little sketch

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neighborhood

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 3333 grand avenue between 10am + noon

 sidewalk fill

trees in the cemetery

flowers at the flowerstand

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Littlebird News - Shows! April + May Announcements

Interstitial Report - late April + May events

xoxo from littlebird

Dear friends,

This little bird has kind of, sort of, A LOT of news! Earlier this month I’d been plodding along not expecting anything in particular. To my delighted surprise a WHOLE BUNCH of things have come together and I am scrambling to get this newsletter out in time to tell you about them. The end of this month is in fact the start of all kinds of excitement and fun. Mark your calendars for the good times ahead. I’ll be waiting for y’all, drawing hand poised and ready!


A. I See What You Say, art reception - April 28th
B. Breakers release party + booksigning – May 2nd
C. Author panel discussion – May 18th
D. Yam + Me + Adobe Books – May 18th
E. Animal Crossing Zine – taking orders now!
F. Study Group 12 volume 2 – taking orders now!
G. What the heck else?


A. I See What You Say – Narrative Art Exhibition
Group Author Signing, Show Reception + Party – Sunday, April 28th, 5pm – 8pm
hosted by the Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
415.CAR.TOON
www.cartoonart.org
www.facebook.com/events/378352285605483/

Here’s a treat for you fans: in conjunction with the our narrative illustration exhibit, award-winning, crazy talented people are coming to josh around with the public at the Cartoon Art Museum next Sunday. Come and shake the hands of our artist guests Jon Klassen, Roman Muradov, Christian Robinson and Dasha Tolstikova. Also joining in are writer and author Lemony Snicket and CAM's Bay Area Spotlight artistGabrielle Gamboa. Don’t be shy - meet these fine creators and have them sign your books! 


The reception is kid friendly, with music, drawing activities, and photo ops. Lisa’s put together a beautiful online invitation, so please click the link for details.
http://ymlp.com/z0mFHt

Special shout outs to Christian Robinson for his charming postcard illustrations, and to Roman Muradov for his jocular on-site murals.  

 

Left to Right - Rain, by Christian and Linda; The Dark by Jon and Lemony. Exhibition Flyer by Christian.

For spotlight snippets on our artists, please visit our tumblr feeds:

http://littlebirdnews.tumblr.com/
http://americanchickens.tumblr.com/
http://sfcartoonartmuseum.tumblr.com/

www.facebook.com/events/378352285605483/
feel free to rsvp on the facebook page 

B. Breakers – Anthology
Release Party + booksigning - May 2nd, 6pm to ?
hosted by Mission Comics
3520 – 20th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 . 695 . 1545
www.facebook.com/events/365688216883431/


Remember all the hoohah i made about my terrific residency in Florida last year? A few of the kids in the program took it upon themselves to compile work from our enthusiastic group and turn it into a book.Gabrielle Gamboa, Jean Chen, Lara Antal (and partner Dave Kelly) and I will be celebrating and signing at Mission Comics - come and get your copy! Special thanks to Dave  Lara for taking the helm and publishing Breakers!

To give a little background, the cartooning residency was offered by the Atlantic Center for the Arts, a stellar facility located close to the quiet and dreamy beaches of New Symrna, Florida. As a cartoonist who enjoyed the experience in its entirety, I can only hope there will be more opportunities for others like this in the future. Breakers is a testament of the ACA’s power as a social and creative outlet for like-minded folks.

Breakers encapsulates the unique think tank/spring break experience at the Atlantic Center for the Arts . It features work that was made on-site, during ACA’s Residency #147, the second only residency to be offered by the institution in comics and cartooning, which took place in October, 2012. Featuring comics by Ellen Forney, Dean Haspiel, Megan Kelso, and twenty-two other outstanding cartoonists:  Jessica Ruliffson, Gabrielle Gamboa, Gregory MacKay, Lark Pien, Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet), Nusha Ashjaee, George Folz, Jp Pollard, Jen Breach, Lara Antal, Rebecca Case, Jean Chen, Julie Condon, Gabrielle Greenlee, Lynda May, K-Fai Steele, Theresa Coulter, Sean Ironman, Christa Cassano, Fionnuala Doran, James Greene, and Meghan Lands.

read an online review of Breakers, posted on the Beat. It features one of my silly dailies!
http://comicsbeat.com/preview-review-shipwrecked-with-breakers/

From left to right: Breakers edited by Dave + Lara; excerpt by Jean; excerpt by Gabrielle; excerpt by me.

