Covers - The Wind Dancers

After reaching temperatures of 111 degrees yesterday (insane! This is Seattle! The highest temperature recorded here *ever* previously was like 96), the intense heat and air stagnation have tangibly broken. It is still supposed to be warm for the foreseeable future, but in a much more reasonable, mid-80s sort of way (our norms for July run more in the mid-70s, so this is still hot for here). With the temperatures finally more bearable, I'm able to resume working rather than just sitting in front of a fan panting... :-)

If you have followed this blog at all, you will have noticed me mentioning the series I've been working on for the past couple of years, The Wind Dancers, written by Sibley Miller, co-illustrated by myself and Jo Gershman and published by Feiwel & Friends in association with Breyer. The first four came out late last year (for which we've done promotional videos, presentations, book signings and TV appearances at Breyerfest. I've also discussed the vagaries of color matching here). It's been quite a fun ride.

The next couple of books are listed on Amazon for pre-order.

With the next pair to follow shortly after...

Currently, we are working on the final four books in this series. Even as I type, I am working on the next four covers, which I've gotten permission to post WIPs as I go, so watch over the next little while and I'll try to post the process and thinking behind covers in an ongoing series.

Til then, it's cool enough that I think I can even sleep tonight!

Keeping cool.....?

We're in the midst of the worst heat-wave in my Seattle memory. 'Excessive heat warnings' and 'stagnation advisories'. I know humid mid to upper 90 temperatures are the norm for many during the summer, but given that it is not here, many of the residences, schools and older buildings (including my house) are devoid of air-conditioning. A hot day or two here and there are quite manageable, but when there is a long string of them, everything heats up and all these un-air-conditioned interiors cannot cool down.

We've been trying to go on outings during the hottest part of the early evening so that we can escape the heat of our own house and enjoy the cool of elsewhere. Harry Potter made a very nice, long, cool and dark interlude. We dawdled at the restaurant, where I sketched in my Moleskine after dinner, until they wanted to kick us out and ready the table for someone else.

I am currently sitting in a dark studio, eating Trader Joe's Caribbean Flo frozen fruit bars, with two fans pointed at my face, but it is still too hot to do anything work-related (you know, like turn on a light so that I can draw...?) I think I must give up until at least midnight when hopefully the temperatures drop low enough to bear the heat of lightbulbs for sketching...?

Sunday Sketching

Boy-sketching-day at church. The two on the left are a friend of my son's - he both spoke and played the piano today. The bottom right is his baby-brother, watching him speak. :-) Many times it is almost more interesting watching the watchers than the speakers.

The Mysteries of Modern Art -

I'm still thinking about Western Washington's campus that we toured on Monday.
(Here are my cute tour-ee's)

The majority of Western's campus is much 'younger' than the UW and more modern in feel. There's lots of brick put to great use - both on the buildings and in the walkways. And apparently one of the things Western is known for is its extensive modern-outdoor-sculpture collection.

I've always been an unapologetic representational sort of artist. And while there is some abstract art that I appreciate (like local friend/artist Angela Wales Rockett), some of it, especially three-dimensional forms can leave me absolutely mystified...

(this piece is nick-named 'the Giant Orange Mosquito')

Stairs...to nowhere....?

Pieces of a wooden-beam pyramid...

Partial, holey cube.. (I do like this one - but it's something I can name..)

But this one... why???

And this big steel rectangular thing...?? Sculpture? I really don't get it.

Experimentation...

Since I knew I would have some relaxing time in my hotel room Sunday night, I brought some things to 'play' with. I have not developed good art-experimental-play habits in the past - always had small children in my lap or was chauffeuring them somewhere or was helping with homework or doing something silly like cleaning the house or picking the blueberries... It's just been the last couple of years that I could even think of doing something that was not commissioned and on a deadline. And even then it has mostly consisted of life drawing and sketching people in church.

When I was doing research for my Oz piece, I was introduced to the graphic novel Oz work being done by amazing comic artist Scottie Young. I bought one of his Oz sketchbooks, and enamored of his characterization and stylization, I copied some of his character sketches to get a feel for how to approach stylizing in this way. (You may have noticed, I don't stylize so much... Would love to, but my brain has not worked that way on its own.. Thus far at least...) Did much fun copying until bedtime.

The following day was the college tour, which entailed a couple of sit-down lectures. I opted to sketch through them, and decided to try my hand at a similar stylization of a character on my own. After a page of cuteness, I wanted to push for something a little more gothic (partly in honor of all the gothic architecture of UW campus). Still pretty cute, and vaguely Manga looking....

