And now for something completely different

I drew a robot!

I participated in Tom Franck's sketchbook project which has the theme Evil Giant Robots. "Cute" and "friendly" is more my line of country, so the end result is rather like an enormous mechanical clown toy, with just a soupçon of King Kong for good measure.  Scary!

This sketchbook is traveling the world, with contributions by a mix of illustrators, children's book creators, and comic book artists.  There's an enormous variety of participants (drawings by winners of the Caldecott, the Anderson prize and even the Oscar!!)—I saw robots by Jon Klassen, Eliza Wheeler, Dan Yaccarino, Chris Rashka, Mary Azarian, Gary Baseman, Rodolfo Montalvo, and Emily Arnold McCully!  And so many others, including...

Shaun Tan:

Paul O. Zelinsky:

Dan Santat:

... and lovely Molly Idle:

In other news, I am Illustrator of the Day on CIF (Children's Illustrators on Fire), a new-to-me blog. 

(De-activeate your smoke alarms, then go check it out!)
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PS.  Home-made robot lamps, from Gille Monte Ruici

Happy Easter

Have a good one ... from me and Omelette!

Le Metamorfosi del Viaggiatore

I'm very happy to announce that my images have been selected for a group show in Italy! 

Organized by the Associazione Illustratori, the exhibit is called Le Metamorfosi del Viaggiatore (traveler's transformation). Its theme is travel in all its guises—both real and imaginary— and will include paintings, illustrations, sequential art (aka fumetti or bande dessinée) and carnets de voyage. 

My contribution is artwork from a sketchbook I kept during a previous visit to California, with scenes in and around my parents' home and walks taken in the Hollywood Hills.

This view of the rooftops and hillside is what I see from my work-room window as I sit at the computer typing this post!

These are birds that come by every day.  

They fascinate my cat Pomelo —and are objects of enormous yearning and desire for him.

The images are in gouache, and the line on top added later in ink and brush.  They were painted en plein air, for the most part — not my usual materials, technique or method (as often happens with travel sketchbooks), and all the more energizing for it...

For those of you are able to go, the show takes place in Milan from 18 October to 2 December, at  the Palazzo delle Stelline (Galleria Gruppo Credito Valtellinese).  Check the blog for updates and more details. 

PS. I really hope I get to go see it this autumn... there is a really great line-up of artists participating in this show!

Carnet de croquis

I got to sketch a bit while I was away...

...this is Rugolo, in the hills above Sàrmede (click to see larger).

Go here, to see a few more of my sketches.

Dog Days

It's official: the dog days of summer are upon us now.

Although there is some dispute about their start date (July 3? July 6? July 8??), most agree that they bring 40 days (biblical!) of heat and humidity and stillness, relieved only by the occasional welcome thunderstorm.

Why "dog days"?  According to the Romans, it was caused by Sirius, the Dog Star (brightest element in the constellation Canis Major, or "Big Dog"), which is closest to the sun at this time of year.  And these canine references continue to this day:  canicule ("little dog") is, of course, the French term for heat wave...

Anyway, I hope all of y'all are near a body of water in this time of torpor. And keep those mint juleps comin'!!

Also:

• Illustrators illustrated: portraits of practitioners
• Emma Mason: British prints
• Dog portraits, while we are on the subject...
• And finally: a tip of the hat to Maximum (aka The Best Cat Ever™), who went walkabout four years ago today. And was never heard from again. Come back, Pic-pic!

PS.  This blog is going on its summer break — see you when we get back!

Summer sketching

Summer is here:  let the sweltering commence!  In my sketchbook (totally ignoring the scorching heat) a giraffe  serenely munches a cool fresh leaf.   Me, on the other hand?  Melting.

Any tips for beating the heat?  Other than Mind Over Matter™??  Now would be the time to send them.

In the meantime, if you have energy to click:

• Le chat du rabbin (aka The Rabbi's Cat), by the wonderful Joann Sfar, has been released in France as a feature-length film— and won the top prize at Annecy!  I hope it gets a worldwide release.

• Do you know the Jacket Museum?

• And lastly:  Bernard Lodge, printmaker from Brighton.

Stay cool, Reader.  

Paris and posters

                   

Here's a page from my sketchbook, revisited with the odds and ends that always find their way into my pockets.

These Colonnes Morris—part of the Parisian landscape since the mid-1800's—are advertising pillars originally built to combat rampant advertising and graffiti. Some of them contain telephones and automatic public toilets.  And sometimes—startlingly— they serve as a broom cupboard for street cleaners.

Here's a Colonne Morris (seen from my local café on Fontaine Saint Michel)—also doubles as as hat!)

