Maui Travel Sketches

Back at the Foxhole now. As fun as the trip was, it's always nice to step through the doorway and take a breath of Home!

Returned a little bit darker, a little bit more relaxed. Plenty of travel sketches while I was away. The ink was not idle. Had to send Dana off with the camera to entertain himself at times while I fixated on a quick scribble.

Kept the little book on me pretty much the whole time, except for those outings when there was nothing but "oceanswimming" on the schedule. There's nothing like floating in the cerulean embrace of the sea. So light and effortless!

Rickety old bridge. Eek!

So many lovely old banyans. This one's my favorite.

Then on to Hana. Solitude, and waterfalls, waterfalls, waterfalls!

I've been in a bamboo forest before in Japan, but I suppose the wind must have been still, because what I did not remember was the eerie music like hundreds of bamboo wind chimes each time the wind trailed her fingers across the top of the grove. Paired with the deep blue-green shadows of what little light filtered down through the leaves, it was an otherworldly trek.

Fox Kit

Okay, I lied, that wasn't the last post. But I couldn't resist for this one. Sitting here at my desk working on some layouts, and after a while I noticed that there had been a strange sound going in the background for quite a while. Sounded almost like a bird, but not quite like any of the species I'd usually hear (this includes the random roosters crowing at all hours. Roosters!?! Who's keeping chickens in Oakland??)

I looked up and this little guy was staring back at me. He raced off around the corner whenI rose to get my camera, but a minute later I heard, "yipyipyip!" and looked up to see him standing there again. This time he didn't move while I grabbed my camera and took a picture. I think it's a gray fox kit. I've seen their shadows slinking under fences into the Sausal Creek park area at night occasionally, melting into the moonlit underbrush, but this is the first time I've seen one during the day, and up close.

I think he lost mom (she's probably yawning and asleep in some nice dark den somewhere), but after about 5 minutes of circling round and round the house, he either found her or took his search elsewhere because I didn't see him any longer.

Dragon Sketch and Vacation

Sketch for the next painting. It's a commissioned piece, and I'm looking forward to painting it. But unfortunately it probably won't be for a while. This might well be my last post for a couple of weeks, as I'll be off on vacation in Maui, leaving this Wednesday. Beaches and warm waters! Bringing along plenty of sketchbooks so perhaps I'll have some scribbles to show for the time as well.

I always feel like I'm traveling so lightly when on vacation (as opposed to flying to a convention) since I don't have to bring along two 50-lb suitcases and a huge carryon as well!

Beneath the Eildon Tree

"Beneath the Eildon Tree"
Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
Medium: Watercolor

Thomas the Rhymer and Queen of Elfland beneath the Eildon Tree.

The Eildon Tree was a sacred hawthorne in the hills of Ercildoun, where Thomas was said to hail from. And the hawthorn is also sometimes known as the fairy bush, for the fey folk are said to inhabit its branches and are its guardians. Sprigs of hawthorn and its flowers were gathered to serve as protection from evil.

A hundred years I slept beneath a thorn,
Until the tree was root and branches of my thought,
Until white petals blossomed in my crown.
--- Kathleen Raine "The Traveler"

* * *

On a completely different topic, a whimsical little book I did some fun illustrations for earlier this year will be coming out in July The Hotel Under the Sand by Kage Baker.

* From the publisher's blog, Tachyon Books, with some previews of the ink drawings I did for the interior.

The Artists' Eternal Questions

* Why do art directors always pick the thumbnail you least want to use?
* The corollary to that: Why do customers invariably favor the print you most want to remove from your site?
* Why does the coffee/tea cup always feel like the instinctive place to rinse off a brush, no matter where you position it in relation to the real rinsing bowl, even at the far other end of the desk?
* How the hell does the glass scanner bed, while closed, manage to accumulate so much dust and crap after just being cleaned a few days ago?!?

Thomas the Rhymer Sketches

Thomas the Rhymer. He wandered the hills of Ercildoun one evening, when he was come upon by the Queen of Elfland. He kissed her, and the price of that kiss was to be borne away with her from Middle Earth and the mortal realms. For seven years, he stayed in Elfland before being returned to the world, gifted thenceforth with Truth.

Digging through my old sketchbooks again, as I do when looking for ideas. I came across this one, that I've long wanted to do something with. Lutes are such beautiful instruments, with the carved and layered rose at the center. My flamenco guitarist friend Stephen Faulk is also an instrument maker, and I'm always fascinated at the detail work that goes into the rosettes, both in his flamenco guitars and lutes. Little bits of carved and inlaid wood.

I did some minor research to make sure that Thomas could have played a lute (rather than a harp) and discovered that the ballads of the Rhymer are some of the earliest mention of lutes in Scotland. Artistic license is one thing, but I just wanted to ensure I was at least in the ballpark of reality, so it was good to find that confirmation.

A good starting point, but the sketch was a bit old. It could do with an update. So here came the newer improved version. Surprisingly, it didn't really require much brainstorming or redrawing, but came out mostly as I wanted on the first try without too much erasing and frustration.

Cleaned up and transferred to the illustration board. Details added in. Scooted the whole composition over a bit to the right so that it would be a bit more balanced. The initial sketch was too heavy towards the lower left corner, but that was the only major change really.

It's a good stopping point for today. Painting it tomorrow, and then that should complete the Bard chapter!

Etsy Mini Paintings

Daybreak
4x7 inches
watercolors

Well, trying to clean things out a bit in my studio, and so I've added 13 small originals to my Etsy store. Usually I only lug these little guys around with me to be sold at conventions and they are not available on the Shadowscapes site. For the most part they are between 3 and 7 inches in dimension. Most of them were spot illustrations for some project or other. A good number of them are from Dreamscapes, or the upcoming Dreamscapes 2.

Oberon
8x7.5 inches
watercolors