Here’s something I wish I’d created. I absolutely love this minimalistic children’s story poster series by designer Christian Jackson. They’re clever, delightful, artistic and clean in a wonderfully organic way.
Great stuff, Christian!
By the way, I’ve also learned that they’re for sale, here at imagekind .
This little fellow is hoping for sunshine. Or maybe he’s up early looking for that first worm. Or could be he’s getting a little bored waiting for the rest of the book to be finished (the one where he has a starring role)…. after those silly dragons have their day in the sun, of course.
(With a few word substitutions, not such different wishes than some of our own, eh?)
Ah, spring ~ full of hopes and dreams, delights and newnesses (even a new word for you) ~ happy first day of it!
Alright, not exactly at Westminster Abbey, but close enough! And I’m pretty sure this bag did make the trek to the abbey, along with London’s other great sites.
Then as if to remind us that March it may be, but winter isn’t over quite yet ~ a lovely snow-tipped vision of peace among earth’s leaves and branches.
Thank you both for spreading our peace message in everyday ways! Gratitude…!
(ps: you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com and we’ll also post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!)
egg sketch: another sneak peek of creatures yet to hatch…
While writing “The Book of Mermaids”, I learned that many mermaid celebrations, oddly enough, coincide with our human holidays. So I’m imagining there’s a bit of frolicking good fun going on beneath the ocean waves this last day of Mardi Gras. Bubble-lined parades, dancing in rock caverns, the drinking of rich, salty concoctions, and generally speaking, some swishy, swanky good times under the sea, complete with masks and costumes. (Note: It might feel a bit turbulent if you happen to be on a cruise, depending on how near you are to the festivities.) Happy Mardi Gras!
I suppose the only thing that could possibly have made this one even more exciting would have been if the movie characters had joined in! (Not to mention a real zebra…) Thank you for this terrific image, and spreading the “52 Weeks of Peace” message farther and wider.
Peace mug overlooking city of Antananarivo, Madagascar
(ps: you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com and we’ll also post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!)
Details rule my days, all day, most days. Design details, illustrative details, word details, project details, scheduling, parenting, you name it. (Which is partly why, I suppose, that I love to paint backgrounds with giant sweeping brushstrokes, and why I love big, broad views with never-ending skies.)
When it comes to my art, people often ask “how do you do that shading with a pencil?”, or “how do you create that sense of depth on a 2-dimensional surface?”. Of course I can show them, or I can teach techniques, but the truth is that when you’re in the throes, you’re not really “thinking”, it’s more like feeling your way. (And it should also be said, that one of the key things about details is knowing which ones to leave out.)
In any event, since details play such a big role in my work, I thought it might be interesting to share some “up-close” artwork. Hope you enjoy the closer look!
Detail of "Cairo Market" / Oil on Canvas / © Patricia Saxton
"Cairo Market" / Oil on Canvas / © Patricia Saxton
Detail of "Osprey 1" / Pen & Ink / © Patricia Saxton
"Osprey 1" / Pen and Ink on Paper / © Patricia Saxton
Detail of "Eagle" / Pencil on Paper / © Patricia Saxton
"Eagle" / Pencil on Paper / © Patricia Saxton
Detail of "Storm II" / Oil on Canvas / © Patricia Saxton
"Storm II" / Oil on Canvas / © Patricia Saxton
"Living Large" at Chateau de Pau (Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
(ps: you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com and we’ll also post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!)
To be fair, I’ll include a few pages from my own. But here’s the thing with me and sketchbooks: I don’t have an “official” sketchbook.
In truth, any piece of paper within arm’s reach qualifies as a drawing surface. As a result, my doodles and sketches and moments of brilliant insight are strewn about like ashes on a sea. Maybe that’s not such a good analogy. Maybe a dandelion in the wind. Whatever. For all my sense of orderliness, a regular sketchbook falls into a much looser category.
The point though, is that sketchbooks can be truly lovely, as can be seen via the traveling Sketchbook Project. Or in the lush genius of the 2010 publication of Street Sketchbook, recently shared by Brain Pickings (a terrific site with an ongoing must-see collection of wonderful stuff).
Clearly, sketchbooks have been elevated to works of art in and of themselves, and I think, rightly so.
My first sketchbook seduction came from Peter Beard’s marvelous diaries in The Adventures And Misadventures of Peter Beard In Africa. Deliciously detailed and jam-packed with words, illustrations and photos, newsprint and objects, the end-product of his runaway artistic sensibilities, his passion for form and love for Africa was occasionally disturbing, but always stunning.
from Peter Beard's collage-work diaries
from Peter Beard's collage-work diaries
By comparison to Beard, or the fantastic pages of Street Sketchbook, my own pages seem tame, bordering on dull. (Except for the random game of hangman.)
But I know, and you now know too, that I haven’t made a ritual of keeping a sketchbook, nor sketched with the intent for those pages to become a final, messy, glorious product. I’d like to someday, so I’ll add it to my list …. in the meantime, the important thing is simply to sketch.
Draw. Write. Cut. Paste. Thoughts, ideas, dreams; record them by hand. It’s a wonderful process – whether in a book meant for sketching, or on the back of a cereal box, or the edge of a client proposal … express yourself.
So ~ what’s in your sketchbook?
Peace blessings in homes, in vineyards, and reminders to “send peace”! And as ever, my heartfelt thank you’s to those who’ve shared these wonderful images.
Favorite treat in honor of a loved one / near Dayton, Ohio
Send Peace! / Mid-Atlantic States
Influenced by Bob Marley's "3 Little Birds" / Ohio
Peace, Love & Rock 'n Roll
Alfred & Mary's Winery / Mosel Valley, Germany
(ps: you can see all “where in the world is peace?” images compiled on our special “where in the world is peace?” page. Totes, mugs and things are available here. Send your own pictures to 52weeksofpeace@gmail.com and we’ll also post them on our FaceBook page. Let’s see where peace goes!)