October edition I with Lisa Tegtmeier & Alex Pasquarella
Can you tell me a little bit about your October coffee cup?
L: When I first heard the topic I immediately thought of pumpkins and shitty weather. That’s why I came up with the second: rain and umbrellas. But after several sketches I missed a positive feeling since weather might be nasty in autumn but it’s one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. So the girl in my illustration makes the most of it jumping into a puddle and heaving fun.
A: I decided to create pattern-like illustration complete with themes from both fall/October and Halloween, but this was after scrapping a completely different direction I had initially come up with. I initially illustrated a fall landscape, but decided that it was too “high-detail” for my liking, and went for a simpler approach the second time around.
I wanted my artwork to be dense but simplistic, where the viewer can look at it and keep finding new things, and those things would be instantly recognizable.
How do you drink your coffee?
L: I love white creamy coffee with a lot of milk froth, or even better: cappuccino.
A: I drink my coffee black, with a very occasional dash of cream. Never any sugar!
What is your favourite coffee shop?
L: Ugh, that’s a tough question. I would say Café May in Hamburg, they have several locations troughout the city and the white coffee served in a large bowl is legendary.
A: My current favorite coffee shop is Equal Grounds in the South Wedge neighborhood of Rochester, NY. That place has a great, welcoming vibe and really good coffee. I have to give Joe Bean (also in Rochester) an honorable mention, however.
Any exciting projects coming up?
L: I just finished screenprinting some of my illustrations. Although I did it a few times before it’s always new and exciting seeing your illustrations come to life step by step, colour by colour. Now that I’m warmed up I would like to print a really big one with four or five colours. So maybe there will be an illustrated calendar poster for Christmas, we’ll see.
A: Yes – Some very exciting projects! One in particular is for a prominent company involved in the gaming world… so I’m pretty pumped about that. It’s the first time I’m teaming up with another illustrator (and close friend) to tackle a major project. We’re pretty excited.