Without a book or an author to work with, I had some difficulty coming up with a generic book signing poster. I didn’t like the idea of portraying a book or hand, book and pen.

My idea was to create a simple, inviting scene that would encourage people to come in for conversation and refreshments, and, once the hook was in, turn them on to the book. The angular shadows were used to draw people in.

I like to use silhouettes, because the silhouette allows the viewer’s mind to fill in the details. I don’t want to be obtuse, but I do want my audience to think about my work. I used red, black and white because that’s what the preliminary sketches told my hand to use.