Adventures in Watercolor Painting

Traditional advice says that before soliciting work, an illustrator must have a portfolio of 12-24 pieces of her very best work.

Solid advice, but wondering if my art was portfolio-worthy in the past caused me to hate everything I created. As a result I didn’t treat my work with respect,(why would I if it wasn’t good enough for my portfolio?). Few pieces were saved or preserved, and lots were given away or thrown out, (for shame!). So today my portfolio is… scant…

…nonexistent might be more accurate.

I haven’t looked for illustration opportunities for lack of a portfolio. Lately, I’ve been in talks with an editor who may want to hire me to do the illustrations for a book she’s publishing. This lead sort of fell in my lap and I decided to pursue the job, portfolio or no. Sometimes I feel it’s best to take a leap before I feel ready, otherwise I procrastinate indefinitely.

I sent the editor one of my pen and ink drawings and she was very interested in my work. She told me she wanted to see some of my watercolor paintings, too. Unfortunately, while I have a lot of knowledge about watercolor, I don’t have as much experience using it as I do with graphite or ink. So over the last couple weeks I’ve been working on improving my watercolor skills. I’ve been painting up a storm and watching tutorials on Youtube to see how other artists use the medium.

Here are a pen and ink drawing I did some months back, and one of my watercolors from this week:

In my experience pen and ink is was way easier to control than watercolor. (Can you tell I have an obsession with birds?)

While neither piece is technically an illustration-- that is, there’s no narrative in the imagery-- they do show my skills with ink and watercolor paints. (They’re also similarly composed; not very inventive I must admit).

Watercolor paints have a mind of their own and can’t be entirely controlled. If you want a medium that will sit, stay, and obey your every command, you’re better off using graphite or pastels. But watercolor has a grace and luminosity that no other medium possesses, and that’s the beauty of it. That’s why I’ve wanted to use it for years. Also, most of my illustration idols are watercolorists. If I want to paint like Mercer Mayer, Jerry Pinkney, or Alan Lee, I’ll need to get the hang of watercolor at some point.

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On a related note, I wish I was in Massachusetts right now. Since November of last year through May of this year, the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts has an exhibit of Jerry Pinkney’s work. It has 150 of his original illustrations, dummy-books, and process drawings. Since the mid 1960’s, Pinkney has done illustrations for dozens of magazines and more than 80 books for children. And I love him.

Pinkney has been one of my idols since I was seven. I was introduced to The Talking Eggs during second grade story-time, and instantly fell in love with his rich tones, “dappled” brush-strokes, and dark pencil lines. I would just die to see some of his work in person.

Pinkey thinks of himself as narrative artist. He says that he’s more of a pencil-drawer than a watercolorist. He wants his pencil marks to show through the paint, and often “draws” with the tip of his paint brush.

Here’s the cover image he did for a book about John Henry:

Look at the pencil detail in the hammer, hat, and the trees in the background. It almost looks like a paint-by-number, doesn’t it?

There are some great examples of his work in this video, too.

Alright, I’m inspired. If Pinkney is better with dry media than watercolor, and can still create paintings like these, there’s hope for me yet. Reguardless of whether I get this illustration job or not, I promise to create some illustrations for my portfolio, (and not just draw birds floating in empty spaces). Wish me luck!

Peace out!

-Jovan

I Like It When Children’s Stories Get Dark and Creepy

The excerpts in this clip make me think this documentary is going to be very serious and dark. It makes me want to see it even more.

Not sure about this one, though. It could be really good, or it could be Twilight...

Sigh, I’ll probably go see it anyway.

Peace out!

-Jovan

Few But Good (Part II)

Three more books to go! First up:

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood, illustrated by her husband, Don Wood. King Bidgood refuses to get out of the tub, preferring to battle, eat, hunt, and dance in the bath. Members of his court try to convince him to come out, but Bidgood insists that they get in the tub with him. Only the Court Page remains dry and successfully gets him out-- by pulling the plug!

While the writing is cute and uses a nice repetitive rhythm, I bought this book for the pictures. The paintings, (which I believe were done in acrylic), are masterfully executed. The color choices are sophisticated, and the costumes are based on historical examples. Because of the accurate lighting and expressions, it’s obvious that Mr. Wood used photographs. I bet that he and Mrs. Wood posed for the photos themselves, (and had a lot of fun doing it, too).

