For a better view, click on that image above. It's actually pretty big.
It's important to me to have a certain level of spontaneity in the look of my drawings. As an illustrator, this can be difficult. Final art is not created out of thin air. A first sketch is created out of thin air. A first sketch is completely spontaneous, but every step after can eliminate more and more of that look and vibe. Break it down:
A. Sketch 1--spontaneous B. Revised sketch (a sketch based on a sketch)--most likely, less spontaneous C. Final art (finished drawing based on a sketch of a sketch)--perhaps not very spontaneous
Add more revisions between B and C and spontaneity may be more and more corroded. I don't always have the courage or time or faith to experiment with this in contracted work, but I do like to play around between jobs and see how I might achieve more spontaneity in finished drawings.
For me, final art is pen/ink drawing with added watercolor. One way to reach this goal, is to eliminate the pencil drawing or planning stages (not possible, actually, in illustration) and draw right out of the gate in pen and ink (which, as we know, cannot be corrected). The drawing above was done with no planning whatsoever. No pencil ever touched this paper. (And, in spots, it certainly shows. But in my mind, these are some of it's best moments.) Also, very little image reference. Most of it came from memory and mental pictures.
More or less, this is pure spontaneity in final art. Does it work? Who's to say?
These are good little brain-limbering excercises that shall go unpublished. Good for the blog, though.
After I finish a job, I find several of these laying around among the wreckage. Little sheets I keep to the side to do a few test strokes before touching nib to final art. Some of them, like this one, end up looking sort of interesting. In an accidental art kind of way.
Maybe posting this is a little self-indulgent? Eh... that's blogging.
1. TOWNES VAN ZANDT. I know I'd heard of this folk/blues/country legend by way of other folk/blues/country legends, but something happened last month that made me investigate the particulars of Townes Van Zandt. Good lawd, there is some good music here. I also caught the stunning doc, BE HERE TO LOVE ME. Dude was in it for real.
2. PARKS AND RECREATION. Over the holidaze, I had the good fortune of getting into this outstanding show via Netflix "watch instantly". Oh my, the laughs were streaming. Everything about this rules. I will say, the first couple of episodes of season 1 were a little dry and slow to go, but after that, I was hooked and how. What an incredible, perfect ensemble cast. My favorite characters kept changing as I watched through the two seasons. Love 'em all. Can't wait for season three to hit in a couple of weeks.
3. CHAINS. By Laurie Halse Anderson. If you read this blog, you will know that I recently enjoyed M.T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing books. Of course, as my lovely wife suggested, I had to read CHAINS. The life of brilliant, courageous, feisty Isabel, a slave at the time of the American Revolution. Amazing and beautiful and exciting and heartbreaking. Oh, and (spoiler alert!), I just finished the follow-up, FORGE, which will appear on January's Top Ten list, natch.
4. WONDER BOYS. I read the book, by Michael Chabon, many years back. I found I could watch the movie (which I had not seen) on, yes, Netflix streaming. This is some good madcap academia. And I was, surprisingly, very fond of Michael Douglas's performance here. Very much enjoyed this flick.
5. A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE. Written by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead. This is one I kept seeing pop up on people's Caldecott contender lists. And best of lists. I finally got a look, and I whole-heartedly agree. It's got a sweet old school pic book vibe about it in both the story and the illustrations. But there is an inventiveness to both that is quite striking, springing AMOS into our modern book-making times. Without a doubt, one of my personal favorites of the year.
6. ILLUSTRATORS UNITE. It can be a lonely work environment as an illustrator, I tell ya. So I've been trying to hunt down some cool, fun, quality picture book illustrators in my area to hang with. Vent with. Talk shop and ideas with. After a lot of searching, emailing, hounding, and some planning, there was an inaugural sit-down in early December of illustrators, Larry Day, Jeff Newman, Aaron Renier, Eric Rohmann, and myself. Lots of art talk, book talk, in-between stuff talk, and a hint of Wisconsin bred heavy metal for good measure. An excellent night.
7. HELEN STEPHENS. I found this book, FLEABAG, at my local library. Boy am I glad I did. Ms. Stephens has a very nice touch. A very wonderful painterly, Bemelmans-y, easy, breezy, outstandingly loose and stylish look to her work. Looking forward to hunting down some more.
8. 200 CHRISTMASES. Julie passed this little gem along last month. Fans of classic 90210 or not, all shall enjoy and appreciate the absurdity of this. Have a look.
9. THIS OLD PHOTO. Yeah, for whatever reason, I ran across this old pic of me and Lou Ferrigno. Circa 2001. Got a new laugh out of it. You know how we do.
10. CHRISMUKKAH. Romy has now experienced her third Hanukkah and Christmas. She's two now and really starting to get things of this nature. And she's very verbal and very full-throttle excited about stuff. She did not hold back, and it was a real treat for Julie and me.
I'm a children's book author and illustrator who lives and works in the burbs of Chicago. I dwell in a home with my wife, picture book author and YA novelist, Julie Halpern and our two lovely children. Life is great, man.
