What can I say..... busy Illustrating

I wish I could say that I have not had the time to update the blog. That would be a lie. I could have made more time for it. However, I have been trying to put together some illustrations for another book that I have been contracted to illustrate. Needless to say, I have been bringing words to visual life one brush stroke at a time. My wife wonders how I do it. What is the secret to taking someones outlandish thoughts, put them together in my imagination, and then bring them to life on a page? Well, to put it simply, I rely heavily on sketch pads, and let the weird parts of my brain work. Sometimes, I have a very fixed set of parameters to work with. Such as my most recent effort in "Fay and the Skating Eggs". I had photos of the principles to work with and a specific set of events to work off of. So that part was easy. The next part was making the illustrations match the story. That part not so easy. Thank heaven for layering and computer art programs. If I had to do it paint to canvas..... very ugly. Let's just say that I already go through enough reams of paper and packages of pencils working out the initial layout and sketching to make my wife doubt my sanity. I just don't do things perfect the first time. I know shocking.... who would have guessed. There are those who do and do it well, my driving cap off to all of you. I don't. Mine is a very painful trial-and-error-until-I-get-what-I-want process. The thing that I like most about Illustrating is that you get to know the characters you draw in a profound way. Now I know I am not the only one who this happens to but I will be the first one to admit it. ON some really late nights after putting 12-15 hours into a single illustration those characters follow me into my dreams and there I get even more ideas on how to make the work better. On other times it is just plain weirdness. So why do I do it? Not such an easy answer to that one. I like the feeling of having done something creative. Sinfully and selfishly, I like to see the author's face when they see the work and have their mouths drop. More than that I like to see the look in children's faces when they read or hear the words and then point to the picture and smile. I do love that more than anything else. So back to the the proverbial and for me the literal drawing board. Let me know what you all think. P.S. I am going to be setting up a website for 'Fay and the Skating eggs' as soon as I can get around to it. You will be able to get the book there.