Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Owl and Cat in Love, "First Date" (double page spread pages 5-6)

"First Date"
Woodcut (reduction)
20" x 9.5" (image)
24" x 15" (paper)
Oil based inks on Subi paper
Limited edition of 4

The holidays are over, it's a new year, and I am definitely back on this Owl and Cat in Love project.

Having met while hunting the same rabbit, the two decide to share dinner. A little foreshadowing of their voyage with the guitar, sea, and green boat, and their future tropical island home with the wallpaper behind them. I designed the composition in a way to echo the dramatic love-at-first-sight gaze from the previous double-page spread, with the double arches on the right side and round window and moon on the left, both of which resemble eyes.

I'm going for a minimal effect with color. I plan to stick with the same limited palette - dominated by orange-brown and ultramarine blue - throughout the book. I'd also like to have some of the wood grain visible in just about every page. I love how both of these techniques can be used to make objects seem ethereal. The wallpaper melting into the blue of the sea, the animals camouflaged against the wood floor.

We shall see what happens on the journey. I always have a plan, but the muse is the boss.

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