For those interested in learning to illustrate expressive characters, King Bidgood is a wonderful example of how to do it well. (And if you’re just starting out and not so good at mugging for the camera, this book is a nice reference you might want to get).

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Castle: Medieval Days and Knights by Kyle Olmon, illustrated by Tracy Sabin, and pop-ups designed by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. Okay, confession time: I’ve never actually read this book. I bought it because I fell in love with Robert Sabuda’s pop-up versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, (I have both in storage).

Pop-up books in general have always amazed me, but Sabuda’s books (and the books he’s done with his partner, Matthew Reinhart), are on another plane entirely. One of the factors that makes their pop-ups outstanding is that unlike many pop-up artists, Sabuda and Reinhart don’t rely on pull-tabs to create movement. Instead, most of their illustrations spring to life just by turning the pages. They push paper-engineering to its limits and the results are breathtaking. Their illustration style is also distinct: ususally made from hand-painted paper mosaics that look like stained glass.

As wonderful as their books tend to be, Castle is not my favorite. Maybe it’s because they had to use someone else’s illustrations, but the layouts and pop-ups are somewhat static compared those in their other books. In Wizard of Oz, Sabuda managed to make a tornado that actually spins! In his version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, fifty-two cards engulf Alice and stand several inches off the page. In contrast, most of the illustrations in Castle are done head-on, hardly move, and rely on traditional pop-up construction. They just lack that Sabuda/Reinhart inventiveness.

For example, compare this layout from Alice:

to this from Castle:

Awe, and I was hoping for an epic jousting battle... At least he raises the blade when you turn the page.

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Oh wait, here’s the joust:

You call that epic? Oh well, at least I bought it on sale, (totally worth the $4 I spent).

In the video below Reinhart and Sabuda talk about their books. At about 2:30 into it you can see the spinning cyclone from Wizard of Oz in action.

I’m in awe of their engineering skills, aren’t you?

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And finally,Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, written and illustrated by Adam Rex. The subtitle of this book is And Other Stories You’re Sure to Like, Because They’re About Monsters, And Some of Them Are Also About Food. You Like Food, Don’t You? Well, All Right Then., which pretty much tells you the tone of the book.

Full of short stories and poems this book is pure movie-monster silliness. For example: The Phantom of The Opera is driven mad because horrible songs, (like It’s a Small World) have gotten stuck in his head; Dracula has a piece of spinach stuck in his teeth at a party and no one has the courage to tell him; Frankenstein makes a sandwich from the rotten foods lobbed at him by frightened villagers; The Creature from the Black Lagoon forgets to wait an hour after eating before getting back in the water.

From reading other books by Adam Rex I’ve decided that I hate him. No one should be that talented. He has a great sense of humor, a unique voice, and paints in several styles and mediums (pen and ink, watercolor, pencil, acrylic, photo-montage). It’s just not fair. Frankenstein is a poo-poo platter of his artistry and every piece is scrumptious.

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Few But Good (Part I)

My mom kept my childhood picture book collection while I was in college. I planned on sending for them once I got my first job and settled into an apartment, but that didn’t happen. Not long after I joined the working world my mom died due to a life-long battle with illness. After she died, the lot was boxed-up and put in storage. I didn’t want to deal with gathering my belongings or pay to ship them-- nor did I have the anywhere to keep them-- so I just left them there. I now live in a place with enough room for my old collection, but I lack the money to ship 150lbs of books. Once funds are sufficient I’ll have them shipped to me and I’ll be reunited with my childhood friends.

Meanwhile, I purchase new books as my budget allows. The books I’ve been collecting-- “for my future children” I tell myself, but really, who am I kidding?-- are few but good. There are six in all. While I don’t plan on reviewing every book I read in this blog, for my first post I thought I’d share my current collection, (since it’s only wafer-thin). Without further ado:

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G is for One Gzonk! An Alpha-number-bet Book By Tiny DiTerlooney by Tony DiTerlizzi. Tiny draws strange creatures for every letter of the alphabet and describes each in rhyme. Everything goes well until some counting creatures hijack the pages and add numbers to Tiny’s narration, (much to his frustration).

