Ytje Veenstra
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ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Ytje Veenstra
@ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
170 followers 300 following 83 posts
Bright Light, Desert City: a webcomic about my trip to Tucson AZ in 2022. Pages published intermittently. Currently working on part 3: Life in the Catalina Foothills https://www.ytje.org/
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ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Preview of page 15, I retreat to the back yard to read the paper. You can read the full story I've drawn so far on www.ytje.org.
A comic panel depicting a man with long hair and a beard reading a book in the upper right corner. In the panel below, the same man is seen from a different pov, now with a woman next to him. They're surrounded by a garden of desert plants. Text: " I take a cup of coffee outside to drink while I read the paper. Misha's already there, reading a book."
December 18, 2025 at 7:59 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Page 14! I'm working dilligently toward more things I encountered in Tucson/ Catalina Foothills.

Contractors delivering papers rely on holiday tipping to supplement their wage. Working a job like this to make ends meet is a reality for a lot of Americans. It's not uncommon to work 2 or 3 jobs.
A comic page with different panels depicting the job of someone delivering papers. Text: This is why contractors rely on holiday tipping. Working a job like this to make ends meet is a reality for a lot of Americans. It's not uncommon to work two or three jobs.
November 23, 2025 at 7:06 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Delivering papers in Tucson includes practically a night shift, seven days a week with almost no time off. You can read the full page on my website, www.ytje.org.
Delivering papers in Tucson includes practically a night shift, seven days a week with almost no time off. Image are 3 comic panels: upper right a screen door though which a car is visible, delivering a paper. The second panel shows a road with cars on it and a gas station. The bottom frame is a woman, putting gas in her car. Text: They work as independent contractors. They drive their own vehicles and pay for gas, maintenance. When you subtract those expenses, you're left with pay below minimum wage.
November 6, 2025 at 9:34 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Page 12 of 'Life in the Catalina Foothills' is the start of some insight about what it entails to deliver papers in Tucson, Arizona. Believe you me, it ain't a cakewalk.
October 17, 2025 at 11:25 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Mornin'. New page of Life in the Catalina Foothills is up on my on my website! The mischievous Chihuahua PETAL is caught, thanks to good ol' Luz. Read it on www.ytje.org 🏜
A man tipping his hat, saying 'Mornin''.
October 3, 2025 at 8:33 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Analogue studio: sketching with pencil, while leafing through books on photography and magazines. Like it's 1995.
October 1, 2025 at 2:53 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
I got back from a trip to #Hamburg and now's the time to start seriously working on a series about subways. Strike the iron while it's hot.
Pencil drawing of an urban area surrounding & beneath Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Germany.
September 12, 2025 at 1:16 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Hi I'm Ytje. After a 24 yr career of being a professional illustrator, I'm now focusing on my own art projects exclusively. Currently I'm working on a webcomic called Bright Light, Desert City 🏜, based on a month long stay in Tucson, AZ, in 2022. Read it for free on my website!
August 30, 2025 at 9:15 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
PETAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
#chihuahua
August 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Peculiar mailboxes adorn the roadside in the Catalina Foothills. Here's a snippet of page 9 of "Bright Light, Desert City - Life in the Catalina Foothills". Read the full story of a European in the US: www.ytje.org.
#roadside #catalinafoothills #mailbox #soithwestusa #webcomic #drawing #journey
At the top of the frame is a street corner, with houses particular to the Southwest of the USA, they have architecturally Spanish influences. Below, on the left, is a panel with an angularly designed mailboxes. In the middle, bottom, the top of a woman' s head, wearing a visor, is visible. Text: "I keep seeing these brown metal things, are they some kind of mailbox?" " Yes they are. The mailboxes are combined with a light pole".
August 23, 2025 at 9:36 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
People retreat inside, when it grows hotter in the Catalina Foothills. Workers persist through the rising temperatures.

Read the story on my website ytje.org. This is part 3 of my webcomic Bright Light, Desert City 🏜

#Tucson #southwestusa #comic #drawing #gardener #builder #catalinafoothills
Two panels of a comic, detail of a larger page. The top panel shows part of a pickup truck with tools in the back. The lower panel show a man walking out of frame with a wheelbarrow. Overlayed on these two panels is a gardener, holding a shovel, with palm tree leaves in the right top corner.
August 7, 2025 at 5:26 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Here's a preview of page 7 of my comic 'Life in the Catalina Foothills'.
I'm taking more time to work on pages, which pays off, I feel. I'm also working on the cover for part 2 'Hello Tucson'. Read the story on www.ytje.org.

#catalinafoothills #tucson #comic #lineart #drawing #journey
Two images: the top ons shows a dog jumping at a car, being held back by a leash. The bottom one shows a hand that waves at an oncoming car. Text: Luz has a tendency to jump at cars. The custom here is to wave at cars. It signals you're from here, or that you're meant to be here.
July 31, 2025 at 6:13 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
"We've already established that the neighborhood has no sidewalks. It's entirely car centric."

A preview of 6 of Life in the Catalina Foothills. Read it on my website.

