Iguanodon and Charlie Brown

Just a couple of new things this week. I've been working on my submission for Prehistoric Times magazine for the fall issue. I had done one previously but I was never EXACTLY happy with it. So I decided to give it another go with a different attitude about the composition. I went with less of a central motif and had the old girl wandering off into the background as well as added a little iguanodon for a little more of a family touch. I decided the foreground needed a little something so I put one of those giant dragonflies that were very prevalent at the time. I liked this composition MUCH better.



And I really wanted to submit one in color this time so after a few days of horrifying myself about the color, I grabbed the old watercolors again. And then I got THIS...



I'm still not happy with my watercoloring skills but I AM really just starting out with them so I can't beat myself up TOO much (even though I will).

So while I'm working, I take little breaks here and there and usually sit in the studio listening to my music and I do different little things to distract myself while something dries. I will sketch out a new drawing, play solitaire, or usually read something. I surround myself with a lot of different reading materials. Right now my main reading book is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay but I also have a collection of Peanuts cartoons I've been picking up periodically. The man was, in the simplest terms, a genius. He could encapsulate inspiration and a way to live in a few simple ink lines and fewer words.



(Now obviously in this case I mean the inspiration of Schroeder's words NOT Lucy's but she also has her moments.) There is no anniversary today, no reason to be appreciative of a genius who left us ten years ago...other than the reason to always look on work that touches us and appreciate it again. We miss you, Sparky.