"there is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion" Sir Frances Bacon, "Of Beauty, Essays" 1625
Magpie’s Ladder from Richard Kirk on Vimeo.
On a related note to my last post, I thought I had posted this trailer for my illustrated collection of short stories Magpie’s Ladder (PS Publishing, 2019). The publication of this volume of 5 stories was a high point of the summer for me. I hope you enjoy the trailer, and the book!
– Richard.
Magpie’s Ladder, my illustrated collection of short stories, is currently available for pre-order. Copies of the unsigned edition are expected at PS Publishing at the end of May! I am currently signing the signature sheets for the signed editions. Please check the PS Publishing website for more information.
Here is a sampling of the illustrations:
Richard
This past week was productive. I handed in all of the artwork for Magpie’s Ladder (my forthcoming short story collection) to PS Publishing. Unfortunately I can’t show it to you yet, though if you follow me on Instagram you might have glimpsed some of the work in progress.
Instead, I am showing you this new watercolor piece called Crown of Coral. After a long, monochromatic winter I am in the mood for some color work. I hope you enjoy this piece. I have made it available on my Etsy site for a low price.
Work continues on edits for my new novel, Tailor of Echoes.
Richard
The good folks a PS Publishing posted an announcement in this week’s newsletter for a new edition of To Charles Fort With Love by CRK. It included my cover art – Entomologist’s Daughter.
Richard.
Further to my last post, PS Publishing has just posted its December newsletter. It includes the full wrap around illustration for Odin’s Girl by Kim Wilkins, which I share here. It also shows a little of an interior illustration, which you can see by following the link.
I am currently hard at work/ play creating the illustrations for Magpie’s Ladder (also mentioned in the newsletter). I will be posting some teasers on my Instagram account. So if you are interested, please follow me there. The link is at the bottom of this page.
Finally, I would be remiss not to throw in a plug for my novel Necessary Monsters published in June by Resurrection House. You can find it on Amazon or, in your local bookshop of choice.
PS Publications will be publishing my illustrated short story collection Magpie’s Ladder in 2018! I’ll post news about that project here as details become available. In the meantime, have a look at these two forthcoming titles from PS featuring my artwork and great cover design by Michael Smith. Give the PS site a visit if you have a few minutes, the catalogue is fantastic.
I just noticed that PS Publishing in the UK has listed Caitlin R. Kiernan’s A is for Alien in their Forthcoming Books section. The cover design incorporates one of my drawings.
– Richard.
This is a picture of my drawing table this afternoon. It’s a cloudy day, hence the bluish light. You are seeing the early stages of a new drawing that doesn’t even have a title yet, though I am leaning toward “The Curious Voyage” The working title will make more sense when the last major element is dropped in. So far I have penciled the composition and gone over everything with a dip pen and ink. I am preferring the nibs to technical pens at the moment because of the line strength and the variation you can get from adding pressure. The next step will be shading with diluted inks and brush. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this early peek.
I am happy to report that PS Publishing in the UK will be re-issuing several Caitlin R. Kiernan titles Tales of Pain and Wonder; To Charles Fort, With Love; A is for Alien; and The Ammonite Violin and Others. Some of the illustrations I created for Caitlin’s books will be used for these re-issues. For fun, here is one of my favorites, although I have no idea if it will be picked.
A book I am really enjoying at the moment is Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See (thanks Elizabeth!) This morning I came across this sentence. “Open your eyes, concludes the man, and see what you can with them before they close forever.” Haunting, beautiful words.
– Richard.
