This is one of the new paintings I'm working on. I thought I would post some photos as it progresses.

First, the basic underpainting to cover the canvas.

Then adding colour and detail a bit at a time to build the image. I'm working on the rocks in the foreground and will have it nearly finished before I go back to complete the water and sky.

I'll add more photos as I go along. I am working on 6 paintings at the same time, and I rotate through them so they progress simultaneously. When the foreground is all in, this one will be on the wall for a few days to dry while I work on bringing the others to a similar state. 

Stitching. Check!

The next step of the binding process is now completed!

Gluing spines and preparing covers next...

Printers' Fair

I have been overwhelmed (in a delighted way) by all the positive response to the news that the City of St. John's selected one of my images for the facade of the Civic Centre downtown. I am truly amazed and grateful to everyone who has liked and commented on the announcement!

(Press release here: http://www.stjohns.ca/media-release/convention-centre-facade-artwork-selected#.UnaKRpXRksU.facebook)

Sewing copies of Amelia and Reginald, gluing copies of Making Bread (not bombs) and printing, I'm getting ready for the next thing, the Book Arts Association NL's Printers' Fair on November 17th. The news is here:

Printers’ Fair

Artists and Craftspeople selling their wares:

Books! Broadsides! Prints! Cards!

Linocuts! Etchings! Lithographs! Letterpress!

Sunday, November 17^th, 2013

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Rocket Room

(upstairs at Rocket Bakery, 272 Water Street)

Admission Free

Exhibitors:

John Andrews

Graham Blair

Caroline Clarke

Janet Davis

Lori Doody

Jud Haynes

Sonia Ho/ Alan Ho

Philippa Jones

Christine Koch

Duncan Major

Jennifer Morgan

Janet Peter

Krissie Worthman

Running the Goat Books and Broadsides

St. Michael’s Printshop

Urchin Green

Walking Bird Press

Hosted by The Book Arts Association of

Newfoundland and Labrador

It's hard to believe, but these are the collated signatures for 105 copies of Amelia and Reginald.

Whew!

I finally (3 weeks later than planned) finished the last illustration for Amelia and Reginald today. Several in the second batch of drawings didn't make good plates, so I had to rework them and send them back. Which left me further behind with the 2 baffling images, an Angel Choir, which Reginald is asked to imagine as he tries to wake Amelia from her comatic state, and Crossing the Alps in the style of 18th c. gentry, being carried in chairs.

I have taken them out and put them away several times, but finally thought of trying to incorporate music into the choir image. Something funereal? After looking through the hymnal and on line, I decided on Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, a melody anyone who reads music is likely to recognize, and another non-18th c. element for the pseudo-ness of the book (like Micky and Minnie on Amelia's bed). I also divided up the group to make the image more vertical to fill space at the end of the chapter, and changed their faces and poses a bit so they are not all playing instruments and they are all singing.

The final bugaboo was the image of A&R crossing the Alps, being carried as gentlefolk were. It's a double-wide illustration that will be folded and stitched in between signatures.

Now to finish printing and start assembling! Here's hoping everything else goes without bumps!

Chapter 1 image

Amelia and Reginald meet in St. James Park, the image for Chapter 1.

I went to Corner Brook last Sunday to make polymer plates with the help of David Morrish at Dead Cat Press. We went to work Monday morning, and by the end of the day the plates were made for all the completed drawings. Tuesday I worked on this drawing, and we made the plate Wednesday evening. I drove home on Wednesday with a pile of plates ready to print!

Spent Thursday and Friday getting ready for Open Studio this weekend, and this afternoon I printed 3 of the images onto the text pages, 110 or so copies of each. I'm hoping for an edition of 100...