Jun 17 - The Cover with more Work

WOW. I can't believe I let this much time go by without writing to you. Life gets in the way some times, and my last post was when I was down in San Diego for the opening of the Women Artists of the West show. I do hope you can visit the Wieghorst Museum and take in the show. It will be up through the end of this month.

Here's the cover, coming along nicely now. I have it almost finished on my easel as I type this, and share these stages with you to help you understand how it comes together.

I've had to take images of my friend holding a sword to make future corrections in the anatomy. I did these guys out of my head, so they have some, um... "issues". "Head copy" is what all the old art directors and illustrators were known for. If the director needed a quick sketch of a person holding a can of beer, illustrators were able to draw that directly from their head--no reference. I can do that now, mostly with horses and people, trees and what not--must pay homage for all that early training!

All of the foreground around the figures is done with the Cool Box colors. The only warms in this piece so far are the skin hues!
So on this one, the Color System continues to provide cohesive color and ease of mixing.

Nothing new on the home front, except the chickies are growing up, and Willow thinks she owns them all. A gentle spirit.

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May 31 - Cover finished, off to Kentucky!

After all the work and thought, I'm about 99 percent finished with this one. Even signed it! I really like the added glow around the bird to show his magical power and the vertical drop as he comes in to rescue the two boys. Although I recognize that paintings for book covers might be passe, what with places like Amazon showing these teeny little images...that's why the titles on books now are so HUGE--so you can see them when they are only an inch tall. Yet with all of the digital and 3D art out here today, I still just love the look of a painted cover.

To show you all how it will look in a mock-up of the title, and spine, I've added this image with some digital type from Photoshop as well. All of the artwork was planned to allow for that title and info. This is not the final look, but it sure helps to see it with some wording!



Now on to finish packing for my flight tomorrow to Lexington, KY. I have the boarding pass!
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May 29 - The Book Cover Painting Continues

Here we are again, with this 16 x 20 oil, at it's next phase. Since I saw you yesterday, I've spent some time putting in the water big shapes in the foreground, and added two of the long tail feathers to create that all-important arc to bring your eye around where I wnat it to go. I've started to paint the wings, tail and head, but will hold off on the feet until I am sure of the position of the two brothers in the maelstrom of water below. The small dark line below and to the right is the proposed position of the guys, who are connected by the older holding the younger.

I've also delineated the top area, with pines and cedar trees that seem to point to the action, and grasses and rocks starting to take shape (middle ground) behind the phoenix. The boy's expressions and the implied line between them and the bird are yet to come! Now off to bed and much to look forward to tomorrow!


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May 28 - Finally hitting the Canvas - Book Cover

I've done some serious homework in trying to find a definitive representation of a phoenix, and all the leads come up with firey red and gold/yellow, and with long tail feathers, among other things. Fun to look for something that doesn't exist!

I've started the lay in for the 20 x 16 canvas, with an extra margin of one inche all around to take into account the cropping that might happen. Plus, the spine of the book will have the tail feathers wrapping around to carry the design and color onto it.

Although the figures are not in the composition yet, they will be below and to the right of the legs of the bird, looking up as the shadow comes toward them, and partially in the rushing river water. I love the contrasting red and yellow against all of the fantasy blues, red-violets and greens of the background!


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