CAZENOVIA — Cazenovia artist Roger De Muth recently released his 13th and 14th books, both featuring around 220 pages of art. De Muth is an award-winning watercolorist, a photographer, a gardener, a children’s book artist, a lecturer, and a Syracuse University (SU) professor emeritus. He has bee n the creative director of DeMuth Design since 1970. According to the artist, his book “Drawing From Life: A Nunda Era Sketchbook 1972-1986” contains his observations, recollections, and drawings of living and working on a farm in the wilderness of Western New York. “This book is a record of what we did, what we looked at, where we went, what I built, and what I dreamed of making,” he wrote in the book’s introduction. “It is my notebook, my drawing diary, my memory, and my way of trying to figure out the history of objects and architecture. Here are my sketches, drawings, and notes of living on a faraway rural home on DeGroff Road in Nunda.” He describes his second new release, “Roadside Attractions,” as containing sketches, scribbles, notes, watercolors, and observations on architecture from his “travels around the sun.” “Here is my collection of watercolors and drawings of architecture at its best, right next to the road,” the introduction states. “There’s something special, something to be admired about each and every historic building in this book. . . . Please follow me on my artistic journey of historic homes, buildings, businesses, and landscapes with significant architectural qualities, mostly from upstate NY, that just seem to fit the spot where they rest.” The books were released via the self-publishing platforms MagCloud and Blurb, which owns MagCloud. De Muth recalled that when he tried to publish his Nunda sketchbook through the Syracuse University Press many years ago, it was quickly rejected because there was no precedent for publishing such a book. “That helped me to grow thicker skin, which I did,” he said. “I’m so pleased the world of publishing was changed. Thank you, Blurb and MagCloud. A few years ago, Blurb invited me to participate in a book design seminar in Cohoes, NY, with designers and book artists mostly from NYC. The seminar was held at the Mohawk Paper Mill, which has been making paper for over a hundred years and is used by Blurb in their high-end books. The factory is out of this world, with ancient machines and their papers similar to my watercolor papers. The owner of Blurb tried to make a wedding book and couldn’t find anyone to do it, so she started the company. Blurb recently published its four-millionth book.” De Muth, 77, taught at SU from 1979 to 2015. While there, he served as head of the illustration undergraduate program. He also co-chaired the Graduate Independent Study Degree Program in illustration, ran the New York City Lubin House Undergrad Portfolio Open House for over 20 years, and co-chaired the Syracuse Poster Project for 14 years. De Muth has worked with many major corporations throughout the United States and Europe, including Hanna Barbera- Space Ghost, The Cartoon Network, MasterPieces Puzzles, Disney, American Greetings, and Warner Brothers. The artist has received numerous accolades, including the gold medal from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art at the Society of Illustrators in NY for his memorial poster to his mother, “Squirrels are not just for breakfast anymore.” De Muth and his wife, Naomi De Muth, an accomplished ceramicist and weaver, have lived on Chenango Street in Cazenovia for 40 years. Their studios are open to the public each year during the Cazenovia Art Trail at the end of September. Appointments to visit the studios can also be made by emailing [email protected]. Since retiring from SU, DeMuth has concentrated on developing an exhibition featuring over 800 oil paintings. The process has taken eight years and will take two more to complete. “After retiring, [I] decided to change directions from working commercially, and took up painting in water-soluble oil paints,” he said. “I’m closing in on 800 oil paintings in the studio, so moving around in the studio has been a bit tricky at times. [The exhibition] started as ‘The Painted Room,’ but has now morphed into ‘The Artist’s Studio, and the 5 Painted Rooms Within.’ [All] these published books will be part of the exhibition.” De Muth has created four models of the exhibit and documented the process in the mini book “The Evolution of the Painted Room.” “My goal is three museum shows, and afterwards, the paintings will be dispersed and sold,” he said. “The rooms are being finished in parts, and there is a long way to go. The real star of the show is the numerous sketchbooks that I have created — boxes and boxes of them. . . . I will start photographing all the paintings and finish the model with all the images in position and to scale.” To see the project’s progress, follow @rogerdemuth on Instagram. To view and/or purchase De Muth’s two new books, search for Roger DeMuth on blurb.com and magcloud.com. The artist also has a few copies available at his studio, and more are on the way. Anyone interested can email him [email protected]. To learn more about De Muth’s work, visit rogerdemuthwatercolors.com or rogerdemuthdesign.com.   ...read more read less