Sail Away
in black and white waters
It’s nice when you really connect with people, isn’t it? When you overcome the continents and oceans that separates us and you touch somebody in a sufficiently meaningful way that it changes both of us. You might make people think. You might make people feel.
And you might make people feel sick.
I hope it’s a mild one, Will, and that you feel better soon.
BLACK AND WHITE WATERS
If you read my last letter, you know I was opening a new commission list. I talked about adding color commission options onto the new list, but we decided to leave that for a later time because I spent most of last week recovering from pneumonia and didn’t had time or energy to paint a colorful example of what to expect. Now that I’m back on my feet, I have to focus on two illustration jobs with more pressing deadlines, and then I can start on this curious new list of requests I’m getting.
Maybe I can say I have a well established international carrier and a diverse international fan base, but I also know that most of my audience, and specially the original art collector types, come from my presence in the American market of comics, and because of that I expect that the majority of requests for commissions will involve mainstream American comic book characters. Over the years, I learned how to challenge myself drawing these well established pop culture iconic characters that inhabit the hearts of so many people, and I don’t feel like a fraud drawing these characters as I once did. Still, I love to get requests to draw European characters, or characters from classics of literature, or characters from alternative creator owned comics. Different requests tap into different corners of my creative mind, awakening my love for all sorts of stories.
Speaking of stories, I finally saw Professor Marston & the Wonder Women. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was a better use of my time than joining the masses in the controversy about the new Stan Lee documentary.
TO SEA, SAILOR
I always mean to post these letters on a Monday, but yesterday suddenly got away from me and it was past midnight and I decided to go to bed and just finish this in the morning.
Now it’s time to set sail and explore new waters. A drawing for public schools and another to help fight censorship awaits before I can spend more time on my first commission with a certain Italian sailor.
Be safe. Be kind. Be curious.
Pa-ZOW!
Fábio Moon
Moon Base, São Paulo
June 27th, 2023