James Bone Nude on a Wicker Recliner Drawing on Collage, 1998 luminous Better for you to look

Better for you to look than for me to describe

or in a bathroom near an old claw-footed tub

and perfectly sturdy

dust-covered

I fell in love immediately with the illustrations on these old Villeroy & Boch enamelware dishes--and then realized they portray three characters from the famous French Guignol puppet theatre

James Bone Nude on a Wicker Recliner Drawing on Collage, 1998 luminous Better for you to lookI just snagged a handful of pieces by James Frederic Bone (1929 2015), the prolific and endlessly inventive Chicago artist who made this piece, and another in a similar manner listed separately. (+ more of his work to be posted shortly). Bone had a great line and terrific sense of humor which this pen and ink drawing animating a Victorian wicker reclining chair cut from an old catalog wonderfully exemplifies. To me, the best drawings seem effortless,