Illustration Friday: Small

So, I did this spot today and took the accompanying photo so I could post it for Illustration Friday...both illustrate the topic to some degree (see the SMALL mouse). My little boy Spencer (4 years old) wanted to sit and paint like mommy...I loved it. I told him what I was doing and he came up with this. In his words "The guy" (on the top right) "with the lightsaber is the bad guy putting in SMALL poisons in this pipe supply." (the green lines are the pipes and the red is the poisoned water or whatever.) I must say this makes me wonder what he's overheard on the news concerning terrorists and contaminated water supplies or if he's just exhibiting the normal boy interest in bad guys. Hmmm...

Spots for Book: the process

Here's one of the first spot illustrations I did for the book. The illustrations are well under way but I finally am taking the time to post this. (I had to get some of the images off of my digital camera). I took pictures as I worked in stages and then scanned in the final product. I just thought I'd share the process. This is Lynn...

I print out the sketch, then paint in the background making sure to let areas I don't want to bleed to dry before going on. Then I paint in the main elements. Finally, I go over important lines with black ink.

I do all four spots for the double page spread at the same time so my color is consistent on the page. I just move to the next one as the previous sky or background is dry and just rotate like that.

I guess I should have scanned each stage so the color was correct. I tried to take the picture without flash hence the dark corners and skewed color. Just imagine the color tones on the final product on each stage. Sorry. I just didn't want to take the time to get down from my desk and scan each stage. Now I know that the camera doesn't quite do the work justice. Oh well. You get the idea.

Some Color, Some Car, and Some Pie

This is the final color version that I never posted of that magazine illustration I did a while back. I thought I'd better show the final product not just the sketch. I haven't had time to start scanning the Already Asleep paintings as they finish, but I will soon hopefully.

We've been car shopping this week b/c we were down to one car (which doesn't really work when your husband has to commute to work and you've got 3 kids at home involved in school etc.). After much searching and deliberation, we got a stellar deal on a Chevy Tahoe. We're excited.

Today, I'm going to paint another spot from the Already Asleep book and then I've got to bake 2 fruit pies, 2 pumpkin pies, make a big jello and put together some appetizers for Thanksgiving at the in-law's tomorrow...and all my kids are home from school today. Busy day!

Crawling out from the construction

So I haven't posted for the last week because my office has been disassembled and I had to do a DVD slide show for my husband's grandmother's 75th birthday (on a moment's notice). Anyway, the unfinished basement where my studio was had no walls and no heat and extension cords for electricity. As the winter set in here, I began to freeze down there. So we moved the computer and various items to the bedroom and had it framed and heating ducts installed. After I layout the wiring schematics (sp?) my husband will drill and lay the electrical wiring and install insulation. My hands were turning numb down there and I couldn't take it anymore. To make the noise worse, the siding people came to replace our defective siding (which was still under warranty) this week too. It's been quite the mess and I have quite the headache. I am so looking forward to getting into the peaceful rhythm of painting next week. Thanksgiving will be at my mother-in-laws so I am glad I won't have to host or prepare the whole meal. Thankfully, my husband took me up to Robert Redford's Sundance Ski Resort for one night as a surprise get-away...it was WONDERFUL! But I'm itching to get back to the real work in a warmer environment.

Cover illustration

So I got all the interior sketches done for the "Already Asleep" book. Since there wasn't one main event or one character to focus on in the story, I had a hard time deciding how to do a somewhat interesting cover. Since the book is basically about being tuckered out, I decided to put all the characters in a heap, asleep (minus the horse...it didn't fit in the design). The publisher loved it and I thought it turned out alright for a bunch of people (and animals) sleeping. I just had to concentrate on the positioning to make it more interesting and cute. As you can see, the dad is in basically the same position as the "remote" illustration. This was intentional. I remember seeing my dad fall asleep in the same position practically anywhere...especially at long church meetings. I've never been able to sleep like this. Is it one of those things inborn in men, like hogging the remote?