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Landscape Inspirations
Above: A page spread from my Shinola Sketchbook in which I use gouache to play with new colors and the inspiration of John Harris' work. I’ve been experimenting with different colors selections based on inspiration from the work on John Harris, a science fiction illustrator who makes stunning land- and cityscapes. (I took a […]
The Best Compliment You Can Give a Bookbinder—and Yourself
Above: plein air watercolor and gouache landscape ©2008 Diane Wesman, created in a 4 x 3 inch (approx.) journal made with Strathmore Aquarius II 80 lb. watercolor paper. Sketch made with a black Uniball pen.
As a bookbinder one of the saddest things to see is a series of blank books on someone's shelf. The books' mass represents acquisitiveness, lost opportunities, stalled creativity, postponed engagement in the world and a hundred other sad things. It's frustrating to see. It's one of the reasons I started teaching journaling. I was very sneaky about it—I would have everyone make a book using paper I knew was perfect for the process I was teaching. Then, perfectly timed, when the books were completed we would USE THEM. No one went home without working in their book.
Road Trip
For some people, and I'm one of them, few words elicit as much anticipatory excitement as "Road Trip." (Said with two LONG vowels and a gradual increase in volume.) And if you do enjoy going on road trips one of the best people to travel with is my friend Linda. First of all she likes to drive so I get to ride shotgun and sketch, eat Mounds Bars, or simply gab away. Second, she arrives with a printed out suggested itinerary of fun and interesting places we can stop (including phone numbers should you have to call while on the road).