Paris, part III

Here are a few more from the upcoming show in Paris, two weeks from today. As you might have noticed, there will be a healthy mix of some older drawings with some new work. I'm thinking of the whole enterprise as a way to turn the page and move forward.

Now this is kooky...ERRATUM!

According to this, Ice Age 3, Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the third highest grossing film of all time on the foreign front.

Still, that ain't too shabby.

Paris!, part II- the poster

Voila!

Paris!

There is a charming little gallery in Paris on Isle St. Louis called Galerie Arludik which is run by an equally charming and improbably nice couple named Jean-Jacques and Diane Launier. As a gallery that promotes and sells artwork done for both print and film, Arludik has succeeded where many have failed. This success is almost certainly a direct result of the passion that JJ and Diane share for illustration and art in general, but also because of the respect and support they demonstrate for every artist whose work they exhibit.

In just a few weeks, I will have the honor of a one man show at Arludik and am eagerly looking forward to it. Opening night will serve the double purpose of launching the exhibit itself and also to officially release a monograph of my work- A Sketchy Past, The Art of Peter de Seve. Galerie Arludik is co-publishing it with Akileos Editions.

The show will open on the evening of October 15th and run until November 21st. 

Below are some examples, all of which will be available for purchase, should anyone be so inclined.

If you happen to be wandering the streets of Paris next month, you know where to find me!

A very early review of The Duchess of Whimsy

For the last year or so, Randall and I have given a few sneak peeks of the Duchess of Whimsy to friends and family, who have said such nice things about it. Naturally, we have not trusted a word they've said. What a relief to finally have the book out of the bubble and reviewed (and quite wonderfully!) by a complete stranger.  Read Elizabeth Bird's review here.

This weekend in Brooklyn

This Sunday, September 13th,  is the Brooklyn Book Festival in Brooklyn Heights where many of this year's children's book authors and illustrators will be trying to get your attention. Though we won't actually have copies of The Duchess of Whimsy in hand (it won't be released until the end of October), Randall will be reading from her previous book, Toy Boat in the Target tent at around 2:00. After, we will also be signing and giving away posters of The Duchess.  If you happen to be wandering around Brooklyn, by way of Paris or Cairo, please drop by.

A few sketches

In the spirit of keeping things moving around here, I'll throw down some random sketches. I hope the fact that these are essentially doodles is not a disappointment.  The truth is that I enjoy doing these more than I do wrestling a final, finished piece of work to the ground. I have yet to preserve the confidence and playfulness of an early sketch all the way to the final color version . Half the time, the paint is just lipstick on a corpse.

(Hey, good idea for a sketch!)

Sketchtravel!

Have you heard of Sketchtravel?

Sketchtravel is an ingenious idea concocted by my two pals, Gerald Guerlais and Dice Tsutsumi. While discussing the virtues of sketchbooks one day they came up with the inspired idea of purchasing a high quality, strongly bound sketchbook and passing it from one artist to another, hand to hand, all over the world. The book is now two thirds full of gorgeous examples of some of the top illustrators and comic artists working today. Because they are my friends, they let me put something in, too. 

The book actually passed through my hands three times before I could summon the courage to commit something to the page. You can imagine that with each drawing submitted, the book becomes heavier in more ways than one. The artists seem to be raising the bar with every new picture and with almost sadistic pleasure. Just taking temporary ownership of this holy tome and protecting it from coffee and other unnatural disasters was enough to paralyze my drawing hand for days. Part of me wished I'd gotten it over with on the first go-round but last week I was finally able to come up with something. I couldn't begin to tell you whether it's any good or not but the drawing certainly reflects my anxiety about the project pretty well.

I should mention, that a facsimile edition of the book will ultimately be published along with some kind of traveling exhibition, presumably including preliminary sketches, photos and film clips. Unfortunately, the contributors are not allowed to post their pieces online before publication so as not to undercut the final impact of the book.

After each person is done with his/her contribution, they are also obliged to photograph the handoff to the next artist. The photos are sometimes straightforward but have veered into the surreal on occasion. I thought it would be funny for my handoff to Natalie Ascencios to actually light the book on fire and then quickly put it out. 

I was only partly successful.

Sketchtravel's blog is here.