Roaming around Barnes and Noble the other day, I came across "Charley Harper: an Illustrated Life," and was instantly smitten. I have always loved Charley Harper (and always believed I would have done better in science class had he illustrated my biology text book) and I do believe that this was the most beautiful coffee table book I have ever seen. And how playful! Children and adults alike might enjoy it!
I do love buffalo and other plains critters.
These collages are some of my favorite images in the book: all these bugs and lizards and platypus swarm together so harmoniously.
Alas, this book was out of my price-range, so I had to content myself with only a brief look. Charley has something quite interesting to say about art and ecosystems:
"I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe."
Indeed!
