Part 2 Making a hardcover book

Front and back cover of the book seen from the outside. 

The pages are lined up in the middle and can be seen through the spine area. 

 

Putting a hardcover book together

 

Making Hardcover Books

A simple hardcover sketchbook made from book illustrations, handmade papers, and hand painted paste papers. These are all assembled and hand stitched together. 

These are the front and back covers of the book.

On the left is mat board covered in a piece of hand painted paste paper, right side up. On the right is matboard covered in a piece of  hand made paper, showing the inside of the cover after it has been glued. 

These are the pages made from a good sketch paper sitting in a book cradle, waiting to be stitched. Pushpins hold the booklet together and make holes for the thread.

 

Color Experiments on Paper

 

            

            

 

       

  

                                                                                     

 

Experimenting with color and painting on 

paper with a large brush, I can create many of 

these for future use in book making, small paintings, collage work and placing them side by side to see their effects.

Decisions can be made without commitment as I

move them around on a wall or table. 

Patterned and Painted Paper techniques for artist's sketchbooks

It's autumn so I like to use leaves, both as stencils 

and stamps. Watercolor works perfectly with 

both techniques.

This page was created using flower petals as a stencil.

Moving fall foliage and dried flowers around the page 

can help you come up with some cover ideas.

 

Working in the Studio

 

Small Artist Books

I am putting together my one of a kind books. 

They are painted, collaged, printed and sewn together from watercolors,

 mixed media collages, vintage sheet music and ephemera.

 That includes vintage buttons, jewels, calligraphy, and pages of old books.

 

Continuing the Drawing

 

Floral Drawing: Adding More

I work with color and charcoal at the same time, 

switching from one to the other as needed. 

 

Inspiration for a Drawing

First I take pictures of my subject that I am planning to draw.
Especially flowers that sometimes do not last very long!

I take them from many different viewpoints: closeups, birds eye views, side views, among many others.

I also take pictures of my subject at different times of the day and in different light conditions. You can see the difference in color, size, and shadows.  

Starting the drawing on paper, I pencil in where I will place the first flowers. In this way the composition is established more or less intuitively. Balance is achieved by size, color and shape.