![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdMZrM2jihRks2dKok9eLUT0eZCb5iLAo_9eoeePPJyYbSYSmgu_jlC8v7_yKcr2tEyxoG1DbX8PcvBqmBIjhdSMHrCbSaEUb1_j5TPHk_DwauqdO5V9dcbWZsjtWdo3jFC5zmHyMJMMP/s1600/Hand-drawing-of-Bloom-by-Joyce.jpg) |
Portrait of Leopold Bloom by Mr. Joyce |
When I started this project at the end of 2009, I had drawn almost nothing at all since being thrown out of my art A-level 10 years previously (it’s a long story). You can really tell in the early pages that I would do anything to avoid having to make a mark of my own on paper. That fear of actually drawing anything played a large part in defining the style of the first chapter, as you can see from the collage and tracing and big cut-out-looking shapes.
But I didn’t want to keep doing that. I can’t say I’m proud of every illustration on this site, but I am proud of how hard I pushed myself. Over the course of chapter one I tried lots of different things. When I got to chapter two, I decided I’d draw the whole thing in a kind of vintage cartoon style that was well beyond my abilities at the time. Generally, I’d just start to feel like I was getting confident in one style by the time I reached the end of the chapter, and then I had to choose another one. Some of my experiments worked and some of them didn’t, but even if some of them make me cringe now, I gained something from all of them. Or, even if I didn’t gain anything, I’m pretty sure they did me make me any worse.
It’s probably a bad sign if you can’t see any flaws in your own work. I can often perhaps be a little too critical (my wife says I get “a touch of the English”). But I’m really pleased with how these illustrations for Dubliners have turned out, and I can’t wait to share them all with you. To coincide with the crowdfunding campaign for the first edition, I’m going to start posting them here every couple of days. I hope you like them. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSk52YRXVQVOuaNwcUlwUaN7fmruUlJp2sg1Z0joqZ4pHWJpQpg39hNQwYtJor4B47wfbmVXWOCkv8Vgfb15EqEh9OwQ_1cPVQxPtOy4K4Dd3JSMYnoyS2gy3c74CimYNaDlFAcey6IN_r/s200/fw7+02.jpg) |
The tracing period |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinF5m78hfZcsuoq5QYcFDP5sedfALRzCO-UoS9Q3kQ7EoQooC1xhb1sOEZit-Khbl3EGGA5ZKeOUgmg5biU1np5VD4wCoVTVGsPsI47YvsQi9jujqxo9A3QpT-8sck7Ab7SpoZCsqZ9x8v/s200/fw26.jpg) |
Getting comfortable... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugPyefAe9PgGgbZHBgzhYl3kTKSJLOxv77cLjf2EcCj4Ig44DXnYjNf5zsUeHFF3U1pNR8CbEP1LHzQYvOKiyHxMaDzguKaNVjO7DXe6dmHzHxdyxAMMtpRzzbOrk7CsD53mipMBSieNf/s200/fw39+03.jpg) |
...and getting deeply uncomfortable |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhGic_vnPlowJyHdqZVhDIC-ZNxFV3TtCtFQADkBtgNr5_Jl1dHjPiG-baIQcD-4pmccKaIQQdpYBBIY34nSmimNJONGftoazMzc7XGANI1Sn4YL9qOkb29z3NvHlAgmNH8MNb4_x5jqP/s200/fw169+02.jpg) |
Just get back on that horse! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4y_J9K3bw16RFgswXa1aGggz5JhDN1G3kUPNJI_ylWCOa1hLs7AF1QdO4mvxMBKp5b-rx2VlNDTsfB1vrIDB-O80290ZraUceAqJqqSal8wjV_I8DlFoqmMqWUE47Hsfc9u-1_fPHBjSw/s200/11+A+Painful+Case+08+xs.jpg) |
And it “only” took five years... |
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2 comments:
What you have done is amazing. Thanks for sharing your gift. Cheers from Argentina
Thank you, that means a lot to me!
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