling a lot and trying to work with watercolors more.  Here is a little doodle I did awhile ago..


Mostly I'm excited with the work time I have now with my new schedule that I can start working on bigger projects again.  Well..after I get back from a trip out west!
I wanted to make a personal comic again instead of one about sea creatures.  I'm still trying to get the hang of water coloring..

here's a look at what my beautiful pot rack looks like in real life!

Keeping Perspective

Chicago Zine Fest 2013 has started planning again.  Our kick off fundraiser is tomorrow night!  I'm really excited about it.  I drew this flyer to promote it.

I haven't had much of a chance to draw or write lately due to the teacher strike and working a lot of extra hours and also picking back up on Zine Fest stuff.  That should change in October!  I plan to get a lot of work done.

Today I got a message from someone who bought my book on etsy telling me that she bought it for this little girl named Stella who is living with a fatal brain tumor.  Her mom actually writes a blog about her life here: http://stellabrunermethven.com/   It's kind of incredible the way the internet has allowed us to share our lives with each other.  I'm really touched and honored that this little girl is going to read my book.  And I am wishing the best for her and her family.
Sometimes, I should reread my own book and remember it's all about keeping perspective.

cuttlefish

sometimes, all you can do is draw a sad comic.

Bad Zine, Everyone's Fault

Tonight is the kick off reading for the zine reading tour I'm going on for the next 10 days.  The reading tonight is at Quimby's at 7pm.
Here's the poster I made for the tour:


Our schedule for tour looks like this:
7/20 - Chicago, IL @ Quimby's Bookstore--1854 W. North Ave (7pm)https://www.facebook.com/events/175225279276546/?ref=ts
7/21 - Grand Rapids -- MI 622 Benjamin (7pm) https://www.facebook.com/events/150581748399489/?ref=ts
7/22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Cyberpunk Apocalypse - 1200 Boyle Sthttps://www.facebook.com/events/178421965621407/?ref=ts
7/23 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wooden Shoe Books & Records -- 704 South St
7/24 - New York, NY @ Witch Beach --1414 Lincoln Place (6pm)https://www.facebook.com/events/233804223406969/?ref=ts
7/25 - Atlantic City, NJ
7/26 - Baltimore, MD@Red Clover Collective -- 603 E. 30th st.https://www.facebook.com/events/159738297493861/?ref=ts
7/27 - Washington, DC@The Dollhouse https://www.facebook.com/events/466431220051596/?ref=ts

I've been going crazy trying to finish my book/zine for tour..and I did just in time.  It's a short story about a fat hamster named yams and it's called Sometimes the Sky Explodes.  I actually wrote it a long long time ago when my friend Nina and I did a story/drawing swap and we both kind of failed on the other side of the swap so I decided to finish it up myself.  This is what it looks like:

It's my first time doing all watercolors for the images of a book and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  

As always, Bum was a big help preparing for tour.

I'm really excited to go out with Xavi again and this time adding in Jen and Heather.  Heather runs Stranger Danger Distro

Jen is putting a new zine out also that I designed the cover for!  It looks like this:

 

Tour ends with the DC Zine Fest which I can't wait to table at!! If you're on the East Coast--come say hi!

cake!

Tonight I'm doing my first ever "comic reading" at this benefit for CAKE  The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo--which is taking place next weekend June 16th&17th and I'm very excited to attend.  

The reading tonight is at the Hungry Brain at 9pm, come support me and CAKE!

In other news summer is shaping up nicely.  I'm going on another reading tour starting July 20th, so stay tuned for dates and venues having to do with that!

My book Stella's Big Wish was featured on this really awesome online magazine Make It Mag--check out my interview and write up, it's pretty awesome!  http://www.makeitmag.com/#/leslie-perrine/4563508976

That's all for now, hoping summer gives me the time to actually make a new book...so far it's just packed with fun.  I guess I'm not complaining!

Dealing with Sharks

At a coffee shop playing Dinosaur Jr, not a bad way to spend a gray Sunday afternoon.  I'm ready for summer.  Ready for warmth and excitement.  I'm tired of spring.  Tired of gray days and heavy hearts.   I'm lucky I have such awesome friends who support each other and are open with each other even when things are bad and scary.  It makes me proud but also sad and frustrated with the people who try to threaten that or take it away.  So I made a comic about it.  Sticking with the sea creatures for now.



I'm also hosting a reading this week at the Read/Write library that my friend and former tourmate is reading at.  Here is the flyer I made for it:


This week is my 30th birthday, so I'll be suddenly in my 30's, which I'm excited for.  I definitely thought being 30 would look different..but I'm not worrying about it too much.  I'm sure you'll read my comics about it in the future!

better things

I'm finally back in the swing of making things!  There's always a good couple week decompression time after Chicago Zine Fest happens that I don't want to do ANYTHING..but I think that has luckily passed.  Zine Fest was amazing.  It's hard to imagine doing something of that magnitude again every year but every year I think "how could I not?!"

Recently my best friend since first grade Jamie Walsh, started a website called The Quickest Flip it's a really awesome curated space to sell art.  I have a page and so do a lot of other really talented people.  Jamie decided to make a publication by the same name with an open call to artists.  I just finished my submission for it which is a one page comic.  This is my first time doing a 3-panel style comic and coloring a comic so I'm pretty excited about it!


I also finished another comic that was supposed to be for a free comic book day comic my friend Neil Brideau was putting together, but due to personal stuff I missed the deadline.  Welp, here it is anyway:


I usually hate the spring.  When it was super warm out it was helping me forget that but alas, real spring seems to be creeping in.  It seems like the time when people leave and although it's the time of flowers blooming and trees budding it always seems the opposite in my life.  Ah Mr. Eliot you're so right "April is the cruelest month."
What can you do but paint pictures, make mix cds and snuggle with cats to feel better?