Adrian Tomine

I've been eyeing this book since the holidays began. Called 'New York Drawings', it is a collection of illustrations by Adrian Tomine for the New Yorker (but he also illustrates his own graphic novels). I'm not too familiar with comic culture but there's something about Tomine's work that really draws me in. These days I can't leave Kinokuniya without at least touching the book. What I really love is the subtleties and hints of everyday life he brings to his work:

"Two strangers, both reading the same novel, share a fleeting glance between passing subway cars. A bookstore owner locks eyes with a neighbor as she receives an Amazon package. Strangers are united by circumstance as they wait on the subway stairs for a summer storm to pass."

That's from the blurb of the book via Amazon but from reading that I found it so beautiful. The book is also wonderfully designed - simple & subtle typography but it really brings out his illustrations.

I always love seeing the work leading up to the final product. Tomine's process for the first cover he did for The New Yorker can be seen here. The following are a small glimpse into his magic and you can read Tomine's entry here:

    

More of his work:

    

    

Storytelling is powerful. When I think about design and creativity, the institutions (and by that I mean universities) will always stress on a "strong concept".  I don't have much of a story to tell. Maybe I do but they come in little fragments, so it doesn't really make much sense, not in the real world at least. I've never been strong in clarity and cohesion. At this moment I think I lack much of a life experience to be able to build anything with such wow factor in the thought behind it. Soon though, very soon... I think life will suddenly hit me with a gush of an icy cold wind... and perhaps quite literally so.