Illustration Friday!

Here is my post for illustration Friday's topic of "time".  This is called Hopscotch Time!  This painting was done in acrylic on board.  Enjoy!

Top 10 Illustrators

Picture books are my favorite form of art and there are some picture book illustrators whose work I think is outstanding.  I thought I'd share with you my top 10 favorite illustrators..and I should qualify that they are illustrators but also story tellers.  Some are award winning and some are not.  Some have been illustrating a long time and some have just recently made a name for themselves.  Some are alive and some are dead.  Some work with in animation and concept art, some in picture book art, and some do whatever illustration job comes along.  But all inspire and motivate me and I find myself time and again returning to their work to see how they handle a situation or set up a scene.

Here is my list in no particular order:

1.             Ezra Jack Keates

2.             Trina Schart Hyman

3.             Jane Chapman

4.             Tony DeTerlizzi

5.             Garth Williams

6.             Jerry Pickney

7.             Peter DeSeve

8.             Michael Knapp

9.             Leuyen Pham

10.         Sara Palacios

I have included a sample of their work in the collage above. Starting at the top left, I'll mention the artist and what I love about their work.  In subsequent posts, I'll feature each artist further.  

Garth Williams is at the top left and I love his art because it's always in pen and ink.  His line work is so good and his characters have so much depth using only black and white.  Another artist who is excellent with black and white is Tony DeTerlizzi who is next.  His value pattern and character development is what draws me to his work.  Ezra Jack Keates work is simplistic, childlike and yet so profoundly well done.  His was one of the first illustrators to use African American children as protagonists…but he didn't do that to make a statement, he did that because he painted what he knew.  He grew up in New York City as a Jewish boy who lived in an ethnically diverse neighborhood and his art naturally reflected his surroundings.  Rounding out the top row is Peter De seve, who is best know as a concept artist and who developed the characters for Ice Age, among many other feature animated films.  He also has done multiple New Yorker covers and in my opinion captures New York like no one else can.  I love his characters, his wit in his storytelling and his application of watercolor.

Starting the second row is Trina Schart Hyman whose influences are similar to Ezra Jack Keates in that she grew up in New York City and her artwork reflects all ethnicities of people.  I love her figure work - she is so good at capturing the human form.  Jane Chapman is the creator of the beloved bear character that I love so much.  What I admire about Jane's work is her color pallet which is so young and playful without being too primary, and her animal characters are so memorable.  Jerry Pickney is next and if you have seen his work, you too would put him in your top 10 list.  He is one of last century's most successful African American illustrators and his career evolved during a time of great change for both illustration and black people in this country.  He was often a voice and a vessel for dealing with issues about race.  His watercolors are outstanding and he really studies his subjects well and the infuses personality into them in a way that readers can really relate to.  Leuyen Pham is an artist who I discovered recently.  What I love about her work is her ability to place so many story telling elements in her compositions and to have them all feel harmonious.  Her characters are adorable and her illustrations have a sweetness to them.  

Starting the third row of images is Michael Knapp an illustrator that I discovered through the "Out of Picture" book that was published by Blue Sky Studios.  Blue Sky Studios is  a computer animation studio dedicated to creating high end character animation and visual effects for the commercial and feature film industries.  The artists there are amazing and they put together a book of all their ideas that were cropped "out of the picture".  Really cool!  I was drawn to Michael Knapp's work because of his ability to tell a story without any words.  He also has wonderfully dynamic compositions.  And the last image I have above is from Sara Palacios.  I discovered Sara on Illustration Friday, a blog site that features illustrators work.  I fell in love with her work and have been following her for about 5 months.  Her picture book work reminds me of Ezra Jack Keates, but with an updated feel, and I love her character development.  She has also been so kind as to talk to me on e-mail and through Facebook, so I feel honored that she would share her hard earned knowledge with me.  She is also a graduate of The Academy of Art University so we have that common educational element.  

So there you have it!  My list of my favorite illustrators.  Let me know what you think and if there are some illustrators out there that you think I should get to know.  Drop me a comment below.  Thanks!

Swing into the New Year!

How would you like to go up in a swing,

up in the sky so blue…

Oh I do think it the pleasantest thing

ever a child can do!

To start off the New Year I thought I'd post my final illustration from my Children's Book Character Design class that I took at the Academy of Art this past semester.  This is a page from a song that I am illustrating for my thesis project.  I hope to do 5 - 6 full illustrations for this song, plus some spot illustrations.  This is the first one.  I like how happy it turned out.  I don't think there can be anything happier than the feeling of swinging on a swing when you were 5 years old….I thought it was also an appropriate image to bring the new year in with since he is so Happy!

I thought you might also like to see the process of getting to this image including the development of the characters…..

Character line up….the raven is a surprise character that you will have to be looking for to see where he shows up in the story:)

Initial composition done in graphite on vellum.  Only a rough sketch.

Value study done in prismacolor marker on paper.

Color study #1 done in prismacolor marker on paper.

Color study #2 done in prismacolor marker on paper.

Final illustration in process.  This is painted on illustration board in acrylic paints first.  I then apply a wash of oil in burnt sienna.  From there I work in oil paints, prismacolor pencil and pen and ink to create a final illustration of mixed media.

