Monday, December 28, 2015

Literary Art

Hello, my sweet little lonely blog.  Let's get back in touch by recapping some of my favorite reads this year, all of which are part of an ongoing art project I've become obsessed with.

In May of 2015, I had just finished reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King and couldn't get it off of my mind.  I'd been wanting to experiment with watercolors, and had just received a new set of pearly paints in the mail.  I grabbed a watercolor journal I had bought on sale for a few bucks and painted one of my favorite quotes from the book on the first page.  

I didn't realize I was starting a tradition.  To be honest, I don't find the first page particularly beautiful.  All I really intended to do was play around with some new art supplies, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable.  I continued the practice with other books as I finished them, and dedicated my watercolor journal solely to this purpose.  Throughout the rest of the year, I ended up completing over 20 books and painted quotes.  Here are a dozen of my favorites. 
The great thing about this little experiment is that it's just for fun.  I'm simply documenting the books I read in a light-hearted, creative way.  As an added bonus, this practice gently hammers the moral of each story into my brain and I find it very meditative.  My reading tastes are extremely varied, but the common thread is that I now look forward to reflecting on each book while creating informal art as I make my way through my reading list.  

I'm hoping to collect a whole new batch of amazing books and memorable quotes in the coming year. What kind of creative projects will you attempt in 2016?

1 comment:

Mitch Embry said...

I love seeing the progression of your style from that first quote to the more recent ones in the set. This was a fantastic idea and I can't wait to see what comes next! :)