Finally, after its summer hiatus, Little Star Lost is progressing again. New things are happening in this picture, for which you will have to wait to be revealed in the book.

My little granddaughters are visiting from afar. They want to paint with me, and wonder how I can get things to be ‘the same’ on each page. I am still working on the transfer which was begun in a previous post, quite long ago in the spring. This day – published earlier in September on FaceBook, but somehow missed the website – was such an inspiration! I was so grateful to be with them. What a joy to my heart!

This lovely recommendation came in for The Star Children book! What a delightful surprise. Thank you, Aimee.

Spinning Fables
Page Liked · July 13 ·
The amazing local author and artist Lila Strand came to Spinning Fables today to drop off The Star Children books she wrote and illustrated! ❤ ❤ ❤

You can now pick up this lovely book for a special child in your life right here at Spinning Fables! — at Spinning Fables.

Carina has a beautiful and nourishing store in Winlaw, (British Columbia). She shared this post on FB. A bit of a boost to read such encouraging words. Thank you!

Here is a video clip of a transfer process that happens for every illustration. This post has been waiting for the moment when my photographer and I are both ready to work at the same time! (Strange it took so long, because it is my husband!)

After many stops, starts and interruptions due to infrastructure challenges to our hydro system (which affected electricity, water and heat in this never-ending winter) I have finally got the next illustration ready. I am experimenting with watermarking – let me know what you think! (It’s either watermarking or unfinished pictures!)

This is a transition page, later in the summer, and making way for the real thing that is going to happen.

Step 1: This picture just symbolizes the time, sometimes for several days, where I have to descend inside myself to find the picture. It takes some time for it to really gel and be ready to be ‘born’.

 

Step 2: I discovered that this particular picture was going to be a little difficult, because of the elements that needed to be in the picture and also because of the poses of the children and their angle to the viewer. So, what fun! I made little plastiscine children that I could pose and move around in a little model of the children’s backyard. Above (big) is the picture I wanted to use, but I remembered that the seeds the children planted need to be in the picture, now up and grown, and the garden is not in view in that scene. So I have to have a view that stretches across. The fact of the topography of the site – the large hillside – unfortunately is not part of my model or thinking!

Step 3: I worked on my sketch (of which you see just a little), but had trouble with the porch, so Richard is designing it for me! Good to have a builder around!

Step 4: Transferring  the sketch to the good paint paper is whole other process, which is a day’s work. But ALAS! when that was done and ready for paint, I discovered that I really did not think it would be a good, artistic picture. You don’t see that (above in the sketch) but in the finished drawing  all the essential elements  are kind of sprayed around the edges, and the main part of the picture itself is GRASS! Aaarrrgh!

I ponder this. Of course, I do not want to start again. But something in me says, ‘When you start to paint there can be no doubt!’ So I leave everything, and go out to do emergency care on my apple tree that has suffered terribly under 5 ft. of snow, then chickens, floor washing, etc. And after all that, yes, I know I must start again!! Drat!!

So now, Step 3 b: Here is probably a better scene to sketch! Garden in foreground and the hills of grass rising up as background, and the children more in the middle. My model does not account for the hills, which actually what threw me off. Well,  I had not wanted to paint the house either (shown as a box above). Ah, but now I will do it, and gladly!! TOMORROW!

 

 

Almost there! The little star child is learning all the time. Here trying out planting seeds.

This is the 6th illustration – probably the 6th of 14!

Here is a series on the unfinished illustration, which will eventually be of the children planting seeds. This will be important in the story later on. A complicated picture, and only half done. But it is a beautiful feeling to paint this – I am painting my garden! This is interesting, because, in the summer I feel my gardening is creating a picture, but now I am creating my garden on paper by painting. I often have to refer to my summer photos, or if I have nothing, Google images.

Outside we still have 4 or 5 feet of snow!!! So gardening in my illustrations is lovely!