cutaway house illustrations appreciation post & fan club
I could not would not think of a shorter title
Too long for email! Grab a cup of something hot and park yourself in front of a browser!
Well. It turns out a great many of you share my affection for illustrations of cutaway houses. The thread for my original post has turned into a little treasure chest of recommendations for further obsession, so I thought i’d mish-mash them all up here into a delightful and nourishing art soup. Also, I was visiting family out of town last week and didn’t really draw anything so this is a great way to decompress & procrastinate!
First up, credits for the illustrations I posted in my original note:
Each of these next sections begin with suggestions offered by folks in the original post thread, marked with an asterisk, followed by extra stuff I threw in because it deserves a place in this discussion and also because i can!
[in children’s books]
unsurprisingly, picture books are a goldmine for cutaway houses (and trees and boats)—this is a robust section!
Winnie the Witch by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul*
Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall*
Full Moon Soup, or, The Fall of the Hotel Splendide by Alastair Graham*
The Brambly Hedge Series by Jill Barklem*
The Brown Bear Wood Series by Rachel Piercy & Freya Hartas*
The Barbapapa Series by Annette Tison*
Need A House? Call Miss Mouse! by George Mendoza*
The Bears Books by Benjamin Chaud*
In The Town All Year Round by Rotraut Susanne Berner*
Building Stories by Chris Ware*
this one is a graphic novel, not a children’s book
Pretty much any Richard Scarry book*
Gus Was a Friendly Ghost by Jane Thayer
[as standalone art]
(all of these artists have excellent bodies of work—I highly recommend exploring their other works as well!)
Rabbid Holes here on Substack*
Scott C’s entire 2009 ‘Home Slice’ gallery show
(Alternate link to the Home Slice series)
Faye Coral Johnson and Mike S Redmond
Another work from Christopher Golebiowski
[in print]
13 Rue del Percebe (Spanish magazine comic)*
La Vie Mode D’Emploi by Georges Perec*
just the book’s cover is illustrated. no more cutaway houses inside, sadly
[in other media]
A board game: Race to the Roof *
A music video: Quiet Life by Ray Davies*
An entire city: Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong*
On film: Paddington (the first one) *
On film again: The Royal Tenenbaums
Ok! That was a doozy! Hopefully you discovered (or rediscovered) something wonderful! Hugs & kisses to everyone who contributed a show-and-tell in the original post thread <3
have another example of this highly satisfying art-form? drop it in the comments and we can create a big(ger) mega-post & heal ourselves together 💫🌀💚 (art is medicine)
Love this so much! I love cutaway houses so much that my husband painted one of our house for me for Christmas one year. I treasure it.
Best post ever. Thank you.