C. Superfriends! – three guys + me!
Part 1 - Panel Discussion Saturday, May 18th, 2pm – 3:30pm

at the Berkeley Main Library
2090 Kittredge St., Berkeley, CA 94704

Part 2 - Booksigning immediately following this event
at Fantastic Comics
2026 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
510 . 848 . 2988
www.fantasticcomics.net


Berkeley Comics Arts Festival: Superfriends!
After forging a friendship through their love of comics at a small Oakland Art Night, cartoonists Derek Kirk Kim ("Tune"), Jason Shiga ("Meanwhile"), Lark Pien ("Long Tail Kitty") and Thien Pham ("Sumo") made the leap from hand-stapled zines to wide acclaim in the world of graphic novels. Hear them reminisce about their shared roots, see some of their early creations, and learn what the future holds for these exciting local stars! This event is a perfect opportunity for teens and adults to make some interactive comics! Panel discussion led by Jack Baur.


event listing on facebook:
www.facebook.com/events/150267151809853/

From left to right: Sumo by Thien; Tune by Derek; Mr. Elephanter by Lark; Meanwhile by Jason.

D. Yam + Me at Marketplace –

Handmade Books and such, May 18th, all day
hosted by Adobe Books
3130 – 24th Street
between Folsom + Shotwell (South Van Ness)
San Francisco, CA 94110

Beloved Adobe Books is moving from 16th to a new location on 24th street and will be celebrating its new location with Marketplace fair, hosting lots of small vendors like YAM and me to come and set up shop for the day. If you are shopping birthday parties or just wanting to get prezzles for friends, stop by and pick up a few handcrafted books from Rina Ayuyang and me!

original photo source from missionmission.org

E. Animal Crossing Zine - order now!

This fan zine is long overdue. I am so excited that it's hitting the presses now.  So hurry, hurry, hurry, step right up and get your copy! For any Animal Crossing fan this is sure to put a smile on your face. If you don't know what Animal Crossing is, it's the most adorable friendly and real time video game ever. I actually left a new year's party early once so that i could check in on my virtual town (where they were also celebrating). Of course it was worth it! Ahem! While it may be questioned whether that sort of behavior is healthy or not, I still stick by my belief that it's the most adorable and friendly real time video game ever.
http://animalcrosszine.tumblr.com/post/47619489520/animal-crosszine-is-now-available-for-pre-order

for more pictures of my AC drawings, visit my flickr page. does anyone visit flickr anymore? i keep all my portfolios there....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/larkpien/

Look up any of the blogs and websites from these fine artists below and get ready to be ENTERTAINED.

Contributors are Ariel Ries, Ashley Davis, Caitlin Rose Boyle, Cameron Sewell (ThDark), Cassandra Freire, Crystal Kan, Dan Zazzera, Daniel Bressette, Emily Huff, Emily Partridge, Emma Trithart, Friedelinde, Gabriel Calderon, Hado, Ian Andersen, Ian Lawrence, Jade F. Lee, Jake Lawrence, Jane Mai, Jessi Zabarsky, Joel Carroll, Justin Woo, Kevin Budnik, Kizzy, Kristine Thune, Lark Pien, Lottie Pencheon, Louie Chin, Megan Brennan, Meghan Lands, michysoong, Mike Horowitz, Mo Razzouqi, Nathan White, Noelle McClanahan, Paul Veer, Pedro Miranda Filho, Penny Candy Studios, Renee “Rolos” P., Sarah Sobole, Sonira, and Stephanie Laurila.

From left to right: AC tumblr; Rover by Emily; Grizzly by me; Tom by Daniel; Zine cover by Meghan.

F. Study Group 12 volume 2 – taking orders now!

64 oversized two-color pages, edited by Milo George & Zack Soto. Drops 4/27/13.

