The tutorial Blanking Page at www. Yellapalooza.com is meant to encourage picture book writers and illustrators to take the WHOLE page as well as the WHOLE book into consideration. It talks about the impact of color, composition, story, legibility, etc., which is a huge topic. The second part is about what it takes to lead the eye through the book, and keeping the reader interested. How color impacts the illustration is a huge thing, if a book reads ALL the same or if it's too choppy and doesn't follow logic, I believe makes a less successful book than one that piques and maintains the interest and even better is how to get the reader to want to read the book many times... a lovely feature for children. The idea of helping with language, social and literacy skills, I can't think of anything more satisfying, fun or important. Because best of all, kids LOVE the ridiculous, the sublime, the important, the heartfelt.

So these two were the original drawings (there were to be four) showing the impact and differences between triadic and complement, and oppositional complement and analogous palettes. This is done in grisaille again (the paper for all of these btw is Paper for Pens, my favorite quick paper for brush work and calligraphy that doesn't have to be on colored or heavier paper-- very small tooth to it, it's very SMOOTH so there's not a lot of flecking). 3b seems to my favorite, and Prismas. I occasionally like Derwent, but it's easy to take the wax buildup down. I haven't decided when I REDO this what palette to use, and whether to paint it (acrylics, more than likely, though I do work in water color and want to master guoache)or stick with the grisaille and play with turpentine to see if it makes it more "painterly". Perhaps I'll try it all ways and choose the strongest. Depends on my ambition level. One thing I am looking forward to again at one point is working from real models again. Most of my drawings are constructed from imagination and memory, and I think they're weak because of it. But with NO budget it's hard to justify hiring models.

This is a w-i-p, in the very beginning stages. I'm interested in the story telling and the reflections. Done in grisaille, it's 2, 3, 4B pencils with Prismacolor over. I blend with a stump, toilet paper and pick out the highlights with a kneaded eraser. When done I will pop the highlights with some Chinese White acrylic or guoache and a fine brush. At the moment I'm not happy that the color is soooo muddy (working in pure color is fun, but I like the old fashioned hand-watercolored feeling to grisaille, fun texture.

I'm still trying to find the perfect medium. I'm conflicted. I'm from the Leo and Diane Dillon school of thought... the story determines everything. The words (voice), the marks and medium of the illustration, style. Personally, being slightly schizophrenic I can work in all those voices and images. But the way the business works, the powers that be would rather have you do ONE thing and well, for selling purposes. I do understand it, but my brain does not work this way. I've found that what happens when I try to "fit" myself into other's molds I fall apart and just can't do it. So instead of doing what I know everyone wants all the time, I will do what I can for them, but do it mostly for me and see how things fall. If nothing else, that has been one of the biggest lessons of my life, from some truly great inspirations (Ieuan Rees, Bonnie Spiegel, Peter Halliday, Fritz Scholder, Chip Chadbourne, the list is long and I'm blessed to have known and to have studied with some of them)-- BE TRUE TO YOUR OWN VOICE AND GIFTS. LISTEN TO YOUR INNER SELF.

So I will set up a website and try do to do the mailings. That is what it's called for, and I've not done it. But I must create the things, pieces, books that speak to me. Even though it might originally look as if I'm too far-flung, I do know there is a connectedness and it is ME, so I will simply throw myself into my work and hope there's someone(s) that "get" me. Because what I've been doing, hasn't been working.

At present I'm working on my portfolio and a few short writing pieces (a tutorial for www.Yellapalooza.com the second part to The Blanking Page: Turning a New Leaf, and a poem, Terrible Terrance Terrapin) I have to rewrite one picture book and redo the illustrations (not as much work as the rewrite) Nana's Gift, finish Whateverafter. And Robert Oryem will be coming back from the Sudan the end of the month and we will begin in earnest a book of his story. All the while I wish to rebuild my portfolio, hopefully setting up a website and by the end of the summer, begin mailing. I hope this blog will chronicle not only my progress, but technique. It may or may not attract anyone (I hope it does, it would be nice to have the feedback). But it's not why I do it.

This helps to hold me accountable to my dreams and aspirations. It gives me the opportunity to think out loud. And keep me on track. I will post two more posts today (computer providing, it's being a bit of poopyhead). One will be a work in progress. The other was going to illustrate the tutorial, but I will redo it instead as portfolio piece.

Wooohooo, I'm part of the Picture-Bookies, and incredibly talented group of Illustrators (some are writers as well). I've been in critique or professional groups with at least a third of the Bookies. And though I have another blog, I've decided to keep this one as well, as a totally professional, how-to blog. I'll announce it and link it when I have more and more time (sick child home. Okay, not totally, completely professional, because when you work at home, the issues SLAM into one other. But I promise to only post personal on how it interects the professional).

I'm in the process of ramping up my work, and so looking forward to the next few months!