Jul 6, 2016

The Bird King

an artist's notebook
by Shaun Tan

I love looking at how other artists work, and that's exactly what this gives me. For it's not a book you read, it's one you look at. One I want to keep on looking at. A selection of quick drawings and detailed studies, from Shaun Tan's sketchbooks. Some are working studies for film and book projects he did, others are drawings that grew a life of their own- titles suggesting a story behind them, although he claims the pictures originate first. There are drawings from life- I particularly like the ones from museum figurines- people around him, landscapes made into wild abstractions. My favorites are among the final pages, little idle doodles and quick jottings that are full of half-formed thought and lively action. It's really inspirational. It makes me want to go spend hours drawing.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 4/5        128 pages, 2010

more opinions:
Waking Brain Cells
Charlotte's Library
Apples with Many Seeds

2 comments:

  1. Agh this kind of book makes me so jealous! I am probably the least artsy woman in the entire world, but it seems amazing to be able to wander around the world making pictures of what you see. Sigh. People who can draw are so cool.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are screened due to spam.