And then finally the final illustration.  You can see that I make a few changes along the way.  I decided to close his eyes because it helped communicate the feeling of pure joy.  I also added leaves the the tree, flowers in the grass and  tall weeds, and a few toys for the dog "Bean" to play with.  My instructor also gave me some great feed back on the values and the sky which I incorporated.  All in all, I'm happy with the final.  The text is added in photoshop afterwards, but the painting itself has not been altered at all digitally.  

I'd love to know what you think of this illustration, so drop me a comment below!  

And Happy New Year!

Words on Pictures

Merry Christmas!

Christmas day is usually a very busy day with opening of gifts, eating of great food and visiting with family.  We did all of that today plus some!  With all that was going on, for some reason  I was thinking of this short story that I read in the Provincetown Art Guide.  I'd like to share it with you here.

EXT.  PROVINCETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD - 1950 - DAY

Nestled between a stretch of cottages and an expanse of sand dunes is a flat, open field bisected by railroad tracks.  The trains no longer run here, so the ties and rails are overgrown with beach grass.

At the "end of the line" is a lone abandoned railroad car - an orange-painted CABOOSE that was once used as a freight office.  Its sheets have been braced and a makeshift stairway leads to the rear door.

We notice smoke rising from a stove pipe on the roof…

George Yater - watercolor on paper


INT. CABOOSE - DAY

A fire roads in a tiny wood stove and a pot of coffee warms on a burner.  There's a small table and a couple of chairs, a cupboard with canned goods, a wash basin and pitcher, and a shelf with an il lamp and a few books.

Someone has transformed the old "freight office" into a Spartan residence.

In a far corner is a sleeping cot and a MAN makes the bed with military-like precision.

He is in this early 60's body  lean and well-muscled.  The kind of body you get from years of tough, physical labor.  His cold blue eyes and shock of close-cropped white hair stand in stark contrast to a deeply tanned leathery face.

This is a hard man who's lived a hard life.

He begins to pour a cup of coffee, but pauses when he glimpses something out oa small, smoky window.  He returns the pot to the stove, the cup to the table.  From under the cot he retrieves a RIFLE.

EXT. CABOOSE _ DAY

It's damned cold outside, but the Man, only in a T-shirt and dungarees, is oblivious to the frigid temperature.  Moving quietly, but with great purpose, he descends the makeshift staircase and searches the nearby sand dunes…

EXT. SAND DUNES - DAY

Weaving through the grass is a FOX, and when it sees the Man, it freezes.

EXT. CABOOSE/SAND DUNES - DAY

The Man aims the rifle…But when he sees THREE FOX KITS running to catch up to their mother>>> He can't shoot.  He just can't.

The fox and her kits disappear into the dunes and the Man turns to the west.  The sun is so bright he has to shut his eyes.  Now feeling the chill, he shivers and hurries back to the warmth of the caboose.  Before entering, he steals one last look at the dunes… and sees nothing but a vast expanse of sand and beach grass.  He betrays a hint of a smile and returns to his coffee.

Written by Mark Protosevich

Here are some fox illustrations I did…

Missing Grandpa...

It's been a crazy few weeks as is always the case at this time of year.  But even more so because of a family loss.  My beloved grandfather went home to be with Jesus on December 17, 2013.  We are so happy for him for we know he is reaping his reward, but we are of course sad for our loss and sad that grandma is without him for the first time in 86 years!  They met when they were 8 years old and have been together ever since!  I wanted to share this beautiful song that we played at the funeral.  Grandpa called it "our song" for he and grandma.  I had the privilege of reading the "spoken word" part at the funeral.  Please take the time to click the link to see the youtube video.  It is such a great testament to my grandfather and his love for my grandmother:)

Should you go first and I remain

Illustration Friday!

Yep!  It's Friday again!  Whew!  What a week.  So nice to sit in my studio and think creatively after the hustle and bustle of a busy week with family and work:)  This week's topic for Illustration Friday is tail.  It made me think of the little mouse I developed by the name of Courage.  He is an adventurous little mouse who is always looking for some new to do.  I created him a few summers ago after I was inspired by a wordless picture book I bought.

I loved the artwork and the illustrator's ability to tell a complete story without any words.  I wanted to try my hand at it.  I decided to create a character who could easily travel the world without needing airplanes, cars, boats or trains.  That meant he had to be small, so a mouse.  How could a mouse travel easily?  Well, what if he grabbed a leaf and used it as a parachute that could catch the wind and lift him up?  Voila!  Courage was born:)   I envision Courage using his leaf to take him to far away places where he can see new things and meet new people.  Places like San Francisco, NYC, Paris, London, Egypt, Africa, New Zealand, Patagonia and the Himalayas.  Some places I have been, others I want to go to.  I could research this places and have Courage see the sites for me either high above from his leaf or on the ground.  The ideas are so vivid in my mind, I just need to get to it and create the art to show it all!  In the meantime….here is Courage!

Illustration Friday! - Secret

It's Friday again!  Best day of the week!  That means it's time for Illustration Friday!  This week's topic is "secret".   My illustration this week is a little autobiographical…it represents the two worlds of my art life.  I'm a little bit of a split personality and can't decide which type of art I like best.  I liked the idea of two doors representing that decision and having each door allude to what might lie behind.  One door is labeled Fine Art and it looks like a clean gallery entrance.  It is sophisticated and refined and is minimalist in it's presence.  The other door is labeled Illustration and it looks much more interesting!  It has doodles and drawings and is littered with signs.  It even has a top secret sign on the door!  Which door would you choose?