Tag Archives: drawing in berlin

This Giving Season, preserve Queer Art: help make the BIGGER BOOK happen!

My last work, DEMIMONDE, has a problem. I made 2x the book I got funding for!

This month as I did image processing and inserted images into the manuscript, I added 200 more artworks and over a 100 pages of text. When the team at Gorham Printing reviewed the files with the layout person, they informed me that I have a nearly 400 page book with 320 images, not a 200+ page book with 100 images.

I did not fundraise enough to publish or ship a 400 page book! My loves, I need your help!

I can’t see how to change the book as it stands; 320 artworks is 10% of my last 20 years’ work and enough pictures to tell a story. It feels right to me. Same with the text; to tell about the people and places that I drew and painted, I needed some words!

I also changed the title; the book is now: DEMIMONDE: The Documentary Art of Suzanne Forbes

I included lots of paintings, lots of collaborative work I did with my Beloved Patrons. I recorded and fact-checked so much Bay Area and Berlin queer and k1nky history for this book! It’s valuable and important to include it, for the people and places to be remembered on the page.

And it is doable, Gorham can do the layout and print the almost 400 page book with over 200 color illustrations and 100 black and white.

We had to decide fast whether to make the wire transfer to the printing house for the initial deposit, so we just did it! But the layout, printing and shipping of a bigger book will cost more.

I need to raise about 500 more euros (thanks to incredibly generous support from loved ones, nearly all additional costs are now covered) to finish printing the book at the increased size; I’m cashing out an old US life insurance policy that will cover 1400 (my life insurance was always to secure my art legacy)! I’m making a Paypal moneypool (here!) with a goal of 2300 euros.

You can help right here!

Anyone who contributes in the next week will be on the book thank you list; anyone who contributes is on the thank you list on the website and gets the PDF version of the book emailed.

Thank you, I love you, I’m too wrecked still from the shock of this to even write clearly, sorry!

Luna Tiktok models for Sketcherei!

Drawing of Luna Tiktok for Sketcherei Feb 5 2024 by Suzanne Forbes. Luna is a light-skinned nonbinary person presenting high femme in burlesque costume and pinup pose.I do love to draw fellow New York Native ThemTiktoks!

When I saw Sketcherei had Luna Tiktok booked for a February session and there was a zoom option, I was there!

Drawing of Luna Tiktok for Sketcherei Feb 5 2024 by Suzanne Forbes. Luna is a light-skinned nonbinary person presenting high femme in burlesque costume and pinup pose.I have made lots of drawings of both Tiktok aspects over the years.

Here’s Mx. Tiktok speaking at the 2019 Berlin Burlesque Week panel on Cultural Appropriation in Burlesque, an incredibly important discussion. Luna during the initial Pansy’s House of Presents quarantine livestreams, Luna and Roman Tiktok streamed from Pansy’s Autumn live shows at Monster Ronson’s, 2020. Luna performing in the 2021 streaming show Big Fat Burlesque.

Drawing of Luna Tiktok for Sketcherei Feb 5 2024 by Suzanne Forbes. Luna is a light-skinned nonbinary person presenting high femme in burlesque costume and pinup pose.This was the first time I’d drawn Luna life modeling though!

As always the Sketcherei setup was lovely and Luna looked amazing in a new wig created by Berlin performer, MUA and wig whisperer Antina Christ.

Drawing of Luna Tiktok for Sketcherei Feb 5 2024 by Suzanne Forbes. Luna is a light-skinned nonbinary person presenting high femme in burlesque costume and pinup pose.Rich reds are so enlivening in February.

Thank you for another accessible event Sketcherei and Luna Tiktok!

Sketcherei supports performers and sex workers and always has great music and vibes. Insta here, upcoming events here! Alexandra Ru (aka Barsketcher) and her mom are running the sessions together, and I love that they offer zoom access.

I’m so grateful to my Patrons on Patreon, whose monthly financial support makes it possible for me to keep working as an artist, to share my art for free, and to support Berlin performers!