BOOK GIFTS

WHITNEYS BOOK PAINTINGS BOOK GIFTS

a Great Gift Idea for the book lover in your life!

Have you ever thought about painting the pages of your books? It sounds crazy, right? As book lovers, we have a sacred duty to not cause harm to our precious stories. Whitneys Book Paintings Book Gifts throws that whole idea out the window!

Whitney paints the sides of books. Not the spines… the PAGES! And her paintings are INCREDIBLE. She accurately and beautifully paints scenes from that book.

Scroll down to see Whitneys EXCLUSIVE Books 4 Movies autobiography as well as photos of her work.

Don’t forget to check out her Etsy page, where you can purchase a pre-painted book or get your own commission!

WHITNEYS AUTOBIOGRAPHY

HOW IT STARTED

I am a stay-at-home mom with 2 young kids. I started painting books in April. My sister was into bookstagram and collecting books. She asked me to paint a book for her. I painted The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and we both loved it!

Following that, I started getting into bookstagram and fore-edge painting. It has been so fun to recreate images from all these beloved books and movies. I’ve read most of the books I’ve painted, either in the past or before I even began painting them.

My artistic skills come from my dad. He does pinstriping, airbrushing, and lettering. I would sit for hours watching how the tiniest details slowly unfolded into a stunning picture. Although I spent a lot of time watching him paint, I am self-taught.

I did take a couple of art classes in high school and college but I grew up drawing and painting and just trying to learn different techniques.

MY INSPIRATION

My favorite artist is Claude Monet, I would describe my style as an impressionist. I have so many genres I love but fantasy and historical fiction are the top contenders in books and movies.

The world-building aspect of fantasy, all the magic, and intrigue are what really get me hooked. Nothing beats being sucked into a fantasy realm. I also love learning about history and different time periods – how people lived and interacted.

An author I’d love to meet is JK Rowling. I remember my 4th grade teacher reading the first Harry Potter book to our class, and I was captivated. I’ve read those books so many times since. In a perfect world, J.K. Rowling and I would sit by a fireplace, drinking hot chocolate and talking about all things fantasy.

I use watercolor for the fore-edge paintings. Other media I enjoy are oil and pen and ink. I primarily paint on canvas. In terms of hobbies. I love being outdoors, swimming, hiking, and cooking.

STRUGGLING ARTIST

For my art business, the most challenging part is managing my time. Multitasking with kids. I am very focused but it can be hard managing social media along with painting, creating content, trying to market, and learning to run a business.

The business side of social media is my newest skill. I didn’t even have Instagram until 3 months ago! But, I’ve met the nicest people on that platform and I couldn’t be more grateful.

The most difficult projects are smaller books – trying to get the detail into a tiny space. I’m used to painting bigger pieces, slapping on color, and seeing what it becomes.

With fore-edge painting, you have to be very gentle and meticulous, and I’ve loved learning this new technique.

GOALS

It would be amazing to teach an art class one day.

One thing that was always missing from my art classes was the FUN/. The teachers were always so concerned with technicality, but I think art is just a conversation with oneself, putting your thoughts and emotions down with colors instead of words.

I’m a mood painter, and it always makes me happy to paint with beautiful colors.

One interesting fact about me is that I have an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. I am slowly losing my vision. I’m almost completely blind in my right eye and I am starting to slowly lose my peripheral vision in my left eye as well. So I’m interested to see what happens in the future and how my art continues to develop.

Regardless, I think this diagnosis was one of the best things that happened to me because it really made me realize how we shouldn’t squander our talents.