Picture This

Picture This
by Lynda Barry, with guest water colorist Kevin Kawula [741.5 Bar]

Picture This is part graphic memoir, part sketch book, part artist’s self help book and part drawing how-to book. Amidst all of these are decorative watercolors and drawings carefully illustrating the aforementioned parts. If paintings and drawings could talk, Barry’s writing is representative of what they would probably say. Strange and interesting musings throughout “Picture This,” cover diverse territories of her thoughts. Barry illustrates moments from her childhood in comic strips peppered throughout. She counters past insulting drawing critiques with written rebuttals, quirky collages and sketches. Her sense of humor comes in various short form drawings from her personification of a dust bunny (they do like gentle breezes, but hate vacuum cleaners) to a summer to-do checklist (don’t forget to stub your toe on a sprinkler or drink green Kool-Aid). All of these elements form a kind of storytelling collage. If you need some creative inspiration, a motivational pick me up after a bad critique or simply a road trip chuckle, this book is for you. Trivia: Friend and college classmate Matt Groening refers to Lynda Barry as, “Funk Queen of the Galaxy." Barry responded by noting that Groening is “Funk Lord of the USA.” [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try What It Is by Lynda Barry, One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, or Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli.] -- recommended by Glory B. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia page for Lynda Barry ] | [ an unofficial Lynda Barry web site ]

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