A quiet reflection on May Horses, childhood daydreaming, magical realism, and blue and orange horses. Sign up to The Spread Table to read more about how wonder can enter ordinary life without explaining itself.
Empty space is rarely empty in picture books. It can guide the eye, slow the page down, make a character feel small or safe, and give emotion room to deepen. In this Shape & Space post on The Spread Table, I’m looking at how negative space quietly shapes the way a story feels.
In this sketchbook video, I’m sharing pages from my winter sketchbook and talking through color as emotion, creative block, and the way the season shaped the work.
The pilot episode of A Slice of Illustration begins with Edmund Dulac and the value of looking closely at illustrators of the past. Sign up for free to watch and listen to the episode.
Lately I’ve been obsessed with wordless storytelling, and The Hunter and the Animals is one of the books that keeps opening up for me. This post is a close look at how Tomie dePaola uses image, sequence, and empathy to carry an entire story without text. Sign up to read more on The Spread Table.