Episode 596 – Maurice Vellekoop

Virtual Memories Show

Virtual Memories Show 596:
Maurice Vellekoop

“For me, sex and love was too complicated and scary, so I would draw it rather than experience it.”

Artist & illustrator Maurice Vellekoop joins the show to celebrate his amazing new graphic memoir, I’M SO GLAD WE HAD THIS TIME TOGETHER (Pantheon). We talk about the midlife crisis that led to the memoir (and the subsequent crisis that almost made him give up), the joy and pain of putting his life on the page, his process of self-discovery as a gay man and an artist, and why his mother hoped she wouldn’t live to see the book come out. We get into his (editor) partner’s sigh that told him the first draft needed a drastic rewrite, the role sublimation has played in his art & sex life, his accidental technique for drawing himself crying, how the AIDS crisis did & didn’t affect his life, his decision on how to depict sex in the book, the incredible color palettes he uses throughout the work, and the realization that he had a 500-page book on his hands. We also discuss life on Toronto Island and what it was like during lockdown, why he’d like to try stage design (just once), his Pride tradition, why publishing a book of erotica was a great stepping-stone for making a memoir, and more! Give it a listen! And go read I’M SO GLAD WE HAD THIS TIME TOGETHER!

“I realized that maybe a 20-page essay on Wagner’s Tannhauser was not the best way to end a memoir.”

“I’ve been telling people: if you’re going to publish a memoir, it’s a good idea to publish a book of erotica first, because then you’ve already exposed your most personal fantasies to an audience. So it’s just a small step from there to memoir.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Maurice Vellekoop was born in Toronto in 1964. Upon graduating from Ontario College of Art in 1986, he joined Reactor Art + Design, an agency for illustrators. In a more than 35-year career, he has worked for top international editorial and advertising clients, published numerous zines and comics, created art for animated films, and participated in art shows around the world. His books include “Vellevision”: A Collection of Comics and Pictures; Maurice Vellekoop’s ABC Book: A Homoerotic Primer; and Maurice Vellekoop’s Pin-Ups. He lives on Toronto Island with his partner, writer and editor Gordon Bowness. I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together is his first full-length graphic work.

Follow Maurice on Instagram.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Maurice’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4 digital recorder & interface. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photo of Maurice by Lito Howse; photo of Maurice, Amy and Monster by me. It’s on my instagram.