Spring Fever

Getting antsy for spring. Saw an old plant press that I decorated. There is some metal and soldier, mixed with paint.

Saw a couple of shoots breaking through the snow and it made me go look at my plant press and the plants I have collected over the years. There's a timberline pine from Crater Lake, a redwood from the Smith watershed and a bunch of others.

This is the press I use in the field.

Using Darker Colors

I'm taking a watercolor course currently and the teacher dared me to darken my colors. I am taking the challenge slowly, but a couple of times I really liked what happened. The first painting, Crater Lake, has some rocks on the left side that really came to life for me. It's scary to see the colors so dark and such a mess, but as they dry the magic starts to work.

Not too happy with this. Will have to do it over. It is the final scene, when the stars make it back into the sky and comfort the moon. Forgot to make the moon smiling and it is missing something else.

Night Balloon and Children Launch

The children have found stars all over the Land of Dreams and are trying to get them back into the sky. Their first attempt is this launch, but they find that the moon is too far away and must do a bunch of other stuff to make the moon not so lonely. They hold on tight to the balloons and jump into the sky to begin their journey.

Whale Evolution

My story needed a magical element and a friend was kind enough to assert that whales could probably bring that elusive quality. Whales now collect all the lost balloons that have ever slipped from a crying child's hand. They deliver them to the sky, close to the moon, to bring the moon happiness. Here is the evolution of the whale I will be using.

I have put aside the writing of my Young Adult book for the last several weeks to work on a picture book for my niece, Luna. The main idea of the book is that the stars have been stolen from the sky causing the moon to be lonely. Several children take it upon themselves to get the stars back in the sky. Here are some of the preliminary pictures. They were done in watercolor and ink.