LGBT+ people I wanna meet

[Long description:

A banner depicting 6 different vertical compositions, each modeled after a color in the rainbow pride flag. From left to right:

In red: A graphic designer at a highway margin, overlooking the Senqu (Orange) river near Quthing, Lesotho. In her laptop display is one of many butch pride flags.

In orange: A photographer and his husband hiking the Verde river in Sedona, Arizona, in the U.S.. Reflected in his shutter is the rainbow pride flag.

In yellow: A writer at Treasure Hill, on the Xindian river in Taipei, Taiwan. Depicted in their typewriter is the agender pride flag.

In green: A wildlife artist and her partner at the cliffs of Cruachán, Ireland. A selection from her sketchbook depicts the rainbow pride flag.

In blue: Two lovers singing and strumming under the aurora at Iqaluit, in Nunavut, Canada. Depicted in the interior of the guitarist’s instrument is the bi pride flag.

In purple: A Chilean weaver at the loom, with her grandchild, somewhere in northern Chile. Half-woven is the trans pride flag.]

LGBT+ people I wanna meet

June 22, 2020

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whew. Surreal. I was approached back in May to do banner artwork for dA’s pride event (you can check out the journal here.) This piece was a challenge for a lot of reasons, emotional and compositional, but I like what I arrived at. I wanted to try to capture the joy i’ve experienced in connecting with others in the LGBT+ community, worldwide. To that end, I tried to select places I had at least some, small connection to, by way of the folks I’ve met over the years.

I hope you find something that looks familiar in it! : -)

I’ll leave you with some songs that helped this along:

Love is Love, Pt. 2 by Quantum Tangle. If you know me, I’ve probably rec’d it at some point because it makes me emotional. To be terribly honest, probably the only spin on the phrase “love is love” that made me cry.
Colors by June LaLonde, a beautiful pride anthem. I love that she draws on natural imagery to describe the flag… And I dare you to find a song that rhymes “chromatic aberration” so artfully.
Les Fleurs by Ivy Sole. I am new to Ivy Sole’s discography, but Les Fleurs hits hard and cuts deep in the best way. Very “bring me flowers while I’m still living” energy.

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In the spirit of transparency: I was paid 500$ for this piece, which I originally wanted to use to hire a diversity editor for my webcomic, Ghost River. After I retired Ghost River, I donated the funds to the Russian LGBT Network, Lambda Legal, and the Yavapai Indian Foundation.

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This piece is available as a print.

Verses: Etcetera