Sketchbook project in progress

I’ve been chipping away at this Moleskine sketchbook for the Art House Co-op’s sketchbook project (see the link on the side of this page?) I wanted to work with acrylic ink, since I love full-bodied acrylic and one of my favourite illustrators (Jillian Tamaki) recommends sketching in ink. I have to send it to Brooklyn by mid-Jan., so I’ll post more pics of some finished pages soon, but here’s a little preview of some in-progress pages…

Royal Poinciana

Here’s the latest addition to the flower series. It’s a Royal Poinciana, and it’s a biggie at 36 x 48″. It’s also seriously red! The soon-to-be owners of this painting are the lovely couple at SS Media Co. that created my new website. One half of the couple is from Florida and wanted the feeling of her tropical hometown while living in rainy Vancouver.

(click for a larger image)

I decided to document my painting process, since I love seeing how other artists make their work, so here’s a little slideshow….

(apologies for the quality)

The Secret of Kells

I’ve always been quite fond of illuminated manuscripts (surprise surprise, bookmaker!), and the Book of Kells is one of the finest examples ever made. It’s astonishingly ornate and detailed for only being about 35 x 25cm in size, as you can see from this Chi-Rho page:

Pretty impressive considering the lack of electric light in 9th century monasteries!

Well, I recently watched an enchanting Irish animated film that explores the creation and aesthetic of the Book of Kells. The animation plays with the rich texture, design, and lack of perspective common to illuminated manuscripts. I highly recommend it!