Monday, June 17, 2013

DON'T PIGEONHOLE MO

Sketchbooks.

I'm always talkin'
about sketchbooks.

About how you oughta be 
filling them up with
drawings
doodles
ideas
notes
thoughts
stuff
scribbles
photos
scraps
musings
clippings
and
just,
you know,
KEEPING
A
SKETCHBOOK!

Because
SKETCHBOOK!

And because they're great places

for future projects
to gestate.

Case in point,
Mr. Mo Willems.
(yeah... him again)

For the last two decades,
Mo has created a mini-sketchbook
that he's printed for friends, family, enemies,
clients, attractive ladies and anyone who asked.

Over the years these sketchbooks have served as a
business
slash
holiday card
slash
 'zine
slash
creative laboratory
slash
overstock warehouse
for all things Mo.

And it was one of these
sketchbooks
that gave birth
to a bird that would eventually
launch Mr. Willems'
semi-successful 
book career:


And now,
since Mo
isn't releasing another book
in the next 
3 hours...

There's
THIS:


All twenty of Mo's
sketchbooks
featured in one big book! 


Actually, I don't have all of them.
But I've got a bunch:


They're a fascinating look into
Mo's creative process.
And a way to see how some of his
experiments later evolved into
books.

Like Pigeon:


And Goldilocks:


And Leonardo:



One of the things I've always
admired about Mo
(aside from his taste in friends)
is how his creative mind never rests.
He's always trying something new.
Challenging himself with:

A looser style:


A simpler aesthetic:


Stamp art:


and commuting penguins:


My favorite part of the book features Mo's 
early cartoon sketchbooks:




Many moons ago,
while looking through Mo's latest book,
my wife expressed great love for this
drawing:


I asked Mo for the original
so I could give it to her as a gift.
And he was nice enough to sell it to me for 
$74,000.


He's still waiting for the check.

Get this book.
There's a lot to
love
learn from
and
admire
in there.












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