Monday, October 4, 2010

"Rafting at Night" and Modeling

Today, I am featuring one of my recent paintings - "Rafting at Night." 24 x 18" Oil on canvas. It is one in a series of five paintings I did based upon the Periodic Table of The Elements.

"Rafting at Night." 24 x 18" Oil on canvas

Since I spent the entire week last week building a miniature model classroom to use as a reference for the new illustrations I am working on (seriously, I did), it was a great change of pace to get back into just plain oil, brushes, tubes and easel.

Sometimes, you just need a break, no matter how much you love what you are doing.
By the way, here is a picture of my classroom.

My Scale Cardboard Model of a Classroom

 Last year, at the SCBWI Conference in L.A. 2009, David Weisner, three time Caldecott medal winner,  talked extensively about  the need to be skilled at drawing. One of his suggestions was to make clay models of your subject, in order to see it with the correct lighting and shadows.  I have been doing that since last year, and it really helps me to create the world I want and understand it a lot more clearly.
Here is model I made of a horse-drawn carriage. Crazy, huh?
Model of a Horse-Drawn Carriage


Retweet of the Day
These are such great tips on illustration! Enjoy.
http://www.teeteringbulb.com/?p=1239

 See you next week. Have fun!
 Carolyn Dee Flores

2 comments:

  1. Love the Rafting at Night, Carolyn! The colors are so rich and vibrant, as always! Very nice!

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  2. Very nice, Carolyn. Your ambition and talent are inspiring. Keep up the good work.

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