I’m delighted to share some exciting news with you. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Penguin Vintage on the jacket design for Ian McEwan’s latest novel ‘What We Can Know’. Working on this project has been a real honour—bringing together Ian’s remarkable writing with a visual language that reflects both the story and the atmosphere he’s created.
This collaboration was guided by the wonderful Suzanne Dean, Creative Director at Vintage, and it was a process full of thoughtful conversations, sketches, and experiments before arriving at the final design.
If you’d like to take a deeper look behind the scenes, Foyles Bookshop has hosted a special Q&A with Suzanne and me, where we talk about how the cover came to life and the ideas that shaped it.
Follow this link to read the Q&A
“What drew me to this commission was the opportunity to see how my existing work could be used in a different context. Suzanne initially selected several of my paintings and created mock-ups using different designs, which was fascinating to see. I was intrigued by the idea that one of my paintings could take on a new meaning as part of a book cover, especially for such a well-known author. That sense of transformation of seeing my work reimagined and reaching a new audience was what really appealed to me.”
Sail to the Sky. Original painting on my studio wall.
“What I found with Louise Body’s seascapes was a sinuous line and bold use of colour. Her imagery often focused on the horizon. Importantly the changing light and tone of the sea felt very much based in the UK. Louise allowed me to crop and combine images as necessary to create a book cover layout. This was astonishingly generous of her and this understanding came from her own background, designing and producing wallpaper and textiles. The shape of the church spire was an amalgamation of various English steeples, which I filled with Louise Body’s artwork and position alongside the typography.” Suzanne Dean – Design Director at Penguin Vintage.
Follow this link to buy a signed Limited Edition print of Sail to the Sky.