But most of all, they are adorned with beautiful posters: only those advertising cultural events (films, concerts, theatre, etc) are permitted. With such a steady stream of work (some of it publically funded) and abundant places to display it in, the flowering of French poster art was the inevitable result.  From Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, to A.M. Cassandre and Raymond Savignac and Hervé Morvan, not to mention André François, Nathan-Garamond and Jean-Michel Folon —they all contributed to the rich visual feast on the streets here.

Newer practitioners you may want to look at:

• Michel Batory (who had a retrospective at Musée des Arts Decoratifs recently)
• The fabulous Zeloot (and much more here)
• Michel Quarez (and here)

In general:

• French posters: a huge collection organized by era (don't miss the ones after World War II...)
• Chaumont: International Poster Festival 
• And further afield: there's the International Poster Bienale, at the Poster Museum in Wilanow, Poland (which is held in June of even-numbered years).

Road trip, anyone?

Re-bonjour!

I'm back!!

I took a trip (of which more soon) and this kept me busy with many preparations beforehand, and some follow-through afterwards.  And then out-of-town guests, and April in Paris™... basically, life happened!

But I am back now, and I have a lot to tell.  So stay tuned!

Il pleut!

It is a damp and drizzly day today, so I give you another sketch of Omelette, with his trusty eggshell umbrella.

The day looks to be filled with down-pourings and puddle-stompings—but if you get tired of watching the raindrops roll down your window-pane, you could do worse than clicking on some of these links:

Sarmède, in the Veneto region of northern Italy, is home to an art school (founded by the wonderful Czech artist Stepan Zavrel) and to an annual illustration exhibit.  Beatrice Alemagna, whose picture books are sublime, is the guest of honour this year.  She is in good company: there are over 300 illustrations by 38 artists— including Martin Jarrie, Kitty Crowther, Violeta Lopiz, Madalena Matoso.  And so many others!  Anna Castagnoli (illustrator and keeper of the marvelous Italian blog on children's books, Le Figure dei Libri)  has written an introduction (in English) for the catalog.
The exhibit runs until 19 December— wish I could go!

Urban Outfitter has asked 10 artists to do 10 bookmarks for them— they are here.  I especially like Joe McLaren's contribution.

And finally, in keeping with this drippy day, here are some spreads from the out-of-print picture book, Monsieur Cloud, Nuagiste.  Illustrated by François Roca in black and white, it is about a cloud expert (a nephologist) who is hired to make rain by a crooked umbrella manufacturer hoping to make a fortune.  But all does not go as planned...of course!  via Gone Fishing.

OK, back to watching raindrops...

Warm and cozy

Hamlet the pig has made another appearance in my sketchbook!
Just a little comfort and warmth on this chilly autumn day...

In other news:
As I mentioned before, Serge Bloch recently designed a set of postage stamps.  They are called "Sourires" and are now —finally!— available from La Poste.  Get 'em while they're hot!

Casting Call, Part 3

More from my sketchbooks.  This is another one of the recurring characters that's been popping up in the pages for some time:  a lost bird, named Omelette.  

He first showed up, curiously enough, when I found myself drawing eggs all the time — mysteriously large eggs.

The more I draw him, the more I find out what he's like — but one thing's for sure:  he's not like the other birds.  He always wants to do everything his own way.  Eggsasperating, sometimes...

Related: here, here, and here.... enjoy!

Casting Call, Part 2

Boo! For some time now —a year, maybe more —I have had an infestation of crocodiles in my sketchbook. Here are a few to be going on with:



My crocodiles are friendly —sometimes homesick, sometimes mischievous, sometimes awkward and shy — and come in all colours and sizes. But so far, never mean...



I am so used to my version of crocodiles that I am quite shocked when I watch nature documentaries and see real crocs in action. They employ the element of surprise to perfection, leaping out of still waters and clamping onto their unsuspecting dinner with a sudden splash and thrash. Poor old wildebeest cannot slake its thirst without taking its life in its own hands hooves!



But still —I love their cheeky smiles...

Scenes from rural France

I'm back from my little break. It's good to get away from town —yes, even Paris!— every now and again.

New things to look at!  Fresh air!!

.  

Just what the doctor ordered.

New friends...  

More new friends... drawn "on the hoof", as it were.

Casting Call

Like most illustrators, I keep a sketchbook. At times haphazardly, only on post-its, old envelopes and other scraps of paper. And at other times fervently, into a notebook that never leaves my side. Many of the sketches are only pencil swirls and jottings, intelligible only to me— and take form only later, when they are painted in a final version.

But other sketches seem to have a life of their own, with recurrent elements making regular appearances in the pages, coming back again and again. Almost like they want to audition for a part in one of my numerous (and interminable!) children's book projects.

One of these is Hamlet:

He's a piglet in pajamas who (when not napping) is brash and playful. And pinchable!

I expect there will be more of Hamlet in future posts, as well as the other habitués of my sketchbook pages. But for now — good night, wherever you are!