Children’s Book Illustration

Here we go!  I have been asked to illustrate a series of children’s story books.  What a totally different direction for my art to take…I am thrilled.  There are challenges that come with this undertaking but, oh my, I am so up for challenges to my creativity.

The first departure from what has become the norm for my artistic expression will be the use of colour.  To date my art has been primarily graphite drawings but I am not inclined to stay stuck only in that medium.  The second departure is creating a detailed story-telling scene which I have proven to myself that I am capable of doing but to be honest mostly choose not to.  So, how shall I approach these challenges and most importantly meet them and overcome them?

While contemplating this small yet integral dilemma I have drafted up a series of rough sketches to follow the story line of the first in the series of books.  I have hung them in sequence in my loft to see how they flow with the story…I like what I see.  The next step is to transfer these sketches one by one onto “good” paper to be worked in colour.  I have good quality Bristol for pen and ink as well as cold press watercolour paper to choose from.

I have determined that pen and ink is my medium of choice for colour but of course mixed media is to be the most likely final outcome.  So coloured pencil and water colour will also come into play.  I have read that Photoshop to correct colour saturation etc is the way to go but I do not have that so I shall have to be old fashioned in that respect.

I have a number of style experiments to test out before I get right in to the final page production.  I am leaning toward simplicity of line to suggest the forms and content of the picture; I envision something akin to the simplicity of Chinese painting but not quite.

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• Thwarted by the humble (but demonstrably evil…) coloured pencil (illustratedbyamanda.wordpress.com)

David Suzuki: a portrait

This graphite drawing of Dr. David Suzuki is done on smooth Bristol using 2B, B, 6H, 7H, and 8H pencils.  After decades of watching him on the TV show The Nature of Things, reading his many books and following the David Suzuki Foundation  for important and forwarding thinking thoughts and contributions I feel as though I actually know him.  I do not for real of course; it just feels that way.  He has in essence been a household presence for most of my life.  I drew this portrait as a celebration for his contribution to understanding and appreciating our planet.

Sketchbook Project Tour Dates

If you are looking for a bit of art in your life The Sketchbook Tour dates below offer average everyday people celebrating life in art.  There is a vast array of talent in little sketchbooks submitted to the Art House Coop in New York and now on tour.  I have a little book in the lot too.  Mine is a collection of pets and other animals that I have known and loved in my life.   This is an opportunity to leaf through the actual sketch books of thousands of talented folk.  So if you luckily live in the cities on the tour you can pop in for a perusal.

Brooklyn, NY April 14-30, 2012 Brooklyn Art Library 103A N. 3rd St., Brooklyn Chicago, IL May 3-5, 2012 Hyde Park Art Center 5020 S. Cornell Ave., Chicago Portland, OR May 11-13, 2012 The Cleaners at the Ace Hotel 1022 SW Stark St., Portland Vancouver, BC May 15-16, 2012 W2 Media Cafe 111 W Hastings St., Vancouver Los Angeles, CA May 24-26, 2012 iam8bit 2147 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles San Francisco, CA June 2-23, 2012 The Sketchbook Project Pop-Up Shop Greater Boston Area July 6-8, 2012 LynnArts 25 Exchange Street, Lynn Portland, ME July 11-14, 2012 SPACE Gallery 538 Congress Street, Portland

Toronto, ON July 18-22, 2012 The Gladstone Hotel 1214 Queen St. W., Toronto Philadelphia, PA August 23-25, 2012 The Painted Bride 230 Vine St., Philadelphia Atlanta, GA August 29 – September 1, 2012 MASS Collective 364 Nelson St. SW, Atlanta Austin, TX September 8-16, 2012 Co-Lab Project Space 613 Allen St., Austin Melbourne, Australia* November 10-25, 2012 NGV Studio Federation Square, Melbourne London, England* October, 2012 The Sketchbook Project Pop-Up Shop *The London and Melbourne exhibitions will be restricted to books contributed from Europe and Australia, respectively. All other tour dates will include every single book submitted to this year’s project!

Harriet Tubman: a portrait

This is another graphite drawing in my humanitarian series, a portrait of Harriet Tubman.  Harriet Tubman was an amazing woman, an African-American abolitionist, and Union spy during the American Civil War.  She made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.

Nelson Mandela: a Portrait

This graphite drawing  of Nelson Mandela is another of my Humanitarian series.  His life is a testament to his inner values and ethically sensible mindset under the most ghastly living conditions. His hair kind of washed out in the scanning process.  It is on smooth Bristol using 2B,B,6H,7H,8H pencils.

Doberman

Just a little graphite drawing of a Dobie using smooth Bristol and my favorite graphite pencils…2B, B, 6H, 7H, 8H.

Mother Teresa: a Portrait

This graphite drawing is a portrait of celebration of a wonderful humanitarian.

Baby Zak

This graphite drawing is of our wonderful Standard Poodle, Zak, as a puppy.  I loved his mane of wild fly-away puppy hair and he was and still is such a pensive fellow.

Handsome Lad: Standard Poodle

This graphite drawing is of Handsome Lad a sturdy Standard Poodle.  He is a lovely fellow and so much fun to draw.  I really took my time on this one, using 2B, B, 6H, 7H, 8H  pencils on smooth Bristol paper.  I actually completed the drawing before Christmas of 2011 but misplaced it for a while.  Well better to post now than never.

Versatile Blogger Award

Reblogged from Loving Life: A Green Journey:

I have received the Versatile Bloggers Award from Judith…..Thank you so much for the recognition.  This is a second nomination…I lost the post for the original back a month or more even.  My apologies for the screw up I am really not much of a whiz with the computer buttons.  I make so many weird mistakes……and then hope for the best or some technological miracle (which ever comes first). 

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