I have, at last, found enough time to catch my breath and write a new, long overdue post for this blog.
You see, I have had a busy start to this year.
First was the publication, in January, of my first children’s book, The Rabbit Joke, which is designed primarily as a ‘read to me‘ book.
A book for parents or older siblings, to read to the younger ones. The Rabbit Joke lends itself to being read to groups in schools and kindergartens too.
The Rabbit Joke is an outsized, hardcover, fully illustrated, perfect bound, landscape book, from https://www.peecho.com/print/en/263512
In February, I released ‘Life in the War Zone’ a collection of stories, based on true accounts, of what life is like living between warring factions in an area of conflict.
Life in the War Zone takes a serious, no holds barred look at the devastation and trauma of life in the battlefields of the Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Israel, Palestine, Libya, Lebanon and El Salvador.
Ebooks are available direct from me, via my website. http://paulznewpostbox.wixsite.com/paul-white
Paperbacks from Amazon.
USA https://www.amazon.com/Life-War-Zone-collection-personal/dp/1542338700
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-War-Zone-collection-personal/dp/1542338700
Also during February, I published a ‘Coffee Table’ book called ICONIC, or to give it its full title, Iconic – Legends of music immortalised in art.
Iconic is an 8 x 8 inch, hardcover, perfect bound, glossy, book, containing a number of my own artworks, portraits of some of the most well-loved musical talent ever known, such as David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis and many more.
With each portrait is an abridged biography of each artist, covering their life and times. https://www.peecho.com/checkout/14716200169619823/279042
March saw the publication of The Pussers Cook Book.
This became an instant hit and an Amazon bestseller. It is still, as I write this over a month after the books launch, at number three in its Amazon category.
The Pussers Cook Book details twenty-two of the best loved dishes, served on Royal Naval ships circa 1960’s to 1980’s. Along with the recipes, there are plenty of jokes and tall stories, some legendary myths are also dispelled!
You do not have to be a sailor to enjoy the Pussers Cook Book. It makes the perfect gift for a freind or loved one.
Paperbacks from Amazon. goo.gl/eTwfWN
Hardcover from my printers. www.peecho.com/print/en/282666
You will see by this, why my time this year has been at a premium.
Now, I have touched on art, as in the title of this post, by mentioning my tribute to the great musicians in the book, ICONIC. Which clearly shows the link between writing, books and art.
As do all those millions of books with illustrations, photographs, pictures and images inside. Let alone the amazing and wonderful artistry shown by many book cover designers.
In that respect, books and art are almost inseparable, and never exclusive.
But there is more…
Art has always been a ‘go to‘ place for me, when I need to rest my mind from concentrating on writing. Whilst my form of art, digital painting, is still a creative discipline, it is creative in a totally differing way to the mindful concentration needed for writing.
In that respect, I find creating digital art relaxing, even ‘freeing up‘ the subconscious mind to continue its own creative endeavours, whilst I take my consciousness on a holiday of colour and form.
The problem arises, much as it does when writing, or I should say, when one has finished writing and has published their book.
Who will see it, who will read it, who will buy it?
It is all well and dandy to have a book, three books, ten? Sitting on the shelves getting dusty and covered in cobwebs. What we want, what we need is someone (Many someones) to come along and actually read our words.
The same is true of art. What is the point of creating wonderful, thought provoking, stimulating images if they are simply going to be stored as a digital code on a memory stick. If they are never going to be made onto a canvass, or a poster, or even printed onto a tee-shirt or coffee mug?
Both of those scenarios are, in my humble opinion, a total waste of time, effort and creative energy.
So…what to do about it all?
Firstly, I have made a Facebook page to help direct people to my works.
The main site is my artwork website, where you can browse through a selection of works albums and find links to the other places my work is available. https://goo.gl/pyPI7i
That is why I am talking about art on a writing blog.
Thanks for reading this…if you have read this far!
I will be back to posting my normal Ramblings from now on.
Cheers, Paul.
Ramblings from a Writer's Mind 