Book art inspiration

Valerie skims through vintage books to find key words that inspire her art. After finding these words, she sketches a drawing on the page with India ink, then adds watercolour paint. Many of the originals were produced on family vacations with her 2 small children. The lakeside cottage by Shuswap Lake in British Columbia was where these pages were brought to life.

This luminous, defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the remarkable and inspiring story of acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her bold, defiant, and exultant legacy.Nina Simone was a musical child. She sang before she talked and learned to play piano at a very young age. With the support of her family and community, she received music lessons that introduced her to classical composers like Bach who remained with her and influenced her music…

In addition to our Etsy obsession, A Reader's Respite is currently going through a book sculpture phase. This piece was created by Hubertus Gojowczyk....it's entitled Latest News from the Year 1732 and 1733. If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. (We asked, so we know this to be true.) Still, it might be worth it to display on a shelf in Big Kid's room if only to freak him out a bit. (Parent humor....we can't get enough of it.)

Explore the air in the branches' 2654 photos on Flickr!

Illustration, Drawing, water color