New Art for Jane Austen

It’s hard to believe 9 months have passed since I posted anything to this blog! During the summer I was occupied (not to say overwhelmed) with several projects and many responsibilities, so although there were many possible subjects to blog about, I didn’t make the time. Now, however, I am very pleased to share the results of one of my big projects, which was doing digital illustrations for a book.

Last April, I was approached via email by writer and poet Patricia Blackburn (you can visit her informative blog, Help Your Own Healing, here) to create illustrations for her book, Jane Austen's Rules of Romance, The Necessary Refinements and Situations for the Successful Procurement of the Marriageable Man. The book is a fun compilation of quotations from the novels and letters of Jane Austen, with an insightful introductory essay by Patricia. Ticia wanted silhouettes, a type of illustration very popular in Austen’s own time, and which has never gone out of style. For me, the whole idea was appealing not only for the connection with Jane Austen (what woman does not love her work?) but also because I felt I could produce the required number of pieces faster as silhouettes than full drawings. Nevertheless, it took me over 5 months to produce the 10 pieces in Adobe Illustrator.

The piece above is" The Perfect Couple," which is the cover illustration. Currently, the book is in production, being printed by a self-publishing house, Author House. Stay tuned!