The Phantom Tollbooth

Check it out: They're making a documentary about the children's classic The Phantom Tollbooth.

This looks absolutely delightful! I can't wait to see it.

I have to say, I read The Phantom Tollbooth as an adult, rather than as a kid, and kind of feel like I missed my window to really fall in love with this book. Which is odd, because I adored Roal Dahl's books, and as an adult, I'm a huge Terry Pratchett fan. This story is right up that alley, yet somehow I just did't connect with it.

I felt somehow that it would make a better cartoon than a book, which is something I usually never think. But it just so happens that my hero Chuck Jones thought so too, because he made a cartoon version in 1970. It looks just like his Rikki Tikki Tavi feature. See it on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llg5VODW6n4

I suppose it's an appropriate Throw-back Thursday sort of thing to have stumbled over a forgotten gem from my childhood. I have owned several copies of Hilary Knight's Where's Wallace? in my life, and true to the habits of the book's main character, the book itself frequently went missing. I think I left one at the airport when I was five.

It's premise is similar to Where's Waldo?, but concerning a delightful orange orangutan who is a bit easier for younger audiences to locate. But every page is still teaming with dozens of quirky characters.

I remember just pouring over the pages, taking in all the minute details of all the actions and expressions. I still have huge respect for artists capable of such compositions. While I was good at finding the monkey (excuse me, ape), in all my grown-upness, I've become far too impatient to sit and actually draw all those gajillions of people.

Most of you would recognize the art style of Hilary Knight, the artist responsible for the wildly popular Eloise books.  He also did illustrations for the more endearingly dated Miss Piggle-Wiggle series, a collection of cautionary tales for independent readers.

His whimsical style has stuck with me for years, and I just keep coming back to it. He illustrated over 50 children's books in his career, but many of them are now out of print. Guess I should snap up an Eloise box set while I have the chance.

The Story of the Cat and the Well

I'm working on my next book, and one of the spot illustrations is one I can really relate to.

I have myself fallen in a bit of a financial well of late and was trying to convey that sense of "Uh, crap....now what do I do?"

When I was little and trying to delay the putting to bed process, I would try and finagle just one more story out of my dad. Having tired of my novel wakefulness for the day, dad would reply with "Once upon a time, there was a cat. And he fell down a well. The end. Goodnight." 

I learned not to ask for an encore unless I wanted to hear tales of small furry creatures meeting untimely ends.

goofy fish

Working on some studies for my portfolio. I'll admit technical and stylistic studies are something I just don't do enough. I think most artists could benefit from just looking at something and just drawing it. Just paint it, play with it. Just cuz. But I get so caught up in whatever my big main project is, I forget to just look at the world. Whenever I google fish, I just end up staring at them, mesmerized and forget I meant to paint them. There's something about how water affects light and color that I just find transportive, and interpreting it as an artist is such a challenge. So then I just say "meh, I'm gonna draw Steve Buscemi as a fish instead".

Well my hoarding tendencies seem to have paid off at least a little. My computer may have crashed, but I still have every sketchbook I've ever had since the fourth grade. I was flipping through some stuff trying to rebuild my portfolio and stumbled on some pretty birdies.

Hey Look! A Book!

I wrote a book! It's about a little Viking trying to find his way in the tough Viking world. Rather similar to How to Train Your Dragon (I wrote my story before the movie came out! Blast you Dreamworks!) but for babies. Plus it's super cute. It's my first book and I busted my butt to make it awesome and now I'm super proud. We're currently trouble shooting technical printing junk, but it should be available on Amazon by August, so keep an eye peeled for Frank the Gentle Viking

I was feeling burned out on the handful of projects I've been working on. Looking at some of Kate Beaton's art inspired me to pick up a pen and reacquaint myself with some of my own country's historic faces. Now my day job pretty much just involves answering the phone, which I can do at the same time as doodle, but my boss caught me at it and looked at me like I was from outer space. Now granted, artists tend to have a very skewed perception of "normal", but drawing caricatures isn't all that strange an activity, is it? I asked if he needed me to do something for him, some other work, which he didn't, and the conversation ended with the phrase, "Don't get weird on me, Lucy."

If this sort of activity is considered weird, then clearly that's a promise I can't make. I think he and I just really don't know what to do with each other.