Mike stilkey uses an unusual medium to create his impossibly charming sculptures books. Using disposed and discarded reading material, the. Artist mike stilkey uses the covers of books reclaimed from library trash heaps as a canvas for his whimsical paintings. Would you mind if an artist repurposed one of your books into a sculpture. Stilkey uses a combination of ink, colored pencil, paint, and lacquer on the sculptures. New painted book sculptures by mike stilkey daily design. The labased artist, who had always found it hard to paint on something white and empty, uses the spines of stacked books as canvases for his art. For more ways to get your creativity flowing, read on.
American artist mike stilkey uses books discarded by libraries to create his unusual artworks. Written by the doyenne of artists books, hedi kyle, the art of the fold is a wonderful insight into the work of a truly skilled artist. Painted book sculptures by mike stilkey daily design. Artist mike stilkey has created a series of book sculptures in which he paints fantastical animal and human characters directly on stacks of books.
Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer stilkey creates whimsical, and at times melancholic, painted sculptures of arranged. These 12 works of book art and architecture transcend the messages contained. See more ideas about artist, book sculpture and book art. Old man questioning existence while dogs wait for ball. Most of his childhood was spent in malibu lake, a small town stilkey describes as a hippy party community. After spending time creating a highend retail boutique exhibit in the city earlier this year, he decided to take on an even bigger challenge and cover the entire ground floor of hong kongs times square, a 12story major shopping center and office tower complex stilkey is wellknown for his sitespecific. See more ideas about book sculpture, book art and painted books. My reading and word obsession progressed to school book fairs and weekly visits to the library. Mike stilkey book sculpture building timelapse video youtube. From age 8 to 14, stilkey attended a different school each year. Working with ink, paint, colored pencil, and lacquer, he creates lighthearted paintings of humans and animals alike. Book sculpture reminiscent created by mike stilkey. Book artist pam langdon breathes new life into unwanted books. He works with a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer to create each artwork that can vary from anthropomorphic animals playing instruments to portraits of men and women inspired by weimarera german expressionism.
Painter mike stilkey uses books as the substrate for his paintings, stacking walls full of old books and then painting his fanciful illustrations on the spines to give these discarded texts new life have you done any book art. Could be interesting on a small scale, maybe with paperbacks. The book is beautifully illustrated with hedis finished works of art. Whimsical paintings from books by mike stilkey interior. Some artists get inspired by a blank white canvas, but mike stilkey isnt one of them. You can do this on the computer, or on your own with a little. Paintings book sculptures projects world economic forum orange county great park monrovia public library ipic theatres beverly hills public library. Whatever your response, there is one word you cannot ignore. The mike stilkey book sculptures have a novel design radical possibility. If i can paint on them, im giving them a second chance. I also love to stock up on books at annual book sales like cbc calgary reads big book sale or the reset society of calgary book sale. Discarded library books cant be recycled because of the glue used for binding, so stilkey has found a way to give them a second lease on life.
Artist mike stilkey uses the covers of discarded library books as canvases for his whimsical paintings, writes kathryn bromwich. Using a pile of books as your canvas an awesome book art. The show was full of paintings, collages and of course the famous painted sculptures of books were. Elephants play the piano, peacocks sport school ties and. Mar 15, 2012 mike stikeys whimsical paintings on old books.
Secondhand store employees beautiful book folding art share mike stilkeys salvaged book paintings with a friend. Please wash your hands and practise social distancing. Isaac salazar takes a book, makes a lot of folds on the inside pages and out pops a typographic phrase like. I prefer to have 40 folds per letter as that gives you a cleaner image. Mike stilkeys paintings on salvaged books in pictures. Custom folded book art, custom name, timeless font, book sculpture, unique gift, wedding gift, gift for her, book lover, bridal shower gift jojosreticules. The art of mike stilkey finds a home in stacked book. I looked at aspects of the condition of the book in lesson 2 of my basic book folding course but you should also make sure that youre book does not move around when your working with it. New paintings on salvaged books by mike stilkey colossal. Over the years, weve featured the wonderfully whimsical work of mike stilkey a few times see here and here and now the artist is back with some fresh. And there is the inescapable comparison to such moody german expressionist artists from the 1930s as otto dix and egon schiele. Russianborn artist ekaterina panikanova, who now splits her time between her hometown of st.
