o canada
Daisy shot this photo in an underpass on our way to a ferry in St. John, New Brunswick, as we made a brisk loop in down east Canada to visit friends and family in early August. Even on vacation, my radar was fixed on whales. I sketched this on the 3 hour trip across the Bay of Fundy. I drew from a large poster of whales, awaiting a talk about the Fundy aquarium ecozone, in which humpbacks are the most common whale species. Brian, from the New Brunswick Museum, gave an informative talk, and passed around several samples of baleen, the brushy teeth-like parts that line a humpback’s...
Read Moremoto Maine
I love Maine. The state, the sea, the magazine. Above is my illustration that appears in the August issue for a wellness column about surfing in Maine. Something I’ve always wanted to try, but meanwhile it’s hard enough to squeeze in time for even one hobby, motorcycling. We like to take moto trips to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and since moving here in ’92 we’ve generally stayed right in Maine, exploring this big ole state. This year we didn’t go far. After a detour to Street Cycles to get new helmets, we stopped back in town at the Blue Spoon for lunch,...
Read Moreconnections on the book trail
I recently visited Judy Labrasca’s narrative book class at Maine College of Art, scene of the crime 9 years ago when I hatched my own Seven Days of Daisy. It’s a marvelous class, and I enjoy revisiting the space where stories begin. Judy always brings in lots of supplies, all organized in irresistible fashion. She also brings in loads of books for browsing when the mind draws a blank. Quite satisfying that mine are in the mix. Judy shares a ton of information, which might seem overwhelming, but becomes a backdrop to all the inspiration. She made small books for students to start...
Read Morehave pencils, will travel
My bookish travels have taken me to interesting places. In Skowhegan, I spotted a shop called From Nana to You. I simply had to pull over. Look at the vintage British paintbox I scored. I love everything about this illustration: the zoomy feel, the Space Station 7, the goofy moon. With 100 colours, anything is possible. I also found a vintage DownEast magazine from the year I was born. Guess that makes me vintage. Back before all magazines had to have slick photography covers. The illustration is by Henry Martin. My destination, the Skowhegan Free Public Library, is a proud keeper of many...
Read Moredrawing with color
“Colors are the children of light.” So said Johannes Itten, a Swiss painter and Bauhaus teacher. Here’s a glimpse of some color fun that happened in a recent youth art camp I taught at the TEIA on Peaks Island. We started with color terms, creating a color wheel, and drawing a palette of 10 favorite colors. Below: Owen’s choice of colors with very original names. Color naming and branding can be very associative and personal. I like “ish.” I also gave everyone a color journal. Just for fun, and for keeping notes and sketches and anything that might strike...
Read Moreone world
On the seventh day of the seventh month, my busy tour of bookish events around Seven Days of Daisy began at the Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport. Quite auspiciously, too, since I was there over four years ago on a visit with Mitali Perkins and Rickshaw Girl. Nice to start with familiar faces! In keeping with the summer reading program of One World, Many Voices, I gave a presentation first to a book group of girls who had just read Rickshaw Girl. I showed images from my childhood, my early career as an illustrator, and then sketches and referencing in the making of illustrations for...
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