I am on a mission to finish this book at last. Some of you know that it has been 2 years in the making. already. WHY?? Maybe because I did 26 art events last year. It is difficult to get back into the groove of detailed, intense illustration when I have to leave town , thus, my art table, for days at a time.
So now, I have 4 glorious months of solitude and home- sweet- home-ness. My intention: Finish painting the last 12 illustrations AND learn a new soup recipe every week, (actually, James will be cooking the soups that I choose). WHY SOUP? Sipping soup from a huge pottery mug, with a pot of tea on the radiator, at the ready, helps me stay focused my work, instead of my stomach. Besides, what is more comforting in the cold months of winter than SOUP! I am hoping you will cheer me on to the finish line with this book. Each week, I will post the page I am working on, and we shall see where 8-10 hours a day of painting has gotten me by the end of that week.
My process for creating a book is thus: 1.) Write a story.. 2.) Fill sketch books with art ideas, book layout, and rough sketches. 3.) Draw, in detail, each illustration directly upon my watercolor paper. This includes endpaper art, book jacket, and 36 pages of artwork in between the covers. 4.)Paint EVERYTHING!
I had my drawings completed long ago and nearly 3/4 of the paintings. Here is the one I have on my table today.
The page actually consists of 4 separate illustrations. This will become 2 book pages, but I'm painting it as a full spread.
MY books are rather large in size at 12"x12", and I fill every nook and cranny...in fact, I must remind myself, "LEAVE ROOM FOR THE WORDS!" I have written 8 books for this "Hopalong Hollow" series. This is book 3.
I started painting this illustration the day after Christmas.
.
And as you can see, I still have a long way to go.
These images are rather blurry, and you probably cannot see the tremendous amount of detail that I put into each and every object.
The masking tape along the edges is used to protect my borders, but I also use it as a palette of sorts. I use the following watercolor paints: Sennelier, Windsor Newton, and Schmincke-Horadam
The Mother bear, as you may observe by the artwork, is quite a Mistress of the Needle. In this illustration she is dismantling a shabby little red jacket, to use as a pattern for a lovely NEW purple jacket.
Since my dear bear is a Mistress of the Needle, I feel impelled to finish another project, at the same time as I finish this book. Of course, I can only spare a few minutes a day on this:
But I think even a dozen or so stitches per night, will be enough.
I also want to finish this piece as a companion to the gorgeous one you see behind it, a treasured gift from a wonderful friend.
SO THAT IS THE ILLUSTRATION I MUST WORK ON THIS WEEK
AND HERE IS THE
"SOUP OF THE WEEK"
From this great cookbook...
This weeks TEA...
See you next week... with a completed piece of "BOOK".
So now, I have 4 glorious months of solitude and home- sweet- home-ness. My intention: Finish painting the last 12 illustrations AND learn a new soup recipe every week, (actually, James will be cooking the soups that I choose). WHY SOUP? Sipping soup from a huge pottery mug, with a pot of tea on the radiator, at the ready, helps me stay focused my work, instead of my stomach. Besides, what is more comforting in the cold months of winter than SOUP! I am hoping you will cheer me on to the finish line with this book. Each week, I will post the page I am working on, and we shall see where 8-10 hours a day of painting has gotten me by the end of that week.
My process for creating a book is thus: 1.) Write a story.. 2.) Fill sketch books with art ideas, book layout, and rough sketches. 3.) Draw, in detail, each illustration directly upon my watercolor paper. This includes endpaper art, book jacket, and 36 pages of artwork in between the covers. 4.)Paint EVERYTHING!
The page actually consists of 4 separate illustrations. This will become 2 book pages, but I'm painting it as a full spread.
I started painting this illustration the day after Christmas.
.
These images are rather blurry, and you probably cannot see the tremendous amount of detail that I put into each and every object.
The masking tape along the edges is used to protect my borders, but I also use it as a palette of sorts. I use the following watercolor paints: Sennelier, Windsor Newton, and Schmincke-Horadam
The Mother bear, as you may observe by the artwork, is quite a Mistress of the Needle. In this illustration she is dismantling a shabby little red jacket, to use as a pattern for a lovely NEW purple jacket.
Since my dear bear is a Mistress of the Needle, I feel impelled to finish another project, at the same time as I finish this book. Of course, I can only spare a few minutes a day on this:
I also want to finish this piece as a companion to the gorgeous one you see behind it, a treasured gift from a wonderful friend.
SO THAT IS THE ILLUSTRATION I MUST WORK ON THIS WEEK
AND HERE IS THE
"SOUP OF THE WEEK"
This weeks TEA...
See you next week... with a completed piece of "BOOK".
