Hasta La Ideas

Dave Eggers’ clever new book of drawings

Dave Eggers, author and founder of the indie publishing house McSweeney’s recently unveiled yet another creative talent: the knack for drawing. His oversized “It Is Right to Draw Their Fur: Animal Renderings” arrives in McSweeney’s book release club members’ mailboxes this week and his first collection of drawings.

Packaged in a delightful cardboard portfolio, it consists of 26 posters on heavy and regular stock in three sizes of animals Eggers drew with China marker in the late hours of the evening at the end of 2009 into this year. Most are accompanied by nonsensical sayings as imagined by him, an attempt to put words to the animals’ staid-to-confused expressions.

Eggers explains in the enclosed booklet that his drawing background stretches back to his childhood days, when he aspired to become a painter after his hero Manet. He later made extra money through his illustrations. The pictures he’s drawn of animals are simplistic, but the detail lies in the fur. Strokes upon strokes create a coat that you can almost feel with your eyes.

For non-subscribers, “It Is Right to Draw Their Fur’s” official release date is 1 October 2010, but it’s already available from McSweeney’s online store or from Amazon.