Pen & Palette / IF TroubleI was offered to illustrate the cover of the Pen & Palette, which is the newsletter for the Carolina’s Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. How very exciting!
Also, I think this makes a pretty good entry for this week’s
Illustration Friday word, Trouble.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v-iwQEQy-ZDDGeWPvmuXU8JIZSAser9pwnZ8VSWXw7rGyiEGVVkCPRZqBG2E0WvkgwLk5cm0dJ-4MCJeK_zf44iakkRSiAP40kRK4mBJEo7sZUyLk=s0-d)
click on the image to view larger version
<![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uXtEbh_5gX9M0hEYXgWXfFlVOMpny6QaZEEQ3TWkeEXeKD5pXFKZVtq5Rp9TDnixTtnMSOZlTKfzuATt6n8cRGCPSboH6HWb1HjtncrPEIrKbx3-7t=s0-d)
I decided on a fox dragging a kite in its mouth. The fox cause I thought autumn colors would be nice for a Fall issue, the kite because it’s like a logo thing for the SCBWI. Sort of like a donkey represents the Democrats or the elephant represents the Republicans.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v3WYR6pX1uyir5Or7ffVQGr0nGewjU3D7FhAmZPBvy8p6qaYzKQC1tomM7v424n06Vtz5x8YvEr8khU-qnKIInDqzXDjTYUEFJF-_jEjqmKBFpugUM1A=s0-d)
I had a few other ideas like a sleeping beer with a kite in its paws. I also thought about doing a moose with the kite tangled in its antlers but… I like the fox.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uKdWOpAGT_EkuYQ3OcWuyNXGjv_i2OXgBLmBJz98tBRLzbstxboAXqKFfjGxd0H1EmnNnEZo0EK87mthBbet2cXPTPlGwxXF_-9JblTIjHgryFDAXn=s0-d)
This is the second stag; the sloppy painting part. This is a hard part to get past cause the work always looks trashed at this point. I think, "Oh no! What have I done to my sketch??"
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tml-lQZ3-MNVe0x5IXQU28HGEIMRqsUG_h3uhjEpfAfsjsZ--IDzH_cVXfoxWjxCwkDNkn7WcrQa8yzNzsN7EXQQ4vRwaRn5rzBJ_DpcHA-uV8rheEKQ=s0-d)
Here I have gone over the pencil drawing with black paint. With this step and the step before, I try to be loose. But I still feel I'm not loose enough. Like maybe I'm not brave enough to let the original sketch go.