it's a wrap
Summer Medley
I just finished the final drawing (and had a hell of a time photographing it in the gloomy rain -- have I mentioned I need a new camera...?) in the Celtic tree calendar series. The 13 main drawings went to Effusion Gallery this summer, then I did a commission of four additional ones, based more generally on each season. There's no question that I have had a lot of fun taking this detour from painting, and I think that, for the most part, they gradually improved though, strangely enough, my favourite is still the first one. I wanted to keep them simple but they had other ideas and got more decorative and complex and colourful as I explored different ideas. Who am I to argue with the forces of inertia?
What is your favourite book store in the whole, wide world? Mine is an
unpretentious hole-in-the-wall on Broadway at Granville in Vancouver (across from Chapters) called Oscar's Art Books, a gold mine of art, design, architecture, erotica, typography and photography books. I got 'lost' in there on Monday, managing to spend enough money to earn a free fabric carry bag. Yikes. Where do I sign up for a 12-step program?
posted by andrea at 12:51 p.m.
16 Comments:
That first one is my favourite too - its the gatekeeper for the whole set.
My favourite book shop is an Amnesty charity one since the books are much cheaper and I feel virtuous whilst indulging my passion... before that I liked a bookshop that was an independent but has now closed :-(
If you find the bookaholic 12-step programme I'll come on it with you...
Favourite book store is a small hole in the wall place in Bracebridge which sells second hand books. The name escapes me now but whenever I'm up there dropping off work I always stop in for a least an hour.
Caro: You've already got the 12-step program under feet -- unless, of course, you suddenly find yourself buying a dozen dog books! :)
Melody: Really good second-hand book shops are worth their weight in gold. I rarely pass one without having to just pop in and check it out!
There's an amazing amount of imagery in these pictures, Andrea. How and where do you do your research?
Lovely A:
If you don't mind, I'll suggest MY fave is this one for the colours and for the salamanders (or are they geckos or other lizards?)
I love the red tree too. And the fish across the top, especially the flounder.
As far as my fave bookstore, here it's got to be Prairie Sky...they've always got off the beaten track stuff in there and they sell other neat things too...
The Green Dragon.
It is in another city in another time. Every shelf holds treasure and trinkets of text and illustrations. It is always raining there but the elegant gold of the window sign reflects in the gold of the store cats eyes. I can still smell green tea, fresh brewed in the tiny porcelain pot sitting by the antique cash register.
I always love any of your pieces that have a gecko or two in them.
There aren't many independent book stores in Denver anymore, but my fave has to be Tattered Cover (they're still family owned, but are quite large in their own right). There is a small used book store close to my home that sells first editions of books, but I just found out that they're closing soon. Bummer.
Fantastic colors in your drawing - I really have a thing for the blue/greens.
speaking of wrap, your paintings would make awesome wrapping paper. ;^)
"Who am I to argue with the forces of inertia?" Andrea, you are sometimes rather hilarious.
This series pulls so much together. It did become complex and that's a good thing I believe. Your "Summer Medley" is ripe, bursting with color and magic.
And speaking of bookstores, I have very fond memories of City Lights in San Francisco. A warren of small rooms on various levels, approached by a couple of steps here, a narrow staircase there. Tables and chairs set about almost randomly, inviting the browser to sit and read. And the store was started by a real live poet.
When we went back to visit our old stomping grounds a few years ago, it was a place we had to take the kids, since when we lived there, they had been too small to remember it. They too were enamored of it. And I noticed that the place even smelled the same as it had. I can smell it now, just thinking about it, and I am feeling nostalgic for San Francisco.
Peter: Most of my research is on-line. This is part of the Celtic tree calendar series that I talked about during the summer and there is method to my madness!
WW: I'll go with geckos. :)
Ldahl: I love the name The Green Dragon. Sounds like the perfect oasis.
Cynthia: Closing soon!? A curse ono the box boxes!
Donna: Don't think I haven't thought of using them for just such a purpose! :) (The ones that fail, that is.)
San: I'll have to remember to look up your comment again when we make it to SF again. It's been in the cards for years and we haven't made it, but then we went to Alberta as a family this summer, something we'd talked about for years, so it can happen...
Where to sign up? In the queue, behind me!
Good bookshops are scarce here, but my mantra is fast becoming "blessings-on-the-internet-and-plastic."
Will have to come back for my drool after school...
I love this series Andrea, and these last four are a terrific summary and addition.
My favorite bookstore is an independant one called "Third Place Books" which sells both new and used books side by side on the shelves. It is next to a large, communal food and game court hence is a kind of community gathering place. Plus, they get the *best* visiting authors/artists (I believe I blogged about meeting James Gurney there last Christmas).
I cross my fingers that it continues to live-long-and-prosper.
Dinah: The interwebs: biggest, most diverse book shop in the world!
Tara: When am I going to visit Seattle again? I swear you have the greatest shops anywhere!
I'm pretty fond of WordsWorth Books & Co. in Little Rock, AR. Carmichael's in Louisville KY is a close second.
Yeah, when *are* you coming to visit? Maybe you should aim for January when the critique group is planning a 'field trip' to Port Townsend to visit Richard Jesse Watson's studio and play in town for a couple of days? :-)
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