Jen and I spent this past weekend having the time of our lives at the fifth annual Vancouver Comic Arts Festival (VanCAF)!
VanCAF is a weekend-long celebration of comics, featuring readings, panels, and workshops. It also serves as an exhibition for cartoonists from across Canada and along the west-coast.
We were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of talent, so this is a rather lengthy post (it’s worth it). Here is but a mere selection of artwork that caught our attention.
Desirae Salmark & Kelli Bort
These were the first ladies we chatted with upon arriving. Check-out Desirae’s adorable cat stickers and dark side Rei plus Kelli’s amazing Deadpool sketches.
Anat Rabkin
Anat was sweet enough to give us a free comic! Be sure to check her out on Patreon to support her art!
Robin Thompson
We had such a wonderful time chatting with Robin. I personally fell in love with his fandom mashup prints. In fact, we will be commissioning a custom print from Robin so stayed tuned!!!
Chiara Ferrari
Chiara’s artwork is not only beautiful but it also sparkles! Photos do not do her pieces justice. All the GLITTER!
Krista Gibbard
There’s a melancholic medieval feel to Krista’s work that we really liked. Also, the Harry Potter themed coat of arms are beautiful.
Sam Logan
Jokemon! The puns are glorious. I especially adore the Gangam Style Psyduck *giggles*
Peter Chiykowski & James Stevenson
Peter and James just have the greatest sense of humor. The Deadpool as Disney Princesses is fricking hilarious as are the Star Wars haikus. Motivational nerd posters. They are a thing.
Jenn Duong
Jenn’s artwork is spectacularly colourful. She earns major points for Puppycat and Sailor Moon, two of my favourite things.
Lillian Lai
We spent a long time at Lillian’s table admiring her beautiful illustrations. Jen went home with this quintessentially Vancouver print.
Zoe Si
Zoe’s sunny and quirky outlook on life made us instant soulmates. I mean, she wrote a comic about a girl and her true love, coffee. Winning.
Jeff Chiba Stearns
I immediately gravitated towards Jeff’s table when I spotted his owl sketches and Stitch. I adopted a rhinocicorn button.
Flavia C & Rachel Wada
Flavia had a collection of cute and colourful postcards, stickers, and buttons, while her friend Rachel had beautiful silkscreen art prints.
Alexia Tryfon
Alexia spoke fondly about her favourite beach on Crete, the subject of one of her gorgeous landscapes. The colours in her art are just so vibrant, they just draw you in.
Ashley Guillory
We bonded over our love for puns, Pysch, and a particular redheaded singer/songwriter. Cartoon Ed Sheeran is so darn cute. You can actually pick him up and put him in your pocket!
Megan Lavey-Heaton & Isabelle Melançon
Travel to different worlds in this fantasy adventure comic by Megan and Isabelle. The main character Emma is pretty bad-ass.
Eugenia Leung & Puglie
I can’t decide if I like Nigri Puglie or Pizza Puglie more. I may be leaning towards the later on account of the alliteration.
Shoko Takahata
We watched Shoko sit for hours making these incredible caricatures and we just had to get one done of the NC gals. And here is the artist and her art. Thanks, Shoko!
Whew and that’s a wrap from artist alley. So many artists, so little time! Stay tuned for Part II of our VanCAF recap with a review of the Lynn Johnston panel and the live recording of the Sneaky Dragon podcast. Plus, Part III where Jen and I discuss the loot we took home with us!
‘Til next time,
Rach