Ideal Bookshelf 353: English Lit

I paint portraits of people through the spines of their favorite books (the ones that changed your life, or helped make you who you are today) for a project I call The Ideal Bookshelf. I've now made almost 400 of these pieces, and there are several books I've painted over and over again because they resonate with many, many people. To Kill a Mockingbird is number one on that list, but much of the rest of it is made up of classic English literature. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and the Bront' sisters still move us deeply, even 100+ years after their deaths. Generally speaking, I like to paint new things every day, so I'm constantly looking out for different editions of these books. This shelf is full of beautiful versions of iconic stories, including several recent Penguin ones (I'm a huge fan of U.K. cover designer Coralie Bickford-Smith, for instance, and love the U.S. deluxe paperback classics overseen by Paul Buckley), and a few from White's Books, as well as some amazing vintage ed