 I did one huge final push, and the book is now uploaded to the printer, and I'm waiting on a series of proofs (both eproofs and a hard copy) before I can order a batch. I'm doing a few tweaks in the meantime, but it is functionally done, which feels great. I was so far behind in early August that I didn't think I could manage it, but a combination of a good run of sketching along with a bunch of days working to lay it out right up till bedtime has me hoping I can get copies back in time for December sales. Printing slows way down in the fall, so no guarantees, but I strongly hope they'll manage it. Here are a few pages. I did all the art in watercolor and pencil or ink. Some of them are sketches done on site and others I did on my lap on the sofa after gathering photos from around town. I laid out each page with those images in photoshop and then hand wrote the text around the images with an apple pencil on my ipad.
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I'm still working slowly toward M is for Memphis. It's a mix of new sketches (the drummer at the I Am A Man mural, based on a photo Jude Dippold took when we were there a few years ago) and sketches from previous outings, like the sculpture and plaza I did with Memphis Urban Sketchers. It's fun to have a way to use some of my sketchbook images I'm proud of and also fun to be revisiting and sketching places around town. I've got a few days to work hard between a house guest and a visit to my sister, so I'm diving in. Obviously I is for I Am A Man, along with the IBC (International Blues Challenge) that's such a big deal for Memphis.
Memphis had eight solid days of snow and ice, so I treated myself to a staycation writers retreat. One of my two big goals for this year is to get a new alphabet sketchbook done. It's M is for Memphis, which my local bookstore has been nicely requesting. They sell a lot of P is for Possum and would love a broader Memphis book as well. I've been tinkering with the alphabet for over a year, but the last few weeks I've made a strong start on actually getting art together and putting it on pages. I'm doing a good bit of new work (A is for Arcade at the top)but also plundering my sketchbook to see if I've banked sketches over the years that would go well in the book. I sketched the Arcade's sweet potato pancakes several years ago and will add that sketch to the overall piece of the building itself. I go back through my sketchbooks fairly regularly for inspiration for prints or paintings, but it's fun to be able to pull out those done-on-the-spot images to use as they are.
This is going to take most of the year, but I'm hoping to be able to have it out for fall. Fingers crossed. Books always take longer than I think they well, but I'm pleased with how it's going so far. |
online store Martha Kelly is an artist and illustrator who lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee. Get occasional studio email updates. Categories
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