Mike stilkeys book paintings give new life to salvaged. How to make accurate folds and create stunning book art. Islam aly concoctions 4 a handmade artist book at seager gray gallery in mill. This is just one piece from her stunning errata collection, in which she approaches the books pages as part canvas, part mosaic. In the absence of a standard blank canvas, mike stilkey paints his dark. Mike stilkey gives books new life as art huffpost uk. If you dont have photoshop, you can still make a patterneven by handusing my striped backgrounds. Character art painted on stacks of books by mike stilkey. I recommend buying books with at least 300400 pages as that will usually cover most words to fold.
He is best known for creating small and largescale installations that use discarded books as their canvas. He stacks the hardcover books and paints directly on their spines. The pages are precisely folded to reveal messages that the artist. Mike is a 39yearold from california whose ascent in the art world has been recent and swift and he.
Bibliotheca 1 tales to digestamazing book art love the creativitypam langdon flickr. Mike stilkey hits the books to make art entertainment. Using pen and ink and acrylics, stilkey has painted the books spines to depict a scene where wild and domestic animals are, as he puts it, taking back their. Cara barers photographs of splayed out, crumpled, and folded book. Art book sculptures by mike stilkey the redhead riter. Below are links to several striped backgrounds for books with 352, 462, 550, 616 and 792 pages. They range in size from a few books to wallsized installations. Mike stilkey s paintings on salvaged books in pictures mike stilkey s paintings on salvaged books in pictures. For years, weve been following mike stilkeys evergrowing collection of painted book art. And we are absolutely delighted with his new show, which took place last summer in hong kong. When i was very young, my mother used to read to me every night before i went to sleep.
Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. See more ideas about book art, book sculpture and art. Mike stilkey, the artist behind the book art you see around campus i am of such a mixed opinion. Stilkey debuted his first book sculpture while exhibiting work at blkmrkt. Youll want it to match the size of the book, and make sure that youve got margins of about an inch inch and a half from the bottom and top of your book.
Most libraries have thousands and thousands of books that. Mike stilkey is an artist from alta dena, california, who creates amazing works of art by stacking spinepainted books. Labased artist mike stilkey creates whimsical painted sculptures out of stacked books. Mike stilkeys wonderfully whimsical book paintings. Folded and rolled, the pages from each book create an overall form which exudes.
This piece, entitled discarded romance, has found a permanent. The melancholy characters of artist mike stilkey are even more captivating. In a previous interview, stilkey says i was painting on book pages for forever, and actually published a book in 2005 titled 100 portraits in which i. Using a pile of books as your canvas an awesome book art mike stilkey book spine art. Mike stikeys whimsical paintings on old books book. Amazing book paintings by mike stilkey oddity central. Weve been fans of labased book artist mike stilkey for quite a while now, so we were psyched when my modern met clued us in about his new exhibition, full of smiles and soft intentions, which went up this month in hong kongs times square. Sometimes hell paint on panel or watercolor paper, but he prefers to use historicallysignificant objects, such as vintage book pages or the books themselves. Made from old book covers amazing paintings by mike stilkey art mike stilkey is the artist in charge of this book spine masterpiece painted books by mike stilkey. His cast of characters an odd mix of whimsical personas evoke the magic realism of germanys weimar era or the intensity of. Hedi will show you how to bind a book and fold paper to create over 35 of her cutfold book designs. Mikes most recent exhibition was this past march at the gilman contemporary. Artist mike stilkey has created a series of book sculptures in which he paints fantastical animal and human characters directly on stacks of.
Mike stilkey man comforting sad piano 2018 available. Mike stilkeys new solo exhibit opened this month in hong kong. More whimsical book paintings by mike stilkey 7 pieces book art. Petersburg and rome, created this work using vintage books, paint, and a visionary mind. Artist uses salvaged books as the most unlikely of canvases. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of.
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