Wednesday 5 November 2008

Book Illustrations, well sort of ...


This pile of books sit on the bookshelf because they look nice. Actually I enjoy a good Famous Five story sometimes, usually when stressed. Must be the thought of 'lashings of Ginger Beer'!

I pinched Andrea Josephs's pile of books idea, so I can't take credit for subject choice.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful, Steve! And just after I ran across Andrea Joseph's pile of books as well today ~ I am SO nicking that idea!

'Swallows and Amazons' stories do the same thing for me ~ the mere thought of them puts me in a holiday mood!

(: Pippa

Stephen Hall said...

I bought Swallows and Amazons for my daughter while on holiday in the Lake District so I could read it myself. A fab read! I can't wait to see what Andrea does next so I can nick that too! - one of these days I'll come up with something totally original!

Jules said...

I love this book pile. I admire the way you have textured the book covers. Super!

suzanne cabrera said...

Wow...wonderful job capturing the light and shadow. Beautiful!!

Margaret Ann said...

Brilliant...I thought them at first a photograph! Beautifully rendered!

Timaree said...

I like this. Maybe because I love books but it has a soothing, comfy look to it.

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww!!! Oh my gosh, Stephen. This is one of the most gorgeous paintings I've ever seen. Seriously. Wow.I'm glad I could be of some use!

This is stunning. STUNNING.

Anonymous said...

A long-time reader of Andrea Joseph, I was curious to know what your comment meant, so I came here.
As MacArthur famously said:"I will return." There is a certain whimsy underlying your paintings. Oh yes...old books will send me on a side trip every tiime!

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

OK, we've established that I LOVE this one, some questions; what are the books painted on? Black paper? Canvas? Is it gouache (not sure how you spell that)? It is beautiful.

I am a massive Enid Blyton fan, or certainly was as a child. I was obsessed with the Famous Five. I really wanted to be Anne. And, Swallows and Amazons was, and still is, one of my all time favourite books.

And, I don't know if you did 'Danny Champion of the World' in school. It's really well worth a read. I read it every year. It's as gorgeous now as it was when I read it first time as part of our school cirriculum.

Have you been watching the Picture Book on BBC4?

Stephen Hall said...

Thank you for all your kind comments. I love old childrens books, I like the Roald Dahl books, they remind me of the old cautionary tales. I have a reprint of an old German book called Sruwwelpeter by Dr Heinrich Hoffmann, the stories send shivers down yer spine!
The painting was done on canvas board in acrylic, i use it all the time - it is so adaptable. I range from painting on large canvases to smaller framed pieces and can change from palette knife to small brush using the same paint. Now that is economic! Loving the BBC4 Picture Book series, should have more programmes like this.

Anonymous said...

What I really like about this one is the top and bottom edges - you can really feel that battered paper and hear it rustle. Really nice.

Anonymous said...

I was deliberately kept away from this website until Cristmas - when I became the extremely fortunate owenr of this beautiful painting. I totally agree with Rachel H's comments about the battered look of the books. You can see the yellowed, well thumbed pages, smell that unmistakeable 'old book' smell. Amazing how a simple concenpt of books on the shelf can transport you back 40 years to your childhood. A painting to be treasured. Thank you, Stephen.

 
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