Tuesday, February 19, 2019

What's in a Bookshop name?

Sketch based on my local bookshop, Left Bank Books

Have you seen the illustrated books 
Books & Mortar:
A Celebration of The Local Bookstore
by Gibbs M. Smith? And
Footnotes from the World's Greatest Bookstores 
by Bob Eckstein
and the postcards of his illustrations?

This is some of  what I found in these books & 
in the What's Next brochures
that are given away at independent bookstores:

One More Page Books, Arlington VA
The Dog Eared Book, Palmyra NY
Bookbug, Kalamazoo MI
Once Upon a Time, Montrose CA
Hooray For Books! Alexandria VA
Red Balloon Bookshop, St Paul MN
The Corner Bookstore, NY NY
Politics & Prose, Washington DC (of course!)
Books & Books, Coral Gables, FLA
The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City UT
Page & Palette, Fairhope ALA

Is your local bookshop listed here?
What is the name of your local bookstore?
What would YOU name a bookshop?
Leave your answers with a comment!

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Valentine's Day Fun

 
I tried printing this Valentine Girl
with my printer.
 But the colors came out badly.
So I did a black & white version 
& added just a few colors by hand.
Valentine Girl's source was a small, 
super quick sketch 
I did last summer
when a woman zipped past me 
while I was sketching a church.
 
 I led our Library Art Group this week in making
non-adhesive, folded gift boxes. 


Valentine's Day has been a fun inspiration 
for me since childhood.
I used the January page from a 
beautiful letterpress calendar for this box.
I've had a lot of painted snippets around, 
great for adorning boxes.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Friday, February 8, 2019

Exploring Rather Than Wandering


 
Sketchbook Wandering. 
I've done it here for almost 7 years!!!!!

Sketching & writing still bring me joy & comfort, 
as when I took a pause from last Saturday's winter festivities
at a cafĂ© on Main St. I sat by a wall.
My sketchbook transformed the scene to interesting theater.

There are people who appreciate my sketches, 
& some have learned from my process.

But:
Change might be starting...
Expression, discovery, exploration, reflection, 
& who knows what else! 

I've been experimenting with making marks 
with a brush & "high flow" acrylic paints.
(Thanks, for introducing me, Beth. Go to Sew Sew Art.)

My marks turned to shapes & my shapes 
arranged themselves.

Aaaah, order...but maybe not too much...
More will be revealed...