Slow progress, Balookey's Mole

I am sorry to report that my scanner is still not working, so I have tried to photograph the pieces I am working on.  The first one is a collaboration with Andrea.

Collaboration with Andrea,
PITT Faber Castel pigment pens and colored pencil

Day 1

The second piece is the one I am currently working on, showing two stages of work. It is for my book, Frankie and Noah have a party.

day 2
I don't think the colors show up quite right.

After a week of work I still haven't got the first layer of paint down!
This is with a different camera!
Getting the colors right without a good scanner is a pain!

Day 8 on this piece
Still not finished!

Collaboration, 1st half, for Mike

The last piece is a collaboration for Mike to finish.  My intention was to do a simple graphic black and white but I got carried away and colored it.  "The owl and the Pussycat went to sea/ in a beautiful pea green boat." Mike, feel free to change the these, paint or color over or change any part of what I did, etc. You can erase the lines of the boat and the ear of the owl if you want to do something entirely different--it could be a scene in the daytime.It could be a graphic abstract.

Click images to view larger.

Mary in Andrea's: Noah helped Frankie write words on some paper

Noah helped Frankie write words on some paper
Invitations to come to their party and caper
Watercolor and gouache on wc Moleskine
by Mary Stebbins Taitt
Click image to view larger

This is my latest painting (illustration) and is for one of the children's books I am working on, Frankie and Noah have a Party.  It is done in Andrea's Moleskine, Round 4, Pass 2.  It is all watercolor except the blue background, which is gouache, on Moleskine watercolor paper.

Here is the text for this page:

Frankie helped Noah write on some paper                    

Invitations to come to a party and caper 

They’d fill up balloons with helium vapor

If they filled up enough it would lift up a tapir   

The pigeons and crows and the owls and wrens

carried the invites to their animal friends. (by me, of course)

The picture is of my grandson Frankie, who is three years old, and the finished book will be for him.

Mary in Mary's, page 4 pass 2 round 4: On a bright red caboose

On a bright red caboose
watercolor on watercolor moleskine
click this image (and others) to view larger
Second draft

On a bright red caboose
watercolor on watercolor moleskine

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Goose                                      

and their friends Aloysius and Frangelica Moose     

And two herons who complained their stockings were loose

all rode together on a bright red caboose.

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that I can get the book done in time for Christmas. (For my grandson).

This completes my work on this pass of round 4, except for the back cover and envelope if I have time--I'll be mailing soon.

(Now that I've signed it, scanned it and posted it, I've decided it's not quite done yet.) (By the way, the complexity of that caboose was just about beyond me!!!) (OK, I did work on it for another hour, not sure if I made it better or not, but the second one is on top.)

Final Spoonbill/Duckbill Plus Envelope Plus in-the-pocket

Spoonbill, Hornbill and Duckbill
Acrylic, by Mary Stebbins Taitt
Click on this or any image to view all of them larger

Spoonbill and Duckbill
with their friend Hornbill
Rode a red wagon downhill
with glorious freewill
past the sawmill
and came to a standstill
at Frankie's doorsill.

 Frankie is my grandson.  One of four.

I can't find the paper with the "poem" on it, and I'm not sure I'm remembering it right.

I forgot to mention that my over-enthusiastic painting damaged the thin paper and I had to apply two patches.  If you click on the upper picture to make it bigger, you can see the patches at the top left on a smaller patch just left of center at the top--sorry about that.  :-(

I am working on removing the gutter between the pages
for my book for Frankie.
and tweaking it
(not quite done yet.)

Roseate Spoonbills envelope
acrylic, Mary Stebbins Taitt

Pumice Fish
Acrylic, Mary Stebbins Taitt

I never went to art school, so I have to learn everything by experimenting.  I bought some pumice medium and played with it on the envelope for the first time ever (dumb, I know).  It was so rough, like sandpaper,only worse, so, worried about the mail carriers and postal employees injuring their fingers, I put a couple layers of matte medium over it, but that made it look dull.   :-(  It has lots of texture!  But less than before. (I also used a tiny but of the pumice medium on the rocks and on the road in the Spoonbill hornbill duckbill painting.)