For those who have never seen a Study Group 12 production, take my word for it, it's a beautiful one. Yes, beautiful, arty, true - something you think you will want to buy for a friend then end up selfishly keeping for yourself. Covetous? Perhaps. Same format as #1 but in classic SG Pink & Blue this time.

http://studygroupcomics.com/mainblog/2013/04/study-group-magazine-2-is-upon-us/


Art & Comics Contributions From:
Jesse Balmer, Lilli Carre, Michael Deforge, Jeremy Onsmith, Lark Pien, Tim Root, Kris Mukai, Mickey Z, Zack Soto, Trevor Alixopulos, JT Dockery, Dan Zettwoch, Julia Gfrorer, Jonny Negron, David King, Aidan Koch, Chris Kuzma, Sam Alden. My head is exploding because I'm a huge fan of many of these contributors. Ever wish you could draw or tell stories like someone but know that you can't and never will? That's Mickey Z for me.

 

From left to right: Cover by Angie; excerpts by David, Mickey Z, and Lark

click on the image to view larger

And Comics Journalism by:
Rob Clough on Josh Bayer, JT Dockery visits with John Byrne, Milo George interviews Angie Wang (cover artist, and also featured in the Cartoon Art Museum's exhibit listed above!), Sean Witzke on Baker & Helfer’s JUSTICE INC, and Zack Soto interviews Maré Odomo .



 

G. What the heck else?
Well! This has been a lot to cover in so little a time, but you did it, thank you! I believe in you buddies, and look so forward to your coming out and showing support at these events. It's not just a dreamland, peeps, art is something to share and spread around. Not just because it's fun, it is - but because it's visceral and rewarding when you get it. Having art to your life is a good thing, so go get some. I'm sounding like a royal hippy so i'm going to cut it out right here.

More progress reports for Long Tail Kitty and event announcements will be coming later this summer. Keep your eyes peeled for Gene's 2 volume edition of Boxers & Saints coming out later in the fall. In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers that there will be a sixth season for SouthLAnd, the best show ever. What, do you think I have the TV permanently tuned on Animal Planet?  Bros, please.

xo

lark

i will always love you

^

unused comic panel for aaron renier

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New Book(let)! - The Giant's Heart

^

Fantastic Tales II

It’s been a pleasure and privilege to illustrate this obscure but indubitably wonderful tale by George Mac Donald, the forefather and icon to fantasy writers such as Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Check out his emo photo on Wikipedia! I wish to go back in time and meet the guy.

I was staying in remote spot in the forest at the time at the time of this assignment, so my drawings were delivered in a primitive fashion. I am thankful to have had the understanding and guidance of editor François Vigneault, who navigated through all that mumbo jumbo. It has been fantastic working with him.

My story is one of three in the Fantastic Tales II series, published by Good Ink, an imprint of Scout Books. Rebecca Dart and Andrea Kalfas, whose works I really admire, illustrate the other two volumes. SCOUT Books is located in Portland, Oregon. http://www.scoutbooks.com/good-ink/

I must emphasize the entire run of the Good Ink series is SOLID. When I am reading one of them on the bus I feel like I have something extra special in my hands that everyone should be jealous about. I don’t say that about a lot of things, so believe it already. Of course, you can pick up these gems yourself, just click on this link:http://www.scoutbooks.com/shop/fantastic-tales-ii-3-pack/

  

NEW BOOK(let)! The Giant’s Heart

Buffy-Bob and Tricksey-Wee, protagonists

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Show! - I See What You Say

^

hosted by the cartoon art museum, SF

March 16th - July 7th

ISWYS illustration by christian robinson

curated by lark pien + lisa brown

full announcement on facebook


***

I See What You Say: Visual Stories and Narrative Art explores narrative as expressed through a wide range of illustrative media — in picture books, comics, editorial art, and beyond. The participants are not just artists, but storytellers, joining their artistic practices with their own narrative styles. Every approach is different. Every technique is different. Every story is something to see.

Contributors include some of the most wonderfully versatile visual storytellers at work today. Artists include:

Lilli Carré, an artist and illustrator working in the forms of experimental animation, comics, and print. Her newest collection of visual short stories is Heads or Tails.

Eleanor Davis, a cartoonist and editorial illustrator. Her books include the childrens’ comic, Stinky and contributions to Fantagraphics’ MOME. 

Vanessa Davis, an illustrator and cartoonist known for her autobiographical comics. She is a contributing editor at TabletMagazine, and her newest book is Make Me a Woman.

