Hey everyone! I'm writing this newsletter live from my new home office, which we now call "the hobby room and also where Cab sometimes works." I finally bought a desk bigger than a handkerchief and BONUS: it's adjustable! I’ll finally be able to work standing while also being able to adjust the desk height to its LOWEST setting, so I can finally have my feet flat on the floor while sitting in my chair. Being two inches shorter than what furniture manufacturers consider "standard" is always a real headache. But now I have the best workspace I've had in 14 years of freelancing!

Recap’

First things first, I got some good news about L’Heure du Lunch, my next comic project. I'm happy to announce that the project has received funding from the Conseil des Arts du Québec, which will allow me to work on it full time. HOORAY! The "sandwich" comic is progressing slowly but surely, between contracts and Pupilles. Now that I've received a grant and we're about to finish the first volume of Pupilles, I'll be able to focus entirely on L’Heure du lunch. I'll probably post an update on the comic’s status on Patreon in the coming weeks. My motivation has just increased by 1000%, that’s for sure!

Behold, a very, very rare hand-drawn commission for a cool guy in Germany. The coloring ended up being way more elaborate than I thought, but since I recently got a set of markers, I figured I might as well use them. The sketch and progress photos are on Patreon :)

My website now has a page entirely dedicated to sketches. I have so many of them scattered everywhere that I decided to gather them all in one place. It will be updated sporadically, but it was on my to-do list for a long time.

Announcements

For years I've been drawing buildings and triplex facades for fun and for print making. I've decided to try opening up a limited number of facade illustration commissions. Houses, businesses, plexes—I'm open to all kinds of requests! There are only four spots open at the moment, so head over to  this page to get prices, information, and how to contact me.

The Montreal Comic Arts Festival is currently running a major fundraising campaign, and for this occasion, they launched an auction containing a plethora of items, including many beautiful original pages and drawings by artists such as Michel Rabagliati, Julien Paré-Sorel, Julie Doucet, Julie Rocheleau, and more. I donated a page out of Utown along with the original cover art; normally, I would never have sold it to a private individual, but the cause was worthwhile. The auction ends on May 3rd, so now is the time to bid to support a festival that has become essential to the local comic scene. The Festival asked me to do a small drawing to accompany their communications, and this specific moment from 2023 came back to me.

I illustrated the cover of issue 24 of Planches magazine, which will be released next month. The launch will take place at Cheval Blanc on Ontario Street on the evening of April 16th. I will show off the cover illustration in the next newsletter.

The Cab Post is and ALWAYS be free. If you like what I do, visit my online shop, which contains signed books, art prints, stickers and fanzines. You can also leave a contribution of your choice on Patreon, which will give you access to tons of exclusive posts. This newsletter is made by hand, for humans; each share, subscription, purchase or contribution is immensely appreciated.

• Website and portfolio

• Online shop

• Patreon

• Buy my books (CA) (US)

Cool stuff

I'm making progress in my Cyberpunk 2077 game, even though I have no idea what’s happening most of the time. To stay on theme, I borrowed the DVD box set of The Matrix at the library and we decided to rewatch the entire trilogy, interspersing it with The Animatrix shorts, in chronological order. I also showed Ghost in the Shell to my partner, and Akira will follow shortly. It’s been a hell of a ride!

Club Carter Radio is an independent radio show on YouTube, hosted by Sagid Carter. Her music selection is impeccable; listening to her is a real pleasure.

In a rare moment of weakness, I splurged and bought Grizzly Bear's Painted Ruins vinyl and I don't regret a thing. It's one of my all-time favorite albums, and it deserved the honor of being the first brand new vinyl I ever bought. There will be more… just… not too often.

I really like Miki's music video Ça pik un peu quand même which was directed by Émilie Tronche.

Cool artist: Esteban Sanchez is a visual artist from New Mexico who works with a mix of digital and traditional techniques. I would describe his style as pulp-punk. It's really cool!

The solution to technology is not more technology. The solution to loneliness is each other, a wealth that should be available to most of us most of the time. We need to rebuild or reinvent the ways and places in which we meet; we need to recognise them as the space of democracy, of joy, of connection, of love, of trust.

Rebecca Solnit - What technology takes from us – and how to take it back