#catalinafoothills #carcentric #dogwalking
#arizona #dividedhighway
A road, divided by plants and trees, with a 'divided highway' sign in front of it. A woman, seen from the back, is walking her dog. In the foreground on the right, a woman in profile, wearing sunglasses and a visor. At the top of the image, there's a car and two houses.
June 27, 2025 at 5:59 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Here's a detail of page 5 of my comic Life in the Catalina Foothills, part 3 of Bright Light, Desert City. I'll be posting pages to my website on more of an intermittent basis. I'll be able to give the pages more attention, visually.
#comic #webcomic #arizona #tucson #foothills #walking #dog
A dog on a leash, seen from behind. It looks out on porch stairs and a lawn.
June 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Ik heb deze maar eens uit de kast getrokken. Nu ga ik 'm echt uit lezen.
June 1, 2025 at 1:44 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Page 4 of Life in the Catalina Foothills, part 3 of Bright Light, Desert City 🌵 read the ongoing story on my website!

#webcomic #arizona #morning #breakfast #dog
A comics drawing preview with two panels overlapping a background drawing. The background drawing shows a table with an almost eten breakfast on a plate, a steaming cup of tea, a vase with flowers, standing on a thickly woven tablecloth. Chairs surround the table, a cat is sitting on one of them peeking over the table. A garden is visible through the window. The left panel shows a dog being petter. The panel on the richt displays a woman stepping into the room through sliding glass doors. Text:"Hi Luz!", "Good morning!"
May 31, 2025 at 11:34 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Luz is waiting for Hester, who's out on her morning excercise round.
A bright morning in the Catalina Foothills.
Read the webcomic on ytje.com. #arizona #catalinafoothills #webcomic #drawing
A drawn comic page, cropped. There are five panels visible. From top tot bottom: a woman grabbing a towel to dry her wet hair, a dog on a couch in a living room, bookshelves and a screen door, a kitchen window looking out on a pool, a garden and mountains, and a kitchen where a woman is making breakfast.
May 22, 2025 at 6:13 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Early morning. The sun rises above the mountain range. Page 2 of Life in the Catalina Foothills 🗻which is part 3 of my webcomic Bright Light, Desert City 🏜 read the full story on my website #comic #catalinafoothills #drawing #story #villa #arizona
A drawing with a house in the foreground and two more houses behind that, turning into a streetmap of a suburb.
May 14, 2025 at 7:14 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Title page of part 3 of Bright Light, Desert City: Life in the Catalina Foothills. Read the comic on my website. #catalinafoothills #Tucson #arizona #drawing #comic #landscape #goldeneagle
A landscape with mountains on the horizon, in front a goldfn eagle, with the text: life in the Catalina Foothills.
May 10, 2025 at 8:02 PM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
This is the preview of the last page of Hello Tucson. Next week, part 3 will kick off! Read the full story, Bright Light, Desert City, about my stay in Tucson on my website. #webcomic #story #graphicnovel #Tucson #sunset
A drawing of 4 people at a table, having dinner. Through the bay window there's a landscape with palm trees and cacti. Text: This sunset marks our first day in Tucson, Arizona.
May 1, 2025 at 5:36 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
As shadows lengthen, we loop back to the house.
This is a preview of page 38 of Hello Tucson - Bright Light, Desert City.  Read the full story on my website.
#saguaro #cactus #Arizona #catalinafoothills
A saguaro cactus in the foreground, two walking persons in the background on a road surrounded by bushes and plants. The roof of a house is visible. A window, with a person behibd it and the reflection of a person outside.
April 24, 2025 at 6:16 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
James Leg in @patronaathaarlem.bsky.social gisteravond. Vuig!
Mensen op de voorgrond, James Leg bespeelt een orgel op het podium op de achtergtond, waar ook de drummer zich bevindt. Foto genomen in Patronaat, poppodium in Haarlem.
April 18, 2025 at 5:04 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Preview of page 37 of Hello Tucson, part 2 of my webcomic Bright Light, Desert City. Read the full story on my website.
#comic #webcomic #Tucson #Arizona #Foothills #usa
Arizona landscape with trees, cacti and plants, a house surrounded by plants, with more houses in the distance. Mountains are on the horizon. Text: Long driveways feel like a deliberate measure to keep strangers at a distance.
April 17, 2025 at 5:07 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
Page 36 of Hello Tucson: before I continue my story, remember that creating is important, especially now. The far right can only appropriate and regurgitate. We can actually create something original. #webcomic #hellotucson #drawing #create
In the face of all this turmoil, it's easy to lose motivation. The far right movement is based on exclusion and destruction. It embodies the opposite of creation. That's why I think creating is crucial. Imagination and collaboration are the antidote. I'll take my own advice and get back to my story.
April 10, 2025 at 6:18 AM
ytjeveenstra.bsky.social
On page 35 of Hello Tucson, a window into our current time. Stay strong. #humanrights #climatechange #usa #bigbusiness #darktimes #dutchcabinet #webcomic
April 4, 2025 at 6:13 AM