It doesn’t do to expect perfection of our leaders, or to look back with 150 years of hindsight and see only their shortcomings. “History” does not judge people; posterity judges them by the fruit of their actions—the justice they enact, the evils they undo…or the tyranny they bring down on their people in response to polls, popularity contests or insular, self-reinforcing ideology.
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I stood at the tomb of Abraham Lincoln with a prayer that, flawed as I am, I might have a bit of his mantle to do the best good I can in my own time. I can’t help but wonder how differently our nation’s history might have gone during Reconstruction had he not been murdered. We might have been able to achieve a better, more rapid outcome of civil rights, instead of evil actors reversing the hard-won progress that cost 600,000 lives, and perpetuating another hundred years of segregation and racial oppression. We can only wonder. Or maybe it’s the case, as I heard somewhere, that evil takes four generations to root out.
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God help us in our own time, to recognize darkness and resist the temptation to call it light; to resist hatred, division and racial essentialism and call it its opposite.
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Sketches from 2019 from Abraham Lincoln’s homestead and tomb, Springfield, IL. Prismacolor pencil, moleskine sketchbook.
This was honestly one of my favorite pieces of the year to work on. If you'd like to get your hands on this special illustrated edition of Nicholas Kotar's novella Son of the Deathless, you can get it through our Kickstarter here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1402845448/jolabokaflod-christmas-book-flood-in-a-box
We're so grateful that we were fully funded in about 4 hours, so there are new perks opening up for everyone! We're almost at our 3rd stretch goal, which is very exciting. Go on over and choose your level!
My husband Ben is creating a series of short book trailers for BERLINERS, and I swear, each one is better than the last! Here's the first! Feel free to share on your social media!
This isn't the official trailer, but I wanted to talk about how the idea for Berliners came to me. You can pre-order at https://bookshop.org/books/berliners-9780593428375/9780593428368 and, you know, that other place that starts with an "A".
Hi all,
Since I haven't been as active on here as in the past, I'm going to officially disband this Locals community. If you'd like to stay tuned with my work, the best way to do that is via my email newsletter. Just go to https://vesperillustration.com and at the bottom of every single page there is a newsletter signup. I don't send a ton of mail, just important updates like appearances and new projects. Let's see if I come back in the future, but for now, if you've been a supporter, feel free to end your support and stay in touch via the newsletter or Instagram (@vesperillustration). Thanks to all of you—nothing's over, just paused!
Vesperisms Community, dears:
I'm so excited to announce today that I am doing a collaboration with fantasy author Nicholas Kotar (the Raven Son series, and the fabulous fairy tale/fantasy podcasts In a Certain Kingdom and Fantasy for Our Time).
The dead will rise. The living will fall. The Deathless will reign...
This collaboration is a very special edition of Kotar's novella, Son of the Deathless, available in hardcover with illustrations by none other than Yours Truly—just in time for the Holidays! Here's an illustration in progress to whet your appetite.
With book design by Graphic and Surface Designer for film and television, Heather Pollington (Harry Potter, Malificent, Marvel, and more.), this is going to be a beautiful, gift-worthy edition that will be perfect for yourself or for your holiday giving. Son of the Deathless is one of those cozy winter reads that you want to pair with a warm beverage, a blanket and a crackling fire.
So how does one obtain this ...
