The Art and Times of Rebecca Chaperon

           Vancouver has such an amazing array of artists these days- most of whom are toiling away in their garret like studios- freezing all winter and sweltering all summer- OK well that may be a tad over exaggerate. One Vancouver artist who congers up such images of the solo artist in said garret is Rebecca Chaperon- creator of the soon to be released tome from Simply Read Books Eerie Dearies- 26 Ways To Miss School.

        I have long been a fan of Rebecca's work and have been fortunate enough to watch her grow as an artist and individual for the better part of the last decade- that is to say she is a dear friend. All that aside I am a great admirer of her work- the way she can lend a narrative to almost any scene- be it with the placement of a lock of drifting hair or the glance of a wayward school girl's eye. Rebecca tells stories through her paintings- they need no words only imagination or a bit of astral projection.

       In her own words "Eerie Dearies is an unusual book that offers a carefully crafted & alphabetized selection of twenty-six beautifully illustrated excuses for being absent from school. Faded and well-used book covers serve as compelling backgrounds to each of these delicately rendered acrylic paintings, creating an atmosphere akin to an old and dusty collection of darkly humorous myths. This bizarre and astonishing ABC book contains 26 illustrations of absent school girls in ephemeral landscapes. These intriguing figures are at once pale and wan and amusingly dramatic."

     
        Rebecca's book Eerie Dearies- 26 Ways To Miss School available for- pre order- here- the special edition pre-order comes chock full of goodies like stickers and cards. This December the Grunt Gallery is hosting an art exhibition and book signing for Eerie Dearies- it sounds like the evening will be loads of fun and school yard hi jinx - as well as the opportunity to view the twenty six illustrations together for the final time. Some of the original paintings from the book are still for sale- a few have been snapped up by folks in the know- check out Rebecca's blog for more information.

          Having watched Rebecca work on this series for quite some time now I am very excited to see the final product come together. Of course I have only seen a tiny bit of what goes into the making of a book- I know that beyond the art  Rebecca put in hours and hours of planning and work. I can only imagine what it must be like to take a book from inception through to publication- watching your little idea grow to become a tangible thing that people actually hold and read!

        We all know that I love to support local talent- I think it is important- regardless of time of year- to think about buying as close to home as possible- when you buy from a local artist or artisan you are buying a part of that person's dream- you are buying a moment- you are contributing to the world in a way no purchase at any big box store ever possibly will. So I urge you to check out Rebecca's web shop- place a pre-order for a truly wonderful book and in return get a piece of pure magic!