This drawing first appeared in The New York Times Book Review for a 2013 special issue. My work is usually G-rated, so creating a PG-13 cover was an interesting challenge.
After completing the cover illustration, I ended up finishing the other sketches for a series of posters on Love & Books. See the other designs beyond the paywall below.
Side note: “The Book of Love” is a song by The Magnetic Fields with these lyrics:
The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts, and figures
And instructions for dancing Back to the cover. Cover designs include much more brainstorming than my ordinary process. I often go into a creative frenzy, trying to explore every visual possibility. And I usually end up disappointed that only one can be chosen.
Here’s what else I came up with:
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