Pembral Forgets

an artist book about food, love and a boy who forgets something important

May 10, 2023

In honor of the upcoming Mother’s Day here’s a downloadable ebook version of a 38 page book I illustrated that was written by Steve Tubbs. It’s a story about fall leaves, good food and an absent-minded boy who forgets something very important but is loved anyway.

Towards the end of 2020, during the pandemic, I was asked to illustrate Steve's story Pembral Forgets. I did the illustrations by hand using ink, gouache and collage. Then I assembled it all as a unique artist book. In the photos below you're looking at the original artwork, the illustrated book pages for Pembral Forgets, gathered into a box that I made by hand in the shape of a book. You're seeing the 9 inch tall, 7 inch wide and 2.5 inch deep box-book on my worktable with all of the hand-made illustrated Pembral Forgets pages inside it. The black ribbon both marks a readers place and helps lift out the pages. (There are more photos of this unique artist box-book here.)

Then I made a series of printed reproductions of this artist book - available here. These printed books look and feel just like a regular hardback children's book.

You can see many more photos and video about Pembral Forgets, including a talk with Steve Tubbs, here.

I'm sharing this book with my paid subscribers first and then unlocking it on May 12 (today!) for everyone because we all need good food and to be loved despite our flaws. Plus you'll get to see the kind of handmade books my paid subscribers get regularly. Please feel free to share this newsletter. Thank you for being here!

Here's the downloadable version of Pembral Forgets below. It is 38 full color pages. I hope you'll enjoy it and feel free to share it with someone you love!