Since I've Been Gone~

Hey, Old Sports

The year has started off quite lively, but now that things are starting to settle, I wanted to make sure we got a second to catch up.

First off: some art that you may have missed! My February and March postcards, along with their respective stickers.

For February, I came up with a wedding celebration missing its bride, “My Sweet Sangeet”. Gatsby here is all dolled up in a Sherwani(pink Desi groom garment)and Stole(the gold and maroon scarf-like fabric) with some peacock and flower-inspired henna. I mixed in some Lebanese sweets like Baklava and tried my best at the grand Lebanese style wedding cakes I saw online. He’s ready for the day, but alas, the bride bailed, but at least his best man Nick is there to comfort him, yeah? It was a fun attempt at what I felt my Gatsby’s wedding style could’ve been, mixing both his Desi and Lebanese heritage.

Do you often find yourself both in control of a situation yet also watching it unfold with brewing uncertainty? The recent March postcard was a perspective/inner conflict theme illustrated by Gatsby weaving lace while at the same time weaving his fate; the grand idea of Daisy is right there, but maybe he ought to pay attention to that fallen wine glass creating a stain. That’s why I went with the title “Weave Your Fate”.

As for the stickers: February we had a pastry babe with some extra sweet on the side, and for March we had Daisy and Gatsby together stuck in a rosy bird cage.

These were my Patreon rewards, which I create and hand out each month. On Patreon, my patrons have the choice between stickers, postcards, or receiving both! And my free tier members get a guaranteed glance at what’s being offered each month so they can opt in as they please.

Since the start of the year, I’ve been working on new projects, some comic work (two of which I’m excited to share when I get the chance) and some anthology work.

To the misfortune of my close friends, I’m very much into the Catholic church now. And it’s thanks to Conclave! This- now Oscar-winning- film about gossipy cardinals set in a political thriller genre has been my fave film for the past few months. I was sequestered with over 100 other artists and writers to create a zine showcasing our love for the film. We made, I believe, $45k+ in proceeds, which we donated to a few charities, as well as got the attention of the film’s cast. I think 1 or 2 of the main cast members have a copy of our zine haha

Here’s my contribution featuring my two favorite cardinals- Cardinal Vincent Benitez and Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco. I love them so much they’re…so good. I highly recommend both the film and the book by Robert Harris and our zine, still available for pdf orders!

Another project I got to join in on was Nova and Mali of Queer Publishing House’s Queer Tarot deck! I was delighted to illustrate not 1 but 2 tarot cards for their- now fully funded- deck. I got to illustrate The Lovers Card and The Four of Pentacles. I’ve been a tarot girlie for a while now and have wanted to illustrate some cards, so I was grateful for the opportunity to work with N+M again on this project!

For those of you who have bought or been interested in my CUNTRY COWBOY shirts, I have an update from the manufacturer. The shirts have been embroidered, and they’re currently sewing the garment pieces together. There was a time lapse due to the fabric change and Chinese New Year, but things are going, and I hope y’all are still excited!

I’m still planning to design the cropped top version of the shirt. I just want to make sure the last stages of production with the current shirts run smoothly.

An exciting event that I’ll be joining: MomoCon in Atlanta, GA, in May! This will be my first convention, and I’m really looking forward to it. Between the commissioned comic work, I’ve been prepping merch on the side and how to showcase it with my table design. There’s still SO MUCH to do. As the time for the con nears, I’ll showcase some of the products I plan to sell there as well as the map to my table. I hope I can see some of y’all there!

I believe that’s it from me for now. Thanks again for reading and supporting what I do; it's always appreciated.

Til then, stay rad, Old Sport,

-Vincent

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