Suzanne Lagasa, a designer over at Chronicle Books, sent me their new publication 100 Girls on Cheap Paper. Don’t be fooled by the title. This book is actually a collection of gorgeous drawings and paintings on paper by German illustrator Tina Berning. Suzanne wrote me that she first learned of Tina’s work from the cover Tina illustrated of the pope for The New York Times magazine. A few years later she learned about Tina’s art show in Berlin called 100 Girls on Cheap Paper and helped get this book, a reprint of the show catalog, published. And I’m so glad she did because I too have fallen in love with Tina’s drawings. Each piece in the book is more interesting than the next. Some of the portraits are made of ink brush strokes, others of shaded pencil or dripping paint, or a variety of the three. I am most attracted to the loose way she renders her portraits no matter the medium. Some seem like quick sketches in only a few strokes but they still have so much personality and capture a strong mood. You can get a copy of this book here. And she all of Tina’s 100 lovely ladies here.

© Julia Rothman 2007