Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

One interesting thing I get to consider when drawing book covers on book covers is which book cover to draw. Many, if not most, books have more than one cover design -- be that just hardcover and paperback, or for older titles different covers over the years. I generally try and go with the most iconic, or the first edition, or sometimes the one I myself read and loved. Sometimes that's the cover on the copy of the book I'm using and sometimes it's not. Or sometimes, like with this one, I just go with the one that feels like it will be the most fun to draw. A solid background is interesting because all my painted surfaces both are and are not solid flat areas (because, on the one hand, I'm not much of a one for shading and shadows, but on the other hand I've got brush-strokes, so nothing is ever going to be truly solid). And the more typography the better, as far as I'm concerned -- because drawing typeset text is a super pleasing thing to do.

Middlemarch

This is a drawing of the cover of the first edition of Middlemarch, rendered on a paper book cover I wrapped around a crummy old copy (that in no way resembles the first edition, except insofar as, like with all books, the words inside are the same) of Middlemarch. I wrote my graduate thesis on George Eliot and this remains one of my all-time favorite books.

A Suitable Boy

I drew the cover of Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy onto a paper book-cover that I'd fashioned onto a used copy of Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy. This is so fun to do.

The Seven Dials Mystery

The project of putting book covers onto books and then drawing the covers of those books onto those book covers -- so that you end up with a readable book with a drawing for a cover -- continues.

Book Covers on Book Covers

I've started a brand new art project where I wrap favorite books in paper book-covers, then do a drawing of the book's cover right on them -- making something that is simultaneously a readable book and an art object.

Pencils

This assortment of pencils is the very first drawing I've made in my brand new office! I finished it yesterday and soon it will go off and be for sales at Post Script. Hooray.

Books

I've been cooking up a new art project that will involve drawing a bunch of book covers, so am revisiting my previous efforts in that direction to see what there is to see about them. Here is one.

Onion Rings

I drew this tub of Burger King onion rings several years back when I realized I had several significant memories, emotional moments, and important trains of thought all anchored to them in my mind. In fact I've also written an essay about the significance of onion rings, and I may well yet write another.

The Ocean

This is the very first drawing I made when I started paint and pens to make pictures on colored paper, almost exactly five years ago. I still quite like it.

Ceramic Vase

This vessel held wooden spoons in my mom’s kitchen throughout the duration of my childhood and beyond; now, at our house, it’s a vase for flowers.

Mixing Bowl

This is the bowl my father used to make the pancake batter in when I was a child.

Tin

This tin sat on a particular shelf in my mother's kitchen, as far back as I can remember. It held artificial sweetener packets: Sweet 'n Low in the 80s, Equal in the 90s, and Splenda in the 00s. Now it sits on a particular shelf in my kitchen and holds a hodgepodge assortment of teabags.

Fruit / Napkin Bowl

For as long as I can remember my mom kept fruit, mostly bananas, in the kitchen in this footed cut-glass bowl. She inherited it from her mom, who was super into antiquing at a time when such things were not remotely trendy, and likely got it at either a junk shop or a flea market. Now it sits on my sideboard, holding cloth napkins for the dining table.

Trash Bags

This drawing of trash bags is the first one I've ever made on black paper. It's also the first fully-realized piece I've ever made that has no color in it. I like it anyway.

Bread Tie

Inspired by the work of artists Ari Bird and Lea Redmond -- each of whom has rendered her own inspired versions of this subject matter -- I drew a bread tie.

Dirty Dishes

This is my third attempt to draw my dirty dishes, and the most successful by far, though there are still a couple of details I'm not entirely happy with. Still, it's better than this or this.

At the Dentist

The last time I was at the dentist he told me the story of how he taught his niece to drive at 13 and she stole her first car at 15, but she turned out ok and she’s a district attorney now.

Tomato Plant on the Dock

Once, years ago, I saw a scraggly tomato plant growing off the side of a dock, dangling above the water. It was near the farmers market, so it kind of made sense, but still the sheer unlikeliness of it has always stayed with me as a marvel. I tried to draw it once before, about four years ago, but was never happy with it, so recently I tried again. I like this version.

Box

I drew this cardboard box for my upcoming Creative Mornings talk. It has a deep significance but I think I will wait to talk about that till I do so in the talk itself.

La Croix and Bitters

A new favorite drink around our house is La Croix and bitters which turns out to be a great-tasting, not-sweet, non-alcoholic, very pretty beverage. Here we have a drawing of: Pamplemousse and Angostura Bitters on the left, Tangerine and Peychaud Bitters on the right.