Goodbyes

It's been a year of many goodbyes (or should I say - "hello again in a considerably long time"s).

[ Tegan and Sara - Goodbye, Goodbye ]

Friday Festivities: Bridal Mix + Doodles

I was invited to Eni and Anselm's smashing good wedding in Berlin-Tegel at the beginning of September. As is my wont, I made them a small mix and illustrated the cover. They are both musicians and in fact sang during their own wedding ceremony, which is just a general proof of awesomeness (and something I'd like to one-up someday, being me).

Some doodles from the last couple weeks, including a couple people who happened to walk by my table at Zinefest.

Also, tiny update at the Noémie blog for the Franco-Germanically inclined! You can also like the project on Facebook and follow it on Twitter [FR/DE].

See you Tuesday!

[ Phia - Do You Ever? ]

FML Comic + Zinefest report!

In case you missed the announcements on various networks, my comic for Fmylife.com went live this weekend!

As a born (sort of) and raised Frenchperson, I've laughed hysterically at many of the stories on the original French site Viedemerde.fr for years and co-opted the acronym VDM for my own personal use. It was therefore a special honor to participate in making a funny for these fine people. After being asked to illustrate a story of my choosing, I perused the site for hours before picking this one, took a few hours during a weekend excursion to thumbnail it and proceeded to pencil and ink it in a total of a week (spread out over other endeavours). 

The site also features an interview in which I confess my longstanding fixation on the Portland comics scene, my preference for cats and my favorite Berlin monument to cycle around.

Trivia time: though the cigarette situation actually happened to an FML contributor, the hug with the hobo was directly inspired by one of Max Dubinsky's blog posts (collected in An Anthology of Madness). Also, the girlfriend in the comic bears a close resemblance to my friend Anne-So of Clairikine Hits Paris fame (but her husband doesn't smoke).

***

I'm pleased to report that Zinefest Berlin was a smashin' good time. I tabled next to wonderful people (see Heimat Zine and Pink Mince for more), made connections and got (among many fascinating objects) the artbook for Tinet Elmgren's comic Driftwood, which makes the WIP junkie in me just squee forever.

I've been busy with freelance comic and not-comic work of late, but I have a couple new (gut-spilling) comics in the pipeline that I drew and inked over the weekend between visitors and that you will get to see once I force them past my conscience. I'm also working on feeding my neglected twins MOS and Noémie. A cartoonist's work is never done, amirite?

[ JD Samson & Men - Making Art ]

Random Friday Sketchdump: The Return!

I know I've been  inactive on here as of late, but I assure you - I have been anything but idle these past few weeks! As life often has it, in contrast to the relatively dead summer of 2013  I've been working on several projects that came up since returning from vacation in August and it's currently very exciting times with a forecast of prolonged excitement. More to come on this here blog as details unfold!

With that said, it's at long last time for another sketchdump. Have some drawings of foxes, hands, backs of heads, birds and random individuals.

I've also begun reading The Less Then Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal and gotten completely hooked.

[ Tegan and Sara - Shudder To Think ]

[UPDATED] ANNOUNCING: Comics workshop + Zinefest Berlin!

* "So how do you do the bise, exactly?"

"Uhhhh, I have no idea... Couldn't we just shake hands instead?"

UPDATE [18/10/2013]: Due to illness (the organisers', not mine!), the book fair  and the comics workshop have both been postponed to a date which is TBA.

People of Berlin! This fall is going to be happenin', and it's going to be happenin' big.

First of all, the Info-Café Berlin-Paris is holding a comics and book fair on Saturday, October 19* at Molkenmarkt 1 (behind the Rotes Rathaus on the other side of that massive street, the yellow building with the flags).  I will be tabling there from 11 AM to 12:30PM roughly, with Cardialement #1 and #2, Master of Survival #1 and stickers, and I will be offering small postcard sketches!

