My Gorgeous Fore-Edge Painted Book!

Have you ever been longing to own a book with gorgeous fore-edge painting? "A fore-edge painting is a scene painted on the edges of book pages." (Wikipedia)

I have! I've seen some on Etsy, but they are so expensive, and one cannot choose the book, nor the scene, to be painted. I am very fortunate though, that one of my best bookish friends: Melisa (twitter: @melmarian) is not only an avid reader like myself, but also a wonderfully talented artist! One of her best works is fore-edge book paintings, and she has been opening commissions for some time.

Since February is my birthday month, I've treated myself with Melisa's gorgeous fore-edge painting on my copy of All Creatures Great and Small (James Herriot). I love the cover art, with the English rural village vibes. And so, I ordered more 'English-villagey' scenes to be painted on. Here's the result:

the cover

the fore-edge painting, gorgeous isn't it??

I specifically asked Melisa to paint the wooden fence and... a cute Robin!

...also the flower bushes to add more cheerfulness to the scene..

if you wonder about the top and bottom
edges, they are painted plain green

Do you own fore-edge painted books? Did you actually read it? Or do you keep it save, and just read an e-book version instead for fearing you might spoil the paint??