In the Pocket:

Twin Poppies
oil on Graham Cracker box treated with acrylics
Mary Stebbisn Taitt

Flute Practice
oil and Arches Oil Paper
Mary Stebbins Taitt

Flute practice, side view
showing topography of oils

Mike, take the oils out and let them dry some more.  I hope they survive the journey to your house!!!

Cassandra Elise Lapwing revisited yet again (I'm probably still working on this):

Slow progress

I decided to post my slow progress on Mike's book because I'm afraid I won't be ready to mail on the 15th,

Session 1

First I searched for reference photos.  Then, because the paper is so thin, I sprayed it, then drew on it with a white "soufflé" pen. (I tried pencil and ballpoint, but they didn't show up.) I intentionally made Frankie and the animals proportionately a little extra big relative to the porch and door etc.

Session 2

I worked on the boy first.  He is my grandson,  Unfortunately, the ballpoint pen ink keeps coming through the paint, and unfortunately, I only used it on Frankie, on his face, legs and neck!!  :-(

Session 3

Frankie's face was too short in the beginning, but I overcompensated and made it too long.  This is a very slow process.  It will be a while before I finish it, and I have the two collaborations to do--I started on one, but not on the other yet.  I've had some health issues and family crises (including a kid in jail, a kid with a concussion, etc).  But I am plugging away.

Session 4

I worked on the mountains plus trying to get rid of the stupid white lines from my sketch.

Session 5, Monday Night, August 12

I worked on Frankie's Face, the trees on the hills, the logs, some of the clouds and fog in the mountains. I'm very slow--each session is a couple hours long.  You probably can;t even tell the difference.  None of the photos quite look like the actual painting.

Giraffe on a Raft: First (2) in Mike's by Mary

Giraffe on a Raft
acrylic
Mary Stebbins Taitt
in Mike's
Click to view Larger

Gerry Giraffe, kneeling fore, not aft

paddled a raft, his favorite craft,

with a hearty laugh at the cooling draft

while his friend Danny Deer, always sincere

and full of good cheer, steered from the rear

sipping root beer.

or

maybe just

Giraffe paddled his raft

kneeling fore, not aft,

whole his friend deer

steered from the rear.

For a kid's book I am working on.

Round 2: Castle LeFini

Sissy and Garryd at Castle LeFini

I sent off Aya's sketchbook to Mike, because I was having surgery and not sure how I would be afterwards.  I had the surgery and am recovering, and wanted to paint, so I painted in one of the old returned Moles from 2011-2012 (Was that Round 2?).  This is an illo for another kids' book I am working on, faber Castelle Pitt Pigment pen and watercolor.  If interested,you can read the chapter here, it is fairly short (3 pages typed).  I gave it the tag children's picture book, but it probably will be a novel if finish it.

JACOB AND THE MERBOY last one in Ballookey's

I wanted to put text on, but stupidly, I forgot to leave room! :-(

This is from (for) my as yet unfinished children's picture book, tentatively titled Jacob, Merjon and the Great Fish. By unfinished, I mean I haven't even finished writing it--I do have a first draft. This page comes earlier in the book than the previous one and they are not contiguous or continuous in the book.

These are the only pieces I've made so far--I haven't decided on a medium, but I may actually use these (or the scans of them) IF I can clean them up OK. (Otherwise, they may be "studies" for the book.) They did not scan perfectly because my scanner is not that great and the nook is not flat. This page has an acrylic painting on the other side. You can see the texture of it right through the paper.

Anyway, I have finished with the art in Ballookey's book and in a few days, will get it packaged up and sent off to Mike Kline. Click once (and then again) to view the image larger.

Jacob and the Waterspout

This is my third page in Ballookey's Mole. It is an illustration (or study for an illustration) from my as yet untitled brand newly written children's book. The temporary title is, Jacob, Merjon, and the Dream Fish. It's (obviously) a children's picture book. This page occurs several pages into the book, but it's the first one I've done. I have not decided yet what medium I want to work in, but I kind of like the line drawing. However, I wanted fog, and I don't know how to create fog in a line drawing in pen and ink. Micron 005 pen. Click image to view larger--click again to view even larger. Click HERE to read the early draft version of the story.