Barlow's Banter

My friend, Steven Paul Barlow, has just started his own blog, Barlow's Banter. He is the author of "My Brushes With Death And Other Outdoor Blunders", a book that I illustrated a couple of years ago. I shared some illustrations from the book here, here and here. Steve (no one calls him "Steven Paul", that's his writin' name) will be sharing his thoughts on all things outdoorsy in his usual humorous style. He is considering doing another compilation of his columns from Game & Fish Publications. If he does, I hope to illustrate that one too.


This is the cover art from the first book. I know I said that I wouldn't show anymore art from the book, but hey, it's the cover. And he's got a new blog. I had to show something. You can still get a copy of the first book at Briar Hill Books or through Amazon.

Lab Partner

Here's a piece I did for the latest SCBWI contest. The challenge was to illustrate the following. "When your book's main character gets to the first day of Biology something worse than mold in a petri dish is waiting". You can see the winners here.

Wild Thing

I have long been a Maurice Sendak fan. I love "Where The Wild Things Are" and his other works. My favorite when I was a kid was one he didn't write but illustrated; "Mr.Rabbit and the Lovely Present" by Charlotte Zolotow. I still have my copy. It's held together with yellowing scotch tape (Mom's not an archivist). It's a very peaceful book as opposed to "Where The Wild Things Are", which I learned to love later in life, probably because it was fun to read to my kids.

Today I was looking at all my Wild Things stuff in my studio (including the t-shirt I was wearing) and decided to draw my own Wild Thing. He doesn't compare to Bernard or Moishe, but I like him okay. I call him Knute.

Entering the cave

Another sci-fi picture in ink wash. This one is not from a particular story. It was inspired by a closeup of a condor's face in Smithsonian Magazine. I'm not sure what they are finding in the cave.

The Dark Light Girl

An illustration inspired by "the Dark Light Girl", a short story by Alan Dean Foster. I did it as an exercise in ink wash. The subject is a girl that glows in the dark. It was a challenge to depict the subject as the source of light.

Soccer

An ink and watercolor piece of kids playing the "Beautiful Game".

Cutbelly

Here's a picture of Cutbelly the werefox from Michael Chabon's Summerland. A fantasy book he wrote a few years ago that involves elves, indian legends and baseball. It's no Narnia, but it has a lot of cool imagery that makes for a good illustration exercise.

Jazz

I entered this in a contest to illustrate the poster campaign for the Syracuse Jazzfest. It's an attempt to show a connection between the early forms and modern forms of jazz. There's a classic double bass player representing the Ellington/Basie era playing with a "modern" looking fusion type playing a 5 string electric bass guitar. I also tried to capture the sense of joy musicians can have when playing well together. I depicted bass players because they're the coolest musicians, of course.


I didn't win. The woman who did win did a great job. I would have picked hers, too.

A Questionable Fishing Technique

Here is another illustration from "My Brushes with Death and Other Outdoor Blunders" by Steven Paul Barlow. It's a depiction of Steve's ancestor and his ineptness at fishing.

I won't be posting anymore illustrations from the book. If you want to see the rest, you'll have to buy a copy. It is available here. It's a very funny book.

Penguin

A couple of kids meeting a new friend. I think the boy has a more realistic view of the implications of meeting a large waterfowl in your neighborhood.
Acrylic on paper.

The Great Race

This was done for an illustration contest sponsored by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Entries had to illustrate the phrase; "Contestants in the great race are barreling towards the finish line...and the most unlikely contestant wins!"

I conceived of a story wherein a young girl, let's call her "Alex", has to compete in a race in gym class. She doesn't like competition and is intimidated by the over-competitive boys. However, Alex is a dancer and decides to don her ballet slippers before the race. Confident in her slippers she outruns the boys and wins, crossing the line with a grand jeté.

My picture didn't win, but it was a good exercise.

Gone fishing

Another illustration from My Brushes with Death and Other Outdoor Blunders. Steve is devoted to his fishing.

It was exciting when the book came out. I have had drawings published in small newsletters before, but this was a real hardbound book! Just like in the bookstores! It really inspired me to get serious about illustration. Hopefully there are more books to come.

Our Last Campout

This is an ink and wash illustration from "My Brushes with Death and Other Outdoor Blunders, a Family Man's Guide to Hunting and Fishing Woe" written by my friend, Steven Paul Barlow. It is a collection of humorous columns he wrote for an outdoor magazine. Most of the stories are about Steve's ineptness at hunting and fishing. Knowing him, I suspect he exaggerates his incompetence.
This drawing was for a story written as if he was sharing pictures from his family's last camping trip. The pictures tell a tale of disaster.
This structure made it fun to draw all the little scenes in the pictures. It ended up looking almost like an avant-garde comic strip.


Another still life. A very small medicine bottle and a button. 4" x 6" acrylic on panel.

Football

It was football season and I wanted to do a sports picture. My nephews weren't available to pose for the picture I wanted to do, kids playing football. An image came to me of a Paul Bunyan type legendary football player and did this in watercolor and gouache.