Sea Legs

I'm working with a new idea. It may be a panel thing, I'm not sure. Last weekend at the Keene Children's Literature festival, I enjoyed listening to a number of speakers, but one Pam Zagarenski gave a great speech and talked a lot about the symbolism she puts into her artwork. I sat down today and read the two books I bought illustrated by her, looking closely at how she was using the lines, patterns, throwing in little images that could quickly be overlooked... In some ways her work reminded me of Nick Bantock, so I pulled his book down as well. Perhaps one of the most valuable messages I gathered from the weekend though was this unique sense of personality. Each illustrator had a distinct style. Each was professional and yet you could see one with very specific realism, and two with exaggerated forms, dots for eyes, or profiles for faces... and I came back wanting to just play. So this is that. Play. Play with influence. And of course, using the events of the week to provide a basis for subject matter.