Thursday, June 18, 2009

Sketches in an Old Book


I found a set of four old books from my childhood hidden at the bottom of a box is the store room. I was going to give them to the neighborhood thrift store, but now I'm so glad I didn't.

The pages are thick and creamy - taking pen and ink and light watercolor.

The first one I've starting using for doodling and sketches is Old Swedish Fairy Tales by Anna Wahlenberg, translated by Antoinette DeCoursey Patterson. Published in 1925 (I think) - my memory of Roman Numerals is a bit shaky




There are three more - all with wonderful watercolor illustrations

Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1921

Old French Fairy Tales by Comtesse DeSegur 1920

The Book of Fables edited by Frederic Taber Cooper 1921


I suspect this is a project that will keep me going for a long long time

10 comments:

Alex said...

This is such a creative idea! I mean, it's almost similar to me in school(but I know I am not alone) doodling in text books :) Historical figures suddenly turned into superheroes and totally buffed up too ^^

Shirley said...

I posted my recycled old books recently - filled with watercolor paper, but not just using old books. I love what you did and look forward to seeing how you continue to use this.

Silvia :) said...

This is such a great idea... turning an old book into a sketchbook :)

Rhonda L. Cooper said...

I love it! I have been searching for a hardbound copy of Walden so that I can do the same thing. Nice drawings, too!

owenswain said...

I recall seeing this sort of thing done by various folks. It's such an interesting concept and you're off to a great start.

Alissa said...

I have come across one or two posting recently of painting in books, and think they are wonderful (even though I am a librarian and think books are somewhat special) . But I love the idea and want to start . Thanks for the inspiration

Kathy McCreedy said...

What a terrific idea! Your illustrations are wonderful, thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Laure Ferlita said...

You're way ahead of the curve!! I've done a few pages off and on, but hate to "destroy" books, so haven't done it much. The one I used on my post was falling apart, so it didn't bother me quite so much!

How cool to be able to watercolor on the pages without any prep work! Such fun!

Laura Calderisi said...

Has anyone found that painting on the pages without prepping them somehow leads to wrinkling? I really don't want to fuss with prepping but I am worried about the results without it.