Spring fawn

Will there be baby deer in the neighborhood woodland draw this spring? There were two sets of twins last year!

And...Full Color Bard!

The Bard is finished! Here are some full color details from the illustration. Now to the designer to make a poster.

The Bard in Black & White

The black and white scratchboard work of Shakespeare and his woodland friends is done. I've scanned and "cleaned" it in Photoshop. Now, it gets printed onto watercolor paper and then I'll traditionally color with watercolor and dyes. I'll post a detail of the finished art later this week.

Scratching the Bard

I've been busy working on a poster illustration for the Riverside Theater's Shakespeare Festival. The subject matter is right up my alley; woodland creatures enjoying a play with the Bard himself. Here's a bit of my process, in photos. I make a rough sketch in pencil; refine it, then transfer it to the black-inked surface of the scratchboard with white chalk. At this point, I get out my exacto-blade, make a few guidelines over the chalk lines and start "scratching" away the details. Will post the final art when I am finished.

I saw a flock of birds last evening, flying north. They were peeping to each other, kind of a sonar sound, keeping everyone together. I am working on a children's book about where birds live right now, so I feel particularly connected this spring to the migrations.

Spring is in the air here in Iowa, but the daffodils will be hiding for a few weeks yet. Happy thoughts of spring!