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About Visual Liquid MegaZine

Celebrating Creativity

Creative people are awesome. They capture modern life's complexities. And, Visual Liquid mirrors it. From the therapeutic journey of THEM CATS comics to thought-provoking photo essays that examine the edges of our world, Visual Liquid celebrates the uniquely beautiful process of creating meaning through art.

Visual Liquid is a multimedia publication at the intersection of comics, poetry, photography, and cultural exploration. Founded in April 2020, we've grown into a vibrant community where creativity flows freely between mediums and boundaries blur.

Approach

We embrace the gray areas between black-and-white thinking. We believe in the healing power of art, and in capturing moments that might otherwise slip away—like a cup of coffee perched on a bed or a cat that sees straight through to your heart. The goal is to take the mundane and flip it on its head.

Offerings

Visual Liquid began as a poetry, art, and photography lifestyle magazine featuring...

• THEM CATS: My most recent comic series exploring love, therapy, and the quirky aspects of being human

• Poetry: Carefully curated works that speak to the soul

• Photography: Visual explorations that challenge perspective

• Cultural Commentary: Essays examining where we've been and where we're heading and reviews the following subcategories:

  • Astrology/Tarot

  • Work Life/Career

  • Dating/Single Life

  • Food

  • Music

  • Technology

• The Passionistas Podcast: Conversations about passion and creativity, and then guests come back on the show so I can read their astrology.

Operations

Visual Liquid is curated by Tess McCarthy and a dedicated team of contributors who believe in the power of blending visual art with thoughtful commentary. We draw with little erasure, sip coffee while thinking deeply, and occasionally sell prints and other sexy things—all while documenting the journey.

Connect

• Main Website: https://www.visual-liquid.com

• Subscribe: Join our community to receive exclusive content directly to your inbox

Stay up-to-date

Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features—like me talking into the Chat void—get the Substack app.

About the Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Tess McCarthy

I'm Tess McCarthy. I’m an artistic anomaly who writes poetry & who's been drawing comics since age 11. As a elder queer, biracial creator—White on my dad’s side and Asian on my mom’s—I bring a unique cultural perspective to Visual Liquid.

With all the layers that define me, it was natural for me to make sense of it all through art. As a result, I’ve made a creative ecosystem—illustrating, writing, painting, and scriptwriting.

I love drawing with minimal erasure while sipping coffee and thinking deeply about what makes art transformative.

My artistic philosophy centers on accessibility and intention: my line drawings challenge the brain to see complete images from minimal input, while remaining tactile for blind/low-sight audiences. My Bubble Quotes, often printed via thermography (smooth, glossy, black raised printing), further bridge visual and tactile experiences.

I used to nude model for artists like Jan Kovaleski & Ted Meyer. I took comics workshops with Eisner-nominated Matt Silady and Eisner-winning Lynda Barry.

My creative journey spans multiple art worlds. My work in comics shows influences from early inspirations like Sergio Aragones and Matt Groening to later influences including Alfredo Alcala, Carol Lay, and Jaime Hernandez.

The Vision

I created Visual Liquid to celebrate outliers who envision complexities in ways mainstream culture often misses.

From the therapeutic journey of my comic series THEM CATS (tm) to thought-provoking photo essays, Visual Liquid celebrates the uniquely beautiful process of creating meaning through art that challenges convention—particularly from rebels, renaissance women/femmes, BIPOC, Queer/LGBTQIA, disabled, and aged creative forces.

VISUAL LIQUID is a feminist-forward lifestyle & poetry/art/photography publication. Its mission is to elucidate the work of the world’s most creative outliers. We celebrate rebels, renaissance women/femmes, BIPOC, Queer/LGBTQIA, disabled & aged creative forces

To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.