Ideal Bookshelf

Ideal Bookshelf 193: TB

Ideal Bookshelf 193: TB
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 192: BAM/MSM/PSM/VLM/DKM

Ideal Bookshelf 192: BAM/MSM/PSM/VLM/DKM
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 190: EC

Ideal Bookshelf 190: EC
2011 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 189: MES

Ideal Bookshelf 189: MES
2011 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 188: ZJW

Ideal Bookshelf 188: ZJW
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 184: AJ

Ideal Bookshelf 184: AJ
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 183: EG

Ideal Bookshelf 183: EG
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 180: KW and 181: SW

Ideal Bookshelf 180: KW

Ideal Bookshelf 181: SW
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 179: RCS

Ideal Bookshelf 179: RCS
2011 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 176: LG

Ideal Bookshelf 176: LG
2011 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 172: LR

Ideal Bookshelf 172: LR
2011 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 168: DBO

Ideal Bookshelf 168: DBO
2011 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 164: RC

Ideal Bookshelf 164: RC
2010 / 10"x14" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 162: EAG

Ideal Bookshelf 162: EAG
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 161: NPG

Ideal Bookshelf 161: NPG
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 159: RLE

Ideal Bookshelf 159: RLE
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 155: BR

Ideal Bookshelf 155: BR
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 154: SPM

Ideal Bookshelf 154: SPM
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 153: SAC

Ideal Bookshelf 153: SAC
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

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Ideal Bookshelf 149: RA

Ideal Bookshelf 149: RA
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 143: DHMMc

Ideal Bookshelf 143: DHMMc
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 142: JDMc

Ideal Bookshelf 142: JDMc
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 140: MAC

Ideal Bookshelf 140: MAC
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 139: TAF

Ideal Bookshelf 139: TAF
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

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Ideal Bookshelf 138: SLS

Ideal Bookshelf 138: SLS
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

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Ideal Bookshelf 135: HTN

Ideal Bookshelf 135: HTN
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 133: WWN

Ideal Bookshelf 133: WWN
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 132: JM

Ideal Bookshelf 132: JM
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 128: VR

Ideal Bookshelf 128: VR
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 117: SH

Ideal Bookshelf 117: SH
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 114: TG

Ideal Bookshelf 114: TG
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

 

 

Ideal Bookshelf 112: RLF

Ideal Bookshelf 112: RLF
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

 

Ideal Bookshelf 111: JMC

Ideal Bookshelf 111: JMC
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

CC ordered this for her brother!

 

 

Ideal Bookshelf 110: LR

Ideal Bookshelf 110: LR
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

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I painted these for SS to give to her mom for Christmas. I really love the colors and the mix of design styles (photos, graphic prints, illustrations) of the spines.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 108: DK

Ideal Bookshelf 108: DK
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

DL asked me to paint DK's books. Really nice subtle and sophisticated palette. And as a cultural anthropology major I love that Mr. Geertz made it into a painting.

Ideal Bookshelf 107: LA

Ideal Bookshelf 107: LA
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

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MA's mom loves American classics, + Dickens.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 104: MP

Ideal Bookshelf 104: MP
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

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Great books and great spines.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 103: MM

Ideal Bookshelf 103: MM
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

I *love* these colors. And the energy level of the whole selection. But I really can't get into Jonathan Franzen, and I have tried. JP ordered this for her boyfriend MM.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 102: Cooking

Ideal Bookshelf 102: Cooking
2010 / 12"x16" / gouache & ink on paper

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This set is actually a "Super-Ideal" bookshelf, in a sense. It contains all the cookbooks most often included in people's sets of favorites, plus a few of my personal favorites I couldn't leave out. You can buy prints of it on 20x200.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 101: Robert Verdi

Ideal Bookshelf 101: Robert Verdi
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

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I've recently been painting the books of various creative thinkers, and this is a shelf from that series. It contains books selected by Robert Verdi: designer, fashion icon and stylist to the stars. You can buy prints of it on 20x200.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 100: AJ

Ideal Bookshelf 100: AJ
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

NJ sent me her husband's favorites.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 99:

Ideal Bookshelf 99:
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

LB asked me to paint this for her daughter and son-in-law-to-be as a wedding present. I *love* this one. It includes a few books that would also appear in my ideal shelf, both landscapes and portraits and 2 Neil Gaiman books. Plus I finally got to paint the spine of this nice Plume edition of Atlas Shrugged.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 97: IS

Ideal Bookshelf 97: IS
2010 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

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This was actually an experiment to see/show how 7 elaborate (and good) books look together. That is all. But it does look nice, no?

Ideal Bookshelf 95 & 96: AMG

Ideal Bookshelf 95: AMG

Ideal Bookshelf 96: AMG

2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

Two sets worth of the favorites of AMG.

 

Ideal Bookshelf 89: BW

Ideal Bookshelf 89: BW
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

EK sent me the list of favorites of his friend BW. He couldn't get photos so I photographed the books at a bookstore. I love that they're so graphic and punctuated with bright colors.

Ideal Bookshelf 88: JG

Ideal Bookshelf 88: JG
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

JG is a TV series director, writer and producer. He and his wife LR gave each other bookshelf paintings for their anniversary. I will paint hers soon!

Ideal Bookshelf 90: DWR & 91: PRHR

Ideal Bookshelf 90: DWR

Ideal Bookshelf 91: PRHR
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

JR, a librarian, sent me the books collections of her two young sons, so that they (and she) could remember them when they're grown. I loved painting all the little animals and insects. The spines of kids books are generally more "descriptive" and informative than the spines of adult books.

Ideal Bookshelf 85: NBM

Ideal Bookshelf 85: NBM
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

RM commissioned this painting for her daughter, NBM. This may be the happiest looking set of books I've ever painted. The Girl Who Played With Fire was especially fun to paint. So was Let the Great World Spin.

Ideal Bookshelf 84: JP

Ideal Bookshelf 84: JP
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

JP is the sister of my friend JP. I like the graphic quality of her favorites, and I enjoyed painting the book  spine (The Know-It-All) that includes book spines running the opposite direction.

Ideal Bookshelf 80: GW

Ideal Bookshelf 80: GW
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

I consider George one of my best friends ever, even though we don't see each other in person very often, despite living in the same city. I value his opinion highly; whenever I start a new project of some sort, I wonder, "What would George think about this?" and often improve things based on the answer. We went to college together, where I dated his best friend and he dated the girl who would eventually become my first roommate in Manhattan (and would later marry Steve Martin). Later on George and his wife Jen and I all worked together at Bolt. Now he is the chef and owner of egg in Williamsburg, where the line for a weekend table stretches around the block. He and Jen and their two beautiful blond daughters also have a farm upstate where they grow much of the produce for egg.

These are the books he feels contributed to who he is today.