Sunday, December 17, 2006

golden thread underneath

tomorrow the final art for the cover will be shipped to the publisher in maine. (i realize that this project has had no title here, yet. but soon, soon i will make the introduction.)

on the cover is the main character's sketchbook. so getting out my rather rusty book binding skills, i built a book for the cover.














i used a golden colored cotton to sew the signatures together. when the book is closed and glued down no one will be able to see. i find that the joys of making art and seeing art are two separate creatures like a bird and a bear.

i've been listening to Ys by joanna newsom which gets better with every repeat.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

revisions

armed with my scarlet pencil, it has been a week of revising sketches. this flurry of work has been fueled by music, including the excellent regina spektor (begin to hope, soviet kitch) and the decemberists (the crane wife.) the decemberists' beautiful site is illustrated by carson ellis, who’s illustration here expresses just how it feels to wrestle with revisions.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

so busy, see the desk


the book is in many stages at once. i'm drawing,
painting, picking materials for collage, and as always
looking at other books for reference and inspiration.

my desk is an L-shape (somewhere under there)
to the right is my lightbox for drawing, to the
left my palette and brushes wait for painting
and in the middle is my laptop.


i love the national audubon society field guide to north american trees,
esp. the little leafless tree
silhouettes in the back.