Gzonk! combines the silliness of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, with the “draw-you-own-adventure” quality found in Harold and the Purple Crayon. It also pokes fun at traditional alphabet books. While most alphabet books use alliteration to help children memorize letters, (“A is for an Avalanche of Appalachian Aardvarks Arguing with Aluminum Apples”), Gzonk! makes it a point to not do that. It may look as if the Gzonk is balancing a goldfish on his nose, but Tiny points out that it’s a piranha. And though you might say the Gzonk is green, Tiny insists that he’s “avocado”. All of this adds to the charm of the book.

This is book embodies all the elements of a great picture book: clever words, lively personalities, fanciful imaginary creatures, dynamic illustrations, educational elements, conflict, and resolution. A total winner!

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Flotsam by David Wiesner, is an absolutely gorgeous wordless picture book. Combining full-page illustrations and comic-book paneling, it tells the story of a boy who finds an old underwater camera on the beach. Realizing that there’s film inside the camera, he gets it developed. When he gets the pictures back he's amazed by what he sees. If you haven’t seen the book yet I won’t spoil it by telling you what’s in the pictures. Suffice it to say, if you’d been in the boy’s shoes you’d forever believe in magic. I wish I had found something a wonderful as this camera when I was a kid. Honestly, it brings tears to my eyes thinking about it; no wonder this book got a Caldecott Medal.

Growing up, I preferred books with pictures and words. For some reason I thought that wordless picture books were a lazy way to create a story. Maybe I just didn’t find many books that did it well. If Flotsam had existed when I was in elementary school it would have knocked my socks off. This book is amazing; I hugged it the first time I read it.

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If You’re Afraid of the Dark Remember the Night Rainbow, Add One More Star to the Night, by Cooper Edens is a twofer. Night Rainbow is printed on one side and if you flip the book over you can read One More Star. The original book (If You’re Afraid of the Dark Remember the Night Rainbow) was published in 1979, and is one of my all time favorite books of any genre. I’m not entirely sure if it was intended to be a children’s book, but I read it over and over as a child anyway.

After hearing me reminisce about it for years, my boyfriend bought me this new edition with 36 more pages than the original! The writing is minimal, (only one sentence every other page). There’s no plot to the book(s). It begins, “If tomorrow morning the sky falls… have clouds for breakfast.”, and it continues, “If you lose the key… throw away the house.”; ‘If the clock stops… use your own hands to tell time.”. One More Star is an extension of the original book: “If you’re at the end of your rope… untie the knot in your heart.”; “If one day you must leave home… draw stars on the bottom of your shoes to light your way back.”. I’m not sure what it all means, but I think it’s lovely all the same.

The pastel illustrations are really pretty, too. In one drawing a man in a top hat stands on a ladder placing a colossal strawberry in the sky with adhesive bandages. In another, giant safety pins hold the horizon together as a couple embarks on a paddleboat ride. Another page shows a woman sitting on a veranda holding a human-sized swallow in a maternal embrace. The illustrations are surreal and add to the strange beauty of the writing. It’s almost ethereal.

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I’ll continue with part 2 of my collection in a few days. I don’t want to compete for your attention any further (I’m sure you have other blogs to read and a Facebook status to update). Stay tuned for more books!

Peace out!

--Jovan

Well Hello There!

My name’s Jovan and I love children’s picture books.

If you’re anything like me you couldn’t get enough Reading Rainbow as a child, never quite grew out of looking for Waldo, and still spend hours perusing the shelves of the children’s section in book stores-- even if you don’t have kids of your own to shop for! You’re a still a kid at heart and make no apologies for it.

Me and Tiberius, my guard tiger.

The goal of this blog is to share my picture book obsession with other like-minded people. I’ll talk about childhood favorites, new books, perspectives on the art form, and other related musings. I invite you to join me in conversation and share your opinions. I’m also an aspiring author and illustrator so I'll keep you posted on my endeavors, too.

I’m new at this blogging stuff so please be patient with me. I’m going to attempt to post once or twice a week as I create content worth sharing.

That’s it for now. See you in a few days.

Peace out!

-Jovan