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Signed by Graeme Base!
Opening like a family album, this beautifully produced art book begins with the tale of esteemed artist Graeme Base's childhood, complete with photographs of the artist as a boy with older sister, Anna, and older brother, Patrick. Theirs was a childhood filled with music and books, such as The Tales of Beatrix Potter, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and The Wind in the Willows. Graeme doodled early on, and by Grade 5 was recognized by his teacher as a gifted artist. Although he didn't start out a great reader, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy made him a convert. In high school, he discovered Albrecht Dürer, and Base's drawing "The New Boy," modeled on Dürer's Rhinoceros, could serve as a blueprint to Base's later works. Watts nicely mixes personal and professional anecdotes, highlighting for example how Base met his wife, Robyn, in a band, how like-minded they were, and how supportive of one another's creative work. The volume pairs pencil studies with finished artwork, and reveals that the opening illustration for Animalia remains the artist's favorite (inspired by a 1978 album cover, Jethro Tull's Heavy Horses). Watts devotes an entire chapter to 12 of Graeme Base's books, the last being Enigma (see above) and closes with a chronology of his oeuvre and awards. A must for Graeme Base fans.
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