During the book fair, from 1PM to 3PM, I will also be hosting my third Franco-German comics workshop. This time the topic is "Franco-German friendship from panel to panel." Participants will be paired up in bilingual teams and walked through the process of creating a comic that fits the topic, start to finish.

Signups for this free workshop are currently open - you can sign up by e-mailing cafeberlinparis@dfjw.org. Please note that the workshop will only be in French and German! This kind of workshop can be a great activity for tandem partners.

Secondly, I am insanely excited to be tabling the following weekend at Zinefest Berlin in Kreuzberg on the 26th and 27th of October!

I can only highly recommend this event as I walked in last year with 30€ of cash and walked out with 30€ worth of excellent zines and comics. In addition to the previously mentioned minicomics, stickers and commissions, I will also have a couple surprises. Come on over, say hello, and grab some cake! For there will be cake.

See you there! Clairikine out.

[ Arcade Fire - Reflektor ]

Friday Fanart: Teenage angst has paid off well

Now I'm bored and old.

[ Nirvana - Serve The Servants ]

Zugverspätung

* "The train to Westkreuz via Gesundbrunnen is subject to a delay of 18 minutes."

This situation is best experienced when you've been out three nights in a row and all you want for the rest of eternity is your bed.

*** 

Also, if you live in certain parts of Berlin or Stockholm, you may have recently seen the STICKERS I have ordered (thanks to Josh "Caffeinated Toothpaste" Bauman for his advice)! They now come free with any purchase in my store. Perfect for expressing your urban twentysomething angst!

I will also have them for sale at markets this fall/winter in Berlin - more on that soon.

Life imitates art on Södermalm (right photo courtesy of Mattias Davén, insane  mug courtesy of myself).

[ Arctic Monkeys - Snap Out of It ]

Friday Fanart: Arctic Monkeys, "AM"

High on my list of bands that can literally not do much wrong are the Arctic Monkeys, whose second album Favourite Worst Nightmare was on repeat in my room most of last winter. In heady anticipation of their new album AM, I drew some fanart for "Do I Wanna Know?" and "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?", the two singles released this summer. I also spent all my cash on a ticket to their November show at Berlin's C-Halle, of course, as you do.

1-2: Do I Wanna Know?

3-4: Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?

(Arctic Monkeys website)

Clairikine Hits Paris ... Again!

As you will recall, thanks to the OFAJ/DFJW I returned to visit Paris again last July as part of raising awareness for my music and comic project with Sarah Ehrenholz, "Noémie - round trip". My good friend and frequent benefactor Alex was kind enough to donate funds towards a journal comic about the trip. The comic itself is now available as a DRM-free PDF on Gumroad for the looooww price of 2€ (or more) - and it is also free to read in its entirety on this very post, below the cut at the bottom!

Do you want to get your hands on the original pages of a future travel comic? Then watch this space! Alternatively, you can shoot me an email at clairykin - gmail to be first in line for the next one. They are made whenever I'm going on non-vacation-related trips, in small A5 notebooks (usually these). None are currently in the works, but plans change fast! UPDATE: several trips are in the works for 2014! Stay tuned!

Enough talk, then - enjoy !

For I have returned, etc.

 

Sisterly drawing session with Jonny, view from the quay at Hammarby Sjöstad. Contagious summer plague not pictured.

I'm back! I dropped off the grid for awhile to enjoy some downtime in Stockholm, took some pics, went walking up and down the city and engaged in loosely legal activity, more of which you will be seeing soon. It was good to have a break, but also good that things are back on track, 'cause there's new art lined up in the coming weeks for your enjoyment!

First off, if any of you are following me on Twitter or Tumblr and are inclined to sharing my musical interests, I'd advise you to keep your eyes peeled next week for a little somethin' I've been working on. 

Nextly, if you've been paying attention, you'll know I've had a travel journal up my sleeve these past few weeks. More to come on Tuesday! And then I have other things lined up for this fall. Like, you know, that webcomic of mine.

Until then, I'm off to a wedding in North Berlin. Toodles!

[ Jars of Clay - Reckless Forgiver ]