wall street journal review praises the illustrations in the sweets of araby

although the reviewer doesn't mention my name in the wall street journal online, mr. bakshian describes the sweets of araby, my latest book illustration project, as a "beautifully illustrated book". here's a link to the article which appeared july 2, 2011.


and this is good.


another painting from the sweets of araby for your pleasure is playful and of course colorful. illustrated by yours truly, linda dalal sawaya.

the sweets of araby reviewed in the boston globe!

delighted to see the first review of the sweets of araby in the boston globe! and especially delighted at their praise for my illustrations! "The eye-catching colors of Linda Dalal Sawaya’s charming illustrations make this book one to savor in or out of the kitchen."


here's one of my favorite illustrations from the book. as you can see i had such fun with this!

palestinian tree of life painting

my latest painting is a commissioned piece for an international organization working for peace in palestine/israel. it is a tree of life. the birth of this illustration occurred in perfect synchronicity. a couple of months ago i came across a tree of life painting and the concept resonated. i had not painted a tree of life and it was time. one week later, a phone call came to me commissioning a tree of life painting! goose bumps and joy!

the olive tree symbolic of the struggle for peace in palestine, as well as the source of the fruit that brings sustenance, health, and vitality, was a natural choice while the olive branch has been used as a symbol of peace since ancient times.

in researching the painting, i delighted in learning about the beautiful palestine sunbird a species particular to this region of the world, in addition to the gazelle, turtle, white stork, and other species.

it has been a delight and a blessing to make this painting for a wonderful cause.

the sweets of araby off to press!

the new year has started off with a bang, with my completion of twenty five illustrations for a new Arabic pastry cookbook being published in june by Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, plus the cover design and illustration shown here by yours truly, linda dalal sawaya. 

The Sweets of Araby went to press in early february for june publication! it has been a delight to work on this project, which features stories from the Tales of the 1001 Arabian Nights. the book's authors, Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum are daughters of noted Lebanese-Canadian food author, Habib Salloum.

earlier posts on this project were in august and september. soon i will be posting a few more of the interior illustrations painted with acrylic paint on paper using tiny tiny brushes. would love to hear your comments!

preview of new artwork for arabic pastry cookbook!

very delighted to present a preview of the artwork i recently completed for the cover of an arabic pastry cookbook to be published next spring. so far the response to it has been very positive; and i am so pleased with it as well! accomplished in record time to boot!

soon i will begin twenty five illustrations for the interior of the book...one of which was previewed pre-completion in an earlier post in august. what fun!

new illustration work in progress!

© linda dalal sawaya 2010

here's my new unfinished first painting for an arabic pastry cookbook that i am illustrating! it is great to be back at the drawing board! and i just got word that the editor loves it! 

the colors bring me much joy! twenty-four more to go...plus the book jacket cover illustration. 

recent illustration for arabic-themed children's book—jasmine woman

the truth is this was painted a year ago on speculation for an arabic-themed children's book, which is still seeking a publisher. i was holding off on posting it awaiting moving forward with the project, but it's on hold for now! the sketch and painting were done in record time for the NY Festival of Books last year.

i love the serenity in the arabic woman's face and the whimsy of the bunny, the night sky and arabesque border design.