I'M IN A BOOK!

I recently had the pleasure of contributing a small written piece to THE UNKNOWN PORTRAITS, a new book of illustrations and stories by the art duo kozyndan! They are friends-of-friends, but I'm still not quite sure how I managed to sneak into the project. I just received my copy this past weekend, and it is a great looking book!



DETAILS ABOUT THE BOOK:

Originating from a found photo album unearthed in a Venice Beach thrift shop, kozyndan were inspired to create imagined personae documenting the essence of these lost photographs. This clothbound hardcover is comprised solely of small, detailed graphite portraits, each piece captures the surreal humour and irreverence that has become a trademark of kozyndan's distinctive style of artwork.

Illuminating select portraits are short stories inspired and imagined by a community of artist friends and writers including Pasha Malla, Mark "frosty" McNeill, Ryan Sands, Mariko Tamaki, Maggie MacDonald, Nick Flanagan and Porous Walker.

Hardcover. 8.5 x 8.5 inches.
150 pages. Over 100 illustrations.

You can buy a copy direct from their site!

For my part, I chose to tackle an illustration titled "Samurai Sam"... Their portrait of "Sam" features a charmingly lame white guy with horn-rimmed glasses, tombstone teeth wearing a yukata, and flanked by a stream of sakura swirls:


I decided to write up a faux-obituary for this imagined dude, with a number of self-indulgent Japan nerd references that folks will hopefully enjoy. Extra points to anyone who recognizes the last name:


It was a real treat to be a part of what turned out to be a lush and creepy book of illustrations. As part of the project, Kozy did small portraits of each contributor! Here is me, looking like a mentally-disturbed individual:


They even sent me the original art for my wall!


The pieces (done in pencil) are all really surreal, trippy and charming. (How do they get these details with just a pencil?) Here are a few of the other choice portraits:




Many thanks again to kozyndan for making me a part of this project, and hope folks check it out!