Tree Tops

I spent last weekend up north at my family's cabin in the northwoods in Michigan. The cabin itself is pretty luxurious as cabins go--2 bedrooms, kitchen, electricity & running water with a generator. And 20 acres of very quiet, peaceful forest. Come November, my sister and her son will be stalking the property in hopes of finding deer to shoot. But during the summer it is a place of tranquility and relaxation. I don't get to go very often, as I live 6.5 hours away, but it was a real treat to spend some time there.

I spent Saturday afternoon sitting high in a tower which is, in the fall, a hunting blind. You sit in a small chair and there are long narrow windows from which to look out on the world from your tree top perch. I chose this spot for its unique perspective, and to be honest, because it was the last place on earth anyone would think to look for me.

Of course eventually hunger and dying light drove me from my treetop refuge, and responsibilities compelled me to come back home and face life again. But oh, I would have stayed, if only I could. I definitely would have stayed.

Light study

I was very inspired this week by the color photos from the depression that were all over the web. One in particular caught my eye (image is property of the Library of Congress):

I wanted to try a new painting method with it. This is the result. I'm pretty pleased with it.

Illustration workshop sketch

Here is the initial sketch for the workshop I'll be attending in June. The assignment was to pick one spread from a manuscript and illustrate it.

I'm working on sketches for an illustrators' workshop in June. I will end up with a final illustration for one spread of a children's picture book. I'm also doing character sketches to go along with that final one. I haven't done this before, but signed up because I wanted to learn, and develop my portfolio more, so this is a perfect opportunity.

I'm having so much fun with this, not only in doing the main characters, but also focusing on having the scene tell its own little story, and having interesting little "asides" that add to the visual interest of the piece. Book illustration is much more than just drawing what is in the text! You get to make up your own ideas as well, which makes it a lot more interesting and fun. I'm really enjoying this process.