Author and Artist Celebrate New Book Release!
In the world of book illustration, my most frequent projects have been light-hearted, fun concepts with a narrative feel to them. Peter Johnson’s 15 Things That Your Black Friends Won’t Do is no exception. This short, humorous, tongue in cheek commentary on cultural differences was the perfect platform for my cartoon-style illustrations.
Peter Johnson is an accomplished actor, filmmaker, and writer, just to name of few of his professional endeavors. As an African American who’s closely familiar with cultural norms within a black urban community, he’s taken on the role of bridge-builder between cultures in this comedic comparison between black and white ways of approaching everyday life.
The illustrations for 15 Things are mere line drawings in a cartoon style as mentioned, but often packed with detail and layers of comedic value in and of themselves. As with all effective literary/art collaborations, the artwork and the writing serve to support one another.
The many hours of work that went into the book came to a celebratory climax last Friday as Pete took the helm of his book signing party at 464 Gallery in Buffalo, NY. The event was a class act featuring a live DJ, wonderful food, and a wonderful mood. Being surrounded by original art seemed somehow fitting as well. The party was well attended.
I must say one of the highlights of the event was the lemon cupcakes featuring a detailed, edible rendition of the book’s cover and main character, sporting his prodigious afro, laid right into the frosting of each and every cupcake! I’m clearly behind the digital curve, as I have yet to discover how one manages to run a cake through a printer and end up with camera-ready artwork. But clearly someone at the bake shop has this technology down cold.
Working with Peter was a rewarding experience, and there may be future collaborations yet to come. For now, let’s just be glad there’s one more voice of fun and good feeling out there, willing to use his talents to lighten the load of cultural differences and bring people together on the common ground of humor – a priceless value we all can share.