Carson Ellis, whose work can be seen illustrating The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket, Dilweed’s Revenge by Florence Parry Heide, and the Wildwood series by her husband, Colin Meloy.

Jon Klassen, a writer and illustrator of picture books including This Is Not My Hat, which received the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 2013, and Caldecott Honor book Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett.

Roman Muradov, a comic and editorial artist, whose clients includeThe New Yorker and The New York Times. His first graphic novel, (In A Sense) Lost & Found, will be out this fall.

Aaron Renier, a cartoonist and illustrator known for his children’s graphic novels Spiral Bound and The Unsinkable Walker Bean.

Christian Robinson, a picture book illustrator, animator, and art teacher. His latest book is Harlem’s Little Blackbird, by Renee Watson.

Craig Thompson, a graphic novelist whose books include Good-bye, Chunky Rice, Carnet de Voyage, Blankets, and Habibi.

Dasha Tolstikova, a graduate of the School of Visual Arts MFA program in illustration. Clients include Enchanted Lion Books andLadybug Magazine.

Sara Varon, a printmaker, graphic novelist, and picture book author. Her books include Sweater Weather, Chicken and Cat, and Odd Duck, with Cecil Castelluci.

Angie Wang, an illustrator and cartoonist. Her clients include The New Yorker, Taschen, and Wired Magazine. She works for the Cartoon Network.

Concurrently, the CAM is featuring a retrospective on Chuck Jones in the adjacent gallery; also definitely worth seeing. Jones was the director/producer/screenwriter of Looney Tunes, home of Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and many other classic cartoon characters from our childhood.

The Cartoon Art Museum is a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, study and exhibition of original cartoon art in all forms.

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love

^


just read the purloined letter, by edgar allen poe; illustrated by roman muradov. love this copy, felt it a treasure. i'm going to invest in the entire Good Ink series.
http://bluebed.tumblr.com/post/19347942661/seventh-and-last-illustration-for-the-purloined

i too have drawn for this small portland publisher, and hope to see the accompanying story soon.
http://www.scoutbooks.com/good-ink/

cover studies

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January 2013

^

on the outside it's been like this

on the inside it's been like this

friend made these misfortune seeds

we held them a minute before throwing them into the sea

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littlebird news - winter 2012 report!

^

Winter Events

xoxo from littlebird

Hi Everyone!

It’s been a year riddled with adventure, so I’m stayin’ put for the holidays. Prison-style tattoos, chicken-sitting, and beef bourguignon have been checked from the list, but there are a few other things still to be done before the year is out.

this year's drawing by thien pham

Here's the skinny:

A. Art Night at the MoCA, New York - NOW!
B. Where're the Wares? - Where You Can Find My Stuff, and SUMO
C. More Than Me - Giving to Charities
D. I Heart My MOO cards !
E. Nappy New Year -  Spring 2013

A.   Art Night at the MoCA, New York  (Museum of Chinese in America)

Some of the bay area art night members are featured in a very charming exhibit at the MoCA in Chinatown, New York! For you architects out there, the museum retrofit is by Maya Lin. It's a really nice place. I did a longish write up of it on the blog here. Thank you to Jeff, Herb and Ryan for curating this two-part show, Marvels & Monsters, and Alt. Comics.

The Museum of Chinese in America

Alt.Comics: Asian American Artists Reinvent the Comic Book

featuring artists including Gene Luen Yang, Derek Kirk Kim, Lark Pien, Thien Pham and Jason Shiga from Bay Area Art Night

September 27, 2012 through February 24, 2013

215 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013

http://www.mocanyc.org/

me with some early LTK comics

B. Others Besides Me - Giving to Charities

I asked about contributing to charities, so my dear editor at VIZ took charge and auctioned my Mameshiba comics and illustrations. We raised oodles of money and donated it to Global Giving's Japan Earthquake and  Tsunami relief fund (link here). One of my pieces was also auctioned and sold at the ABFFE Holiday Children's Art Auction for a healthy sum (see the fancy article below).

NEW YORK, NY, Dec. 6, 2012 – The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is expressing thanks to the artists, illustrators, publishers and booksellers who contributed to the success of its just completed Holiday Children’s Art Auction.  More than 50 leading artists and illustrators contributed to the week-long auction on eBay.  Publishers and booksellers helped spread the word.  As a result the auction raised almost twice as much as ABFFE’s first online auction last year.  “The art was wonderful, and so was the support we received from friends who helped us find an audience,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said.  “It is impossible to thank them enough.”

