The artists that I tend to respect and admire most are the ones that push the boundaries and traditional ideas and methods of art. Mickey Stilkey, from California USA, has always had a passion for book illustration and reminds us the importance and beauty what books bring. Painting within books, around books, on stacks of books (which he calls "book sculptures"), and most impressively on walls lined from floor to ceiling with books, he exposes and enhances the beauty of the yellowed page and bounded book. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey creates these melancholic and whimsical characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales.
One of the things I found interesting about his book sculptures is that you can move them around. Even by painting on the cover you can still pick up a book and start reading it. I love his style of drawing and wish that I could do more work like this. It makes me what to grab my pencil and start drawing new mysterious and eerie characters.
Stilkey has an official website where you can look at some of his other work and here is an interview with him that takes you on a tour around his studio. Also this is another really good interview with the artist as well.
Photo Credit: via 1, 2, 3
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