Art in France - a foray into pointillisme

Travel is all about discovery and inspiration. This summer I'm seeking both. Even tiny details like a lyrical French phrase or a Roman bridge, could lead to material for a future story or painting.  In my brief stay in New York City last week, I saw two inspiring exhibits - Matisse at MOMA and Picasso at the Met. It seemed like kind of a prelude for my trip to the south of France, where Matisse and Picasso both lived and worked for much of their lives. More on these two fantastic exhibits to come in a future post...

This week, I arrived in Lodeve for part two of my summer travels. One of the highlights was a visit to La Couvertoirade, a medieval village in the Larzac. I explored the walled city, up the tower steps and around the ramparts, gazing down on the rooftops and the narrow passages - searching for an interesting subject to draw. I climbed the hill to the church, where I found a secluded cemetery with the ancient gravestones of long forgotten knights. The gravestones were engraved with symbols of heraldry, but no names. On the back of one of the round stones was a beautiful symbol that reminded me of a fleur de lis. This mysterious engraving inspired a drawing (above left).

I did a more elaborate version on watercolor paper - and then I had an idea. I'd never tried pointillisme, so here is my first attempt (above right): Inspired by the impressionists, I used watercolor pencils to add pigment to the image. Once I add water - the colors will become vibrant. 

Please check back - I'll post the finished painting soon, along with more on art, travel - and the source of inspiration. Where do you find yours? Please comment.

An anniversary and a landmark pass unnoticed

I recently overlooked two connected events that happened around the same time. Just a couple of weeks ago was the first anniversary of my blog. Concurrently, the number of visitors to this site passed the 5,000 mark. I started calculating the statistics: That means an average of 14 readers visited my blog each day. I have no idea if this is good or not. Regardless, the process of coming up with an angle for the blog, writing a weekly post and interacting with other kid lit aficionados has been a lot of fun - and rewarding in ways I hadn't expected. I've met some great people and learned a lot.

This week I'm leaving for a sojourn in the south of France and Italy, with a three-day stop in New York City en route. In addition to hanging out with friends and family, I plan to indulge in art - visiting as many galleries, museums and cathedrals as can be stuffed into the itinerary.  I'm hoping this will provide inspiration for my own art and writing - as well as new material to share here with you.

I look forward to year 2. Any suggestions? Please let me know. Your comments are most welcome.

Monsters & Miracles - Journey through Jewish Picture Books at the Skirball

Zohar - Renato Alarcao (Brazil)

acrylic on paper

This magical image of a tree materializing out of a book, sets the stage for Monsters & Miracles - an exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center that embraces the conflux of books and art. This original illustration is from the picture book, ABC do Mundo Jadaico by Moacyr Scliar (2007). The  book in the image represents the letter Z, for zohar - the classic text of Jewish mysticism. According to Jewish mythology, the tree symbolizes wisdom.

I'm just about to embark on some new illustrations for one of my own picture book concepts, so Monsters & Miracles provided a welcome source of inspiration. More than 130 original works of art from picture books are featured in this awe-inspiring collection. In theory, the focus is Jewish picture books - and although there are representative illustrations of biblical stories, beginning with illuminated art from centuries ago, as well as creatures from Jewish mythology, and images of Jewish village life by artists like Simms Taback - the theme is really much broader. Featured are originals by Uri Shulevitz, Eric Carle, Marc Chagall, Lisa Brown (of Lemony Snicket fame), William Stieg (Shrek), Margot Zemach and Maurice Sendak, among many other great artists. 

It's wonderful to be able to see the nuances of the originals - like Eric Carle's delicate tissue paper and acrylic renditions of Noah's Ark, and pen and ink and watercolor originals by Maurice Sendak from the classic, Where the Wild Things Are. Some of Sendak's sensational preliminary studies were also on display.  (For more on the illustrations, visit Diane Browning's blog, Out of the Paintbox.)

Unfortunately, we arrived at the Skirball Center in the late afternoon. We were so captivated by the artwork, the museum staff had to pry us away at closing time. On the up side, the Skirball's wonderful bookstore was open late - and someone had had the foresight to stock many of the picture books featured in the exhibit. We consoled ourselves, revisiting the illustrations in the context of the books for which they were created. 

Although many of the books are beautifully conceived works of art in themselves,  we were struck by their inability to capture the texture, color, dimension and detail of the originals we'd been lucky enough to see. If you have the opportunity to visit Monsters & Miracles, take the kids - and go soon - it closes August 1st!