So, when we got home, I actually looked at a few photos - mostly for gesture- and to see if I could kind of meld the cuter stylization with something closer to how I normally work - but retain the looser, free-experimental feel of it... 'Twas very fun!

I hope to be able to 'play' more!

"When you create you get a little endorphin rush. Why do you think Einstein looked like that?"

Robin Williams
Comic/Actor

Sunday Sketching

Squeezed in a little sketching-upon-my-knee this morning.

This afternoon, the daughter & best friend, and I took a tiny road trip north in preparation for the next campus tour (this time Western Washington). It's not really that far of a drive - a bit over an hour and a half, but she is meeting with the director of the music dept. early, and my husband has eleventy-hundred hotel points from all of his vast traveling, so he set us up in a nice hotel a bit down the road from the college.


The daughter is jealous of my suite - with the iHome, dual-TVs, mini-fridge and microwave, wifi and my own pet orchid, but she and the BF get their joint room to themselves, so they really can't complain. So we are hanging out and relaxing this sunny evening, having a 'girl's night out' before the all-day marathon of tomorrow...

Tomorrow we'll see if Western is photo-worthy...

More Gothic Goodness - Views...

Lovely photographer/designer friend Catherine was interested in seeing more of the architecture of the University of Washington campus - so here you go:

It was lovely seeing the building tops peeking through the trees - looking for all the world like castles...

- with a bit of modern thrown in next to the more vintage...

...every floor has a different style of window...

(I wonder if one can go up into the various towers and 'gazebos' on the roofs. I'll bet the views are great...)

And here is the arts building. Even *it* has towers!

More Gothic Goodness - Exteriors

Just a small sampling of some of the cool building exteriors....

More 'gazebos' on the rooftops (what are these really called???)

In the fall, the extensive growth of Boston Ivy turns a gorgeous bright red...

...so many different roof lines...

...turrets and archways....

More Gothic Goodness - Interiors

We toured UW at the behest of my almost-senior daughter (on the right) and her best friend/twin-separated at birth.

Although most of our touring was outdoors, the little bit of interior we saw was also lovely-

There was many a beautifully detailed and shaped window-

- look at all that varied and fancy glass!

-and even the newer interiors are filled with arches and curves everywhere...

...and the odd piece of headless art...

A Visit to Hogwarts...

My youngest child will be a high school senior this fall. She's thinking ahead to college, so we are touring some local campuses in the next week.

Today we went to the University of Washington, with all its gorgeous Gothic architecture.

The main library especially, has always been a favorite of mine.

Built to represent a 'cathedral of learning'...

Parts of the interior also look like the inside of a cathedral.

Or a castle...

...massive stone archways and curves....

And then there is the graduate-student library!

Hogwarts anyone?

If it wasn't for all the sun-drenched windows and walls, it would feel remarkably like its wizardly counterpart...

All the beautiful, ornate details...

A magical place indeed.

It is a Berry Good Summer...

Warning - garden post below:

We've been fairly cool, and quite dry - since April - so my summer veggies are still languishing. But the berries have been very happy this year.

Strawberries are always the first to ripen. This past year I pulled out my older patch and replaced them all with Tri-star berries. They start early, and while not heavy bearers, they continue to consistently produce sweet, tasty berries up until it gets too cold for them to ripen (late October/early November)... I have strawberries on my Trader Joe's granola every morning for over four months. A happy thing...

Blueberries begin to ripen next. I have 6 different varieties - early, mid and late season - so again, I get berries from mid-June all the way through October. They all taste different. My favorites are the spicy-sweet-tart early bushes...

Right now, the gooseberries are waiting for me to pick them from their thorny branches. I have sweet, pink varieties - sweet enough to eat fresh (all the green ones I've had are too tart to eat uncooked). They are even better frozen.

This is my first year for red currants. This variety was sweeter than I'd expected. Beautiful, ruby globes. I cooked them with rhubarb, onion and spices for a fabulously tangy chutney.

These are jostaberries - a cross between black currants and gooseberries. They taste... dark, smoky and complex. The taste really grows on you. They are also terrific frozen. I put them in smoothies all year.

Oh, and the raspberries...

We get bowls and bowls of raspberries from my patch. Sweet, tart and tangy - for me, the very essence of summer.

There are fall berries still to come - seaberries, aronia berries, lingonberries, wintergreen, magnolia berries, goji berries, highbush cranberries, grapes, and new for me this year - minature kiwis! Much berry goodness to look forward to!

Now back to illustration...