.jpg)
.jpg)
And because I never let an opportunity to pass this cover go past, here's one of my favourite Zouravliov covers.
Showing posts with label Vania Zouravliov. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vania Zouravliov. Show all posts
Monday, 2 July 2012
Zouravliov's Isherwoods
One of my favourite illustrators has been doing covers for one of my favourite writers, and I only just found out (though in my defence, I already owned all these books, and so was not looking for them in bookshops). They're the Christopher Isherwood covers by Vania Zouravliov for Vintage Classics UK. Vania's your man for creepy decadence (see The Berlin Novels, Goodbye to Berlin and Mr Norris Changes Trains).
.jpg)
.jpg)
And because I never let an opportunity to pass this cover go past, here's one of my favourite Zouravliov covers.
And because I never let an opportunity to pass this cover go past, here's one of my favourite Zouravliov covers.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Grimm
I got the latest Taschen catalogue last night, full of their usual mix of high art and ridiculously exensive porn. I assume there's someone out there who thinks $69.95 is a reasonable sum to spend on a book of photos of Kate Moss, but I hope my life never intersects with theirs. However, one book in there that I do need to own is Noel Daniel's upcoming fancy-pants edition of The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.
What Daniel has done is comb through 150 years of different Grimm editions and translations from all over the wrld, and chosen the best illustrations for the best stories, presenting them all together in one big book. It's a great idea which, like many ideas, I'm amazed nobody had before*.
Some innards:
This is also as good a time as any to post one of my other favourite covers, a sexy and ornate interpretation by Vania (or Ivan) Zouravliov for Vintage Classics.
* My own great ideas are never so great. The other night, waking up at 2am, I had what seemed at the time a bolt of inspiration: start a Tumblr called 'Books' Ends: The Last Word in Great Books', and each day I would post the last word from a great book, somehow revealing the natures of said books and their authors through their well-chosen final words. I have not yet done this, because the world doesn't really need another pointless Tumblr blog, but I'm still tempted.
What Daniel has done is comb through 150 years of different Grimm editions and translations from all over the wrld, and chosen the best illustrations for the best stories, presenting them all together in one big book. It's a great idea which, like many ideas, I'm amazed nobody had before*.
Some innards:
This is also as good a time as any to post one of my other favourite covers, a sexy and ornate interpretation by Vania (or Ivan) Zouravliov for Vintage Classics.
* My own great ideas are never so great. The other night, waking up at 2am, I had what seemed at the time a bolt of inspiration: start a Tumblr called 'Books' Ends: The Last Word in Great Books', and each day I would post the last word from a great book, somehow revealing the natures of said books and their authors through their well-chosen final words. I have not yet done this, because the world doesn't really need another pointless Tumblr blog, but I'm still tempted.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Niroot Puttapipat's Russian Legends
Having only just discovered the artwork of Thai-born, london-based Niroot Puttapipat, it must be shared! I encountered it first via the Folio Society's Myths and Legends of Russia, by Aleksandr Afanas’e.
See the rest of the illustrations here, and Puttapipat's artwork for Jane Austen here, for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám here, for Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book here, and for much else here. It's beautiful work, with a delicacy of touch and incredible intricacy that really appeals. The coloured work at those links reminds me of the best of Arthur Rackham, while the Russian legends shown above have the same beautiful and sinister appeal as the work of Vania Zouravliov's, whose cover for Vintage's edition of the Grimms' Fairy Tales I love.
See the rest of the illustrations here, and Puttapipat's artwork for Jane Austen here, for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám here, for Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book here, and for much else here. It's beautiful work, with a delicacy of touch and incredible intricacy that really appeals. The coloured work at those links reminds me of the best of Arthur Rackham, while the Russian legends shown above have the same beautiful and sinister appeal as the work of Vania Zouravliov's, whose cover for Vintage's edition of the Grimms' Fairy Tales I love.
Friday, 4 January 2008
Natasha Michaels' Sharp Teeth
The book is actually Toby Barlow's Sharp Teeth, and a damn good one it is too. Any description makes it sound silly (since it's a free-verse novel about Californian werewolves), but it's a gripping noir-ish crime/revenge/love story/thriller. It also includes some wonderfully evocative writing from the point of view of dogs; the equal of John Crowley's in Beasts (which is very high praise).
The cover is another example of effective use of black and white. It's by Natasha Michaels, about whom I can discover very little. Design week notes that "Random House's in-house team has come up with this bold cover design for ... a book about ancient werewolves living in modern-day Los Angeles. Natasha Michaels created the stark cover artwork, which continues within the pages, where free verse is peppered with haunting canine images created by Suzanne Dean."
I also wanted to talk about another cover artist who works extremely effectively in black and white. This is Russian-born, UK-based Vania (or Ivan) Zouravliov, who did the beautiful cover for Vintage's Grimm's Fairy Tales discussed in an earlier post. However, two things are stopping me. First of all, his website has died, so it's quite hard to get more information on him. Secondly, much of what I can find of his seems to be illustrative work for sleazy porn. This is simply too depressing for words. That someone with such skill and talent should have spent so much time doing beautifully detailed work for a bunch of knob-polishers seems an incredible waste.
Anyway, here are a couple of his good things. The first is a cover image for a collection of stories and poems for Poe (in both its more effective monochrome version, and the final colourised cover), and the second is from I know not what.
The cover is another example of effective use of black and white. It's by Natasha Michaels, about whom I can discover very little. Design week notes that "Random House's in-house team has come up with this bold cover design for ... a book about ancient werewolves living in modern-day Los Angeles. Natasha Michaels created the stark cover artwork, which continues within the pages, where free verse is peppered with haunting canine images created by Suzanne Dean."
I also wanted to talk about another cover artist who works extremely effectively in black and white. This is Russian-born, UK-based Vania (or Ivan) Zouravliov, who did the beautiful cover for Vintage's Grimm's Fairy Tales discussed in an earlier post. However, two things are stopping me. First of all, his website has died, so it's quite hard to get more information on him. Secondly, much of what I can find of his seems to be illustrative work for sleazy porn. This is simply too depressing for words. That someone with such skill and talent should have spent so much time doing beautifully detailed work for a bunch of knob-polishers seems an incredible waste.
Anyway, here are a couple of his good things. The first is a cover image for a collection of stories and poems for Poe (in both its more effective monochrome version, and the final colourised cover), and the second is from I know not what.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
