Maurice Sendak's The Juniper Tree

I love Grimm tales and I love the genius of Maurice Sendak. Finally grabbed my own copy of Sendak's The Juniper Tree, and have been studying and gorging on the drawings all week.

 

This is not only one of my favorite illustrations from the book, but it's also one of my favorite illustrations period.

I could write on and on about the freshly bizarre and claustrophobic imagery that Sendak wrung from the tales, and the near-surrealistic style of each illustration, but I'm pretty sure that's all been covered by many writers far greater than me.

 

But if by some chance you haven't seen this book, Brain Pickings did a post on it with more of the illustrations and you can see them here:

Brain Pickings Juniper Tree

Better yet, buy the book.

And thanks for checking out my blog!

Creativity Sparks: The Twenty (at present)

Illustration to Reynard the Fox and Other Fables, by John Rae 

Scrolling through picture after picture on the internet can be a double edged sword. Looking at illustrations keeps my creativity flowing, but looking too much can make me glaze over sometimes, and I lose the point of examining admirable works.

 The Gruegach, by John D. Batten

I've found that limiting it once in awhile helps. Gathering ten to twenty illustrations that have caught my eye, then sticking with them--examining them for why they arrested me--helps me to limit and learn. 

Illustration from his Bill the Minder, by W. Heath Robinson

So I offer three of my current Twenty here. The reasons for the choices are personal, but when I examine them and think about the techniques, no surprise that they've sparked my imagination.

If you are interested in seeing the others, find them here:

Sarmo's current Twenty

 

And thanks for reading!

Night Scares

http://tomsarmo.com/

Growing up, I shared a bedroom with my older brother. His sleeping presence didn't help me with my night scares though. I was probably ten years old when these fellows emerged through the wall, marched across the room in line, and disappeared.