Ideal Bookshelf

Ideal Bookshelf 337: CK

Ideal Bookshelf 337: CK
2011 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 209: IDN

Ideal Bookshelf 209: IDN
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

Ideal Bookshelf 185: AK

Ideal Bookshelf 185: AK
2011 / 8"x8" / gouache & ink on paper

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 66 & 67: AS

Ideal Bookshelf 66: AS

Ideal Bookshelf 67: AS
2010 / 9"x12" / gouache & ink on paper

JB commissioned several paintings for her boyfriend, AS. These two were challenging, in the best possible way.

One of the reasons I originally started painting book spines was as an exercise to get better at hand lettering, especially at spacing out stylized type so that it fits in its designated (limited) space. I'm notoriously bad at it. I often have to re-paint books because I end up with 3 more letters to fit into half a centimeter.

So, painting books about typography for someone who obviously loves it raises the stakes. But I think it worked out nicely.

Ideal Bookshelf 75: JM

Ideal Bookshelf 75: JM
2010 / 8"x10" / gouache & ink on paper