Category: Books by Me

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

  Steven Reddy took a bold step, agreeing to move to China for a year to teach in an elementary school, but the results have been worth it for all lovers of illustrated journaling. He came back with books full of amazing images and wonderful stories, which he shares in our video chat and in his section of  An Illustrated Journey. I admire his courage, his sense of adventure, and his incredible watercolors. 

Steven shares a lot more in my book. Here’s an excerpt:

“When I draw, many things that happened while I was drawing get “locked into the picture.” I don’t mean in a figurative sense, like, “oh, that was beautiful day…” But very specific details: the conversations I had while drawing, the song I was listening to on my iPhone, the tv show that was on the background. It’s weird, but I’ll look back at a drawing of a cup of coffee and Madmen will pop into my head. Or a glance at a drawing from a Chinese restaurant will elicit a shouted, “Laoban! Laoban!” because I heard a patron call that to the waitress in the restaurant while I was drawing. While doing a drawing, I’m wholly in the moment. It sounds like…” (continued)

(See more of Steven’s work in the book and on his blog and on flickr).

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

Tommy Kane is one of my oldest and bestest friends. And he’s a genius too.  You’ve seen Tommy’s work all over, including in my books ( An Illustrated Life and The Creative License). It’s observant, it’s bold, it’s witty, and it’s endlessly inspiring to me.

And hopefully you’ve seen his blog and his movies too (and his star turn in Red Hook, the film Jack and I made last year).

And now he has more amazing drawings in An Illustrated Journey.

When I interviewed Tommy for this project, he was on one of his innumerable business trips to Korea.

Here’s an excerpt from Tommy’s contribution to the book:

“I have drawn every brick, cinder block and lamppost in all of New York City. Google earth didn’t need to go around and photograph every building in Manhattan. I would have given them all my drawings instead. They could have saved a lot of time, money and effort. All of this has created a dilemma for me. The Big Apple all looks the same to my eyes now. I can even say I’m bored of drawing New York. As I ride my bike around, I whisper to myself, “did that, drew that, sketched that, painted that.” My wife and I discuss moving out of New York someday. Mostly I discuss it. It wasn’t until I started to write this, that I realized the real reason is that…” (continued)

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

Lapin is an extraordinary artist, a Frenchman who lives in Spain and travels the world. His work is unique and bound to inspire you. First of all, the man can draw anything and give it enormous character and wit.  Secondly, his pages are uniquely his — he draws in old (decades and decades old) lined, ledger books, in ink and watercolor. He has published several books of his work, beautiful replicas of his journals exactly as he created them on various trips .

 

Lapin discusses his history and technique at length in the book. Here’s an excerpt:

“I grew up in Bretagne near Saint-malo, and now I live between Barcelona and Paris. I started drawing in my very first sketchbook when I was around 4 years old. It was a small notebook with penguins on the cover. All the pages were fully doodled with planes, houses, people, even a “man-house” only sketched with ball point.

Then, as far as I remember I’ve always had some drawings in my school notebooks, and caricatures of the teachers. I sketched some horses to please the girls, some…” (continued)

We had a great, far-wheeling chat in this video and immediately after I started looking for new and interesting surfaces to draw on.  He’ll get you going too.

See more of Lapin’s work on his blog and his website.

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

I just love Prashant Miranda for so many reasons. First of all, I love his freedom — he travels through India, apparently sleeping on couches and beaches while using his art to serve others. Then he pops back to Canada, works on animation and illustrates books, and as soon as it gets cold, he heads back to India.  His paintings are full of love and color with a gentleness and wit in every panel.  And, as you’ll see in this video, he is a supremely happy and contented person who makes me feel happy and relaxed whenever I talk with him.

I have included Prash’s work and story in several of my books — you will remember him from An Illustrated Life and The Creative License. But it is as a traveller that he is most inspiring and exemplary and I hope you will enjoy his work in my newest book, An Illustrated Journey.

I chatted with Prashant when it was well after midnight in his temporary home in Goa. He was sitting on a balmy verandah by the sea, an owl roosting in a tree behind him. I was  hunkered down in frigid New York, envying him once again.

Prash shares a lot more in my book. Here’s an excerpt:

“I am a migratory bird. I spend my summers and autumns in Canada, and when it starts getting cold, I travel to India. And within Canada and India, I travel around.

Travel is a very important part of my life because it is a dose of reality, widens my perspectives and gives me an objective viewpoint of the places that I live in. Like not taking for granted that we get fresh drinking water out of our taps here in Canada, hot water too! And when I’m in India in certain places I’m thankful for that!

Often when I draw while travelling, it attracts…” (continued)

(See more of Prash’s work in the book and on his blog — it’ll make you rethink your own journal, I promise).