Today we’re joined by Bere Weillschmidt. Bere is a wonderful Mexican artist who writes a comic entitled “Love Afternoon Tea”, which is about a gay ace couple and their lives. It’s clear he loves what he does and is a driven artist, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to him for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
My work is all about gay pairings, or sometimes polyamorous trios. I draw a lot of fan art but since I graduated, I’ve focused on my comics. I write Love Afternoon Tea (https://tapas.io/series/Love-Afternoon-Tea), which explores a homosexual asexual relationship between a cis man and a trans man.
What inspires you?
I’ve never been in a relationship before but the excitement I get from reading fanfic gets me going. Also, I grew up when everything was a bromance, instead of a canon relationship, so that possibility was a thing that sparked the inspiration inside me.
I’m really shy and sometimes that stops me from posting, but the people that comment are truly appreciated because this is something that pushes me to keep on working hard on everything I do.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
Well, to be completely honest, no. I was always told that artists starved, and when I was younger I wanted to be filthy rich. On high school I started having a lot of troubles and I was about to not to get into college when my two best friends pushed me into graphic design. Three years later, I switched to animation and I since I enjoyed my career too much, I graduated with honours.
It’s something that has to interest you so much so that in the most difficult times… you keep on going because there’s no other thing you see yourself doing. By the way, I am not starving and I am quite happy by teaching others how to do this.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
My signature is really simple that on my ID people scoff at seeing it. But they never know what it means since it’s an alias.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Fight for what you truly believe in. If you don’t have the means to get into art school, don’t worry: most of the stuff is on the Internet. You can do it. Never be afraid to reach out to other artists, I think everyone is happy to help on what they know!
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
Aromantic Asexual.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
Yes, I suppose is very common that people struggle with being a virgin because there’s always the questions and judgement from others. Mostly when you’re over 25.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
That we are really innocent (?) I hate that.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
I just accepted myself. It took me a lot to do it because I thought I was just a “late bloomer”, but as a tip I’d say… talk with other asexuals. You’ll get to see how much you have in common and how comfortable you start being in an asexual space.
Don’t rush yourself into figuring it out, sexuality is a spectrum after all… and it might change in time.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
https://www.instagram.com/bereweillschmidt/
https://twitter.com/bereweilschmidt
http://weillschmidtdoodles.tumblr.com
Thank you, Bere, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.
Asexual Artists 