Macbeth illustrations for a Study the Great Books study guide.
The Scottish play, as Macbeth is sometimes called, is my first brush with Shakespeare. I have gone back to this brutal morality tale many times since.
More study guides for more great books at https://stgb.substack.com/
These interior illustrations are for a book for young readers about a sea turtle's adventures with people and his own successful business.
The book will be published near the end of 2024.
I began beekeeping last year. Still no honey. But this year, things are going to be different. The thrills and challenges are stories in my Substack—and the illustrations don't sting.
Read more and subscribe: joewilley.substack.com/t/the-bees
I live in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay region. In the river that runs along the boundary of my hometown—Cambridge, Maryland—striped bass, commonly called rockfish, are abundant. I wanted a reminder of the iconic fish for my phone.
Perhaps you would like one, too.
I read 1984 (the novel) in 1984 (the year). It still chills me. At the time, I thought George Orwell’s ideas were too dark to be plausible. I was wrong.
The works of Russian novelists span the spectrum of emotion. Fear, corruption, retribution, mercy—it’s all woven together with morality and mortality.
The portraits here are part of an ever-growing group.
I was privileged to work with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum on a poster for a call for artists in the Chesapeake Bay region. The Changing Chesapeake exhibition will showcase artwork representing the nature of change as people interact with the environment.
I like oysters. It was a privilege to work with the US Oyster Festival. This illustration (ink and watercolor on paper) of everyone's favorite bivalve was awarded to an oyster shucking contest winner. That is truly an honor if you are from the Chesapeake Bay region.
The Brandy Alexander is now over 100 years old. The earliest known recipe for the chocolaty and creamy cocktail comes from Recipes for Mixed Drinks, written in 1916 by bartender Hugo Ensslin. At least one historian claims that the cocktail was birthed at the opulently lavish Rector’s in New York in the years leading to Prohibition. The creator? A bartender named Troy Alexander.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces of cognac
1 ounce of dark creme de cacao
1 ounce of cream
Garnish: grated nutmeg
Recipe:
Add cognac, dark creme de cacao, and cream into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass.
Grate fresh nutmeg as a garnish.
This illustration and story will be in the holiday edition of Edible Delmarva.
This series of dead Presbyterian portraits were completed for Log College Press. Log College specializes in making the work of 19th Century theologians and pastors available to a modern audience.
Though the Impressionist movement was once aggressive, if not revolutionary, it now is usually seen as a normal, non-polished, or academic way to paint.
I live in an area near many well-known museums that house important works. There are almost always traveling exhibitions that visit. One of my favorites was “Monet, Manet, and the Gare Saint-Lazare.” The exhibit at the National Gallery in DC brought together the two artists and their paintings of the Gare Saint-Lazare train station in Paris. That exhibition made me a fan of Monet. I always will be.
“The staccato booming of his feet coincided with the passionate point the pastor was making. The sound made many fainthearted congregants gasp or let out a breathy shriek. T’s hand hit the door with a church-shaking force. His pants, despite his efforts, quickly dropped below his knees and became a khaki tripwire.”
Spot illustration for the book Revival.
Read more on Substack: joewilley.substack.com/p/the-fall
Birds are an unending source of enjoyment and wonder for me. From the smallest sparrow to the largest hawk, birds declare the beauty of God's creation in a nearly unequaled way. They are moveable sculptures and soaring paintings.
