The illustrations and cover are finished. The book, Chloe Starcatcher, written by Beverly Crandell based on a story by Chloe Pierce, will be privately published. I will post a few illustrations from the book later.

These are the two pieces of my artwork on display in The Creamery during the month of March. This exhibit, in the office, shows some of the work of members of various Artist’s Way groups.

The painting on the left is a watercolor based on time spent on Amelia Island.

The pen and ink drawing on the right is one of the illustrations I did for a children’s book published in Holland in 2008. It was written by Inge de Graaf and titled “Matthijs in Honderdland.”

This month’s art exhibit at the Creamery, Springfield, MO, will kick off at the First Friday Artwalk. It will feature works created by members of the Artists’s Way groups. I have two items in the show. One is a watercolor I painted that embodies Amelia Island for me with its sand dunes, birds, and lighthouse. The second is a print from a pen and ink illustration done for a children’s book that was published in Holland in 2008.

It’s published!

It’s a great children’s story.  If you can read Dutch, I encourage you to buy it for your children.

(Maybe one day it will be translated into English.)

I’ve had two vacations this summer, each one working its own magic of relaxation a bit differently.   But  the most magical time of this summer washed over me and engulfed me completely  while I was totally absorbed in a delightful new children’s book.  It began in Honderdland with a little boy named Matthijs.

I read it once for the story itself, enjoying and appreciating the author’s imagination.  Then I read it again with an eye for what would make a good illustration….

My hand reached for the mechanical pencil I use for sketching.  It seemed a bit slow at first–it always does–as I  sketched  a variety of faces for possible use.   Then an idea for an illustration came.  As I worked on that one, another  idea crowded in followed by others.   Soon I was very busy.

The creative process took over.  I am constantly amazed by it.  I start out with an idea; I’m in control of that idea…well, for awhile anyway.  Then suddenly the drawing, the illustration, the painting, demands to be changed.  It doesn’t want that bush, cloud, or color there, or it wants darker trees in the foreground; or it won’t stay just a small drawing, it refuses to be complete without more added to it.  Or it says no to all the color I had planned, or it cries out for more color than I had planned.  The details I worked so hard on just don’t fit or draw attention away from where it should be and have to be taken out.  The passage of time means nothing.   My whole focus is this emerging creation.  It’s an enjoyable challenge.  It’s my  high.

This particular project is now complete; it’s at the publisher.  Matthijs in Honderdland, by Inge de Graaf, illustrated by Nancy Dailey, will be out soon.         Woohoo!