The artists and illustrators who contributed to the auction are Caroline Arnold, Serge Bloch, Aliki Brandenberg, Don Brown, Lisa Brown, Eric Carle, Ricardo Cortes, Christine Davenier, Lori McElrath Eslick, Matt Faulkner, Marla Frazee, Deborah Freedman, Lindsay Barrett George, Ponder Goembel, Steve Gray, Melanie Hope Greenberg, Gareth Hinds, Dave Horowitz, Debbie Hoskins, Humayoun Ibrahim, Molly Idle, Angela Ivy, Carme Julià, G. Brian Karas, Tom Lichtenheld, David Mackintosh, Petra Mathers, Barbara McClintock, Nikki McClure, David McPhail, Wendell Minor, Barry Moser, Sal Murdocca, Andy Musser, Tao Nyeu, Beth Peck, Lark Pien, Amy Lowry Poole, Giselle Potter, Chris Raschka, Adam Rex, Dan Santat, Amy Schimler, Elizabeth Schoonmaker, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Betsy Snyder, Kristin Sorra, Nancy Tafuri, Cynthia Von Buhler, Richard Jesse Watson, Max Xiantu, Keika Yamaguchi, Cybele Young, and John & Wendy.

ABFFE is the bookseller’s voice in the fight against censorship. It is a leader in the fight for reader privacy and the defense of the free speech rights of kids.  It is a co-founder of the Kids’ Right to Read Project and a principal sponsor of Banned Books Week. ABFFE membership is $50. For more information, check the ABFFE website, www.abffe.org.

In short, when my art can help out, it is really, really encouraging!

I would like to continue in this vein until the end of the year and need your help to do it. Many of my pieces from this year are available for sale still, and I ask that you take a look and buy something that you like. Outside of its shipping cost, I'll donate the 75% of the artwork's value to a cause of your choice. If you're stuck for who to give money to, please consider a Hurricane Sandy relief organization - that hurricane has caused some serious long-term damage!

Art for sale - click here

Where you will find the cute, creepy, absurd, abstract, beautiful, romantic, and hopeful!

If you see something you like, email me and i'll provide the dimensions, media details and price of the piece. Artwork posted in this link generally ranges between $100 to $400.

visit my flickr site and pick something you like

C. Where're the Wares? - Where You Can Find My Stuff, and SUMO!

I’ve run out of almost everything on the DIY end: silkscreen prints, minicomics, puppets, sorry! 

Mugs with cute kitties sponsoring California libraries - link here

And here are books that can still be gotten:

Lollygag,  the handmade sketchbook anthology - link here

Long Tail Kitty, Mr. Elephanter and Nursery Rhyme books - link here

We Could Be Heroes Mameshiba - link here

And last but definitely not least is Thien Pham's new book SUMO.

Thien's got a NEW BOOK and it went out in stores just this week! You should be able to find SUMO everywhere. The story will not disappoint. It's been given the thumbs up from Publisher's Weekly and heralded on BoingBoing. Buy a copy of this highschool football player gone wannabe japanese wrestler and make Thien proud! 

Also, If you are a french reader, look for the french hardback publication - it is a beaut!!!

french and american covers of Sumo, by Thien Pham!

D. I Heart MOO.com

Remember those mini cards that you could make using your flickr photos?  I just got new sets of PRcards printed by that same company, and I love them. They are printed on green recycled paper and have a mellow velvety sheen. The website and company is moo.com. If you need to make holiday cards, business cards, anything nice on paper really, da moos can do it! Designing cards using the website is no-fuss easy, so visit the site and give it a try. www.moo.com

http://us.moo.com/products/business-cards.html

Thanks to Dan Sharp for bringing moo back into my life!

E. coming in Spring 2013

I'm going to relax like a lazy landlubber through this holiday season, but  come next year, engines will once again be running full steam. Look forward to more long tail kitty comics, a fine collection of cartoonists and illustrators at the SF cartoon art museum,  and trip reports from LA and New York. so good wishes to you, dear readers, for the rest of 2012. Nappy New Year, zzzzzzz.....!