So I’m continuing to take advantage of this pause between projects - but I’m switching from fun stuff like fishing to things that need to be done around the house. Things that involve lots of digging. Like digging up part of the sewer line and installing a clean out access, or digging post holes. I wish I had the digging skills of a crawdad. They seem to make short work of it. As a kid I used to love the impressively tall mud chimneys that marked the entrance to their tunnels. But like this crawdad I’d probably get distracted by a clam. I mean that literally, I could easily get distracted from any particular task by a clam.
I'll be on a BookCon Panel this weekend!
Check it out if you have time! If not I believe they’ll be recording it so it can be viewed later. Must remember not to pick my nose….
Goodbye Old Friend
A week ago my dear old dog and friend Marcus passed away. He was a spirited, ornery as hell wire haired fox terrier who had been a close part of my life for 17 years. My wife and I called him one of our “protochildren” (along with two cats), our kids before we had kids. I’ll miss him dearly! If you look at many MANY of my old paintings and illustrations, you’ll find him.
This is very VERY accurate representation of Marcus’s personality.
A painting from a board book made many years ago staring Marcus. You’ll be missed, buddy!
The Station
An old sketch of a train station from a story that I put on ice many moons ago. I’m itching to get these characters back in action when the time is right!
Alternate cover for Field Trip to the Moon
So right before I turned in the final art for Field Trip to the Moon, I had an idea for an alternate cover. It featured the class and space station more, and the bus less. Basically I just really thought the station should look like it spins to make artificial gravity. The editor passed on it, which I agree with, but I still like the way it looks.
This sketch show an alternate cover design showing the kids departing a station that spins to make artificial gravity.
And this sketch shows what that station looked like from space. The scale of it is much more enormous than the station used on the title page of Field Trip to the Moon. See below.
This is the final art of the version used.
Olive and her kids escape to the neighborhood fort
Another illustration for the Notable Missourian book on Olive Boone (Written by Greta Russell, published by Truman State University Press).
During the War of 1812, many Native American tribes were allied with England and would regularly attack the new settlements in Missouri. These were especially tense times, especially considering that Olive's husband Nathan was in the army and far away from home. On two occasions Olive and her children sought refuge at the neighborhood fort, fully expecting an Indian army to attack. Fortunately for Olive the attack never came.
