by Matthew | Jun 15, 2015 | Auction, Drawing |
Here we are: another month, another painting up for auction.
The theme of the month is rockets, and so Robbi’s options were somewhat limited. Here’s what she came up with. I’m rather fond of it.
For those of you who do not live in the barn and are not, therefore, able to pick up the painting and peer at it closely, there are two figures in the painting, both dressed in green suits. One is looking (longingly?) out of the window of a rocketship. The other is blasting (gently?) through the vast recesses of empty space with the help of a jetpack.
There is some sort of dynamic in play, but I will leave it to each of you to draw your own conclusions as to what is going on.
Also, the painting features a planet. The planet is purple. It is riddled with various craters. This planet has had a rough go of it.
I told you I was going to let you decide for yourself what to make of this painting, but now I have changed my mind and am going to unload my theory on you after all. Robbi asked me to write a description of the painting, and it seems only fitting that I share it.
The wide, black universe their oyster, the newlyweds decide to settle near the lonely purple planet. While Stanley rocks his sweet new moves, Janet unwraps the salad spinner, lamenting that she had not instead registered for an additional jetpack.
Which is why the painting is called “Honeymoon.” Here it is in all its finished glory.
It can be yours, of course. Starting now and ending whenever someone splurges for the “Buy It Now” price of $1,000,000, the auction will otherwise roll on until next Sunday evening.
And click here to send lament-laden emails about how you have already been outbid.
by Robbi | Jun 4, 2015 | Drawing, Drawing Prompts, Reader Submitted |
Alright folks – I just got this drawing in my inbox from Iris, and it was so perfect for last month’s Under the Sea theme that I felt I just had to post it.
Have you ever wondered how to draw a dolphin? I have. In fact, I was going to draw a dolphin earlier in the month and I just couldn’t figure it out. If only Iris had sent this sooner! Here is her step-by-step guide on how to draw a dolphin:
Iris did want me to share that her teacher Ms. Stuckey helped her out with the instructions. And I must say, I think the instructions really help! What a great dolphin it is!!
Thanks, Iris! I’m going to add this to my resource library for how to draw things. You and Ed Emberley and Lee J. Ames are my masters of instruction. And stay tuned for the announcement of June’s Theme of the Month!
by Matthew | May 19, 2015 | Auction, Drawing, Theme of the Month |
I bring you today the second installment of the recently relaunched original illustration auction—along with some process pics that show you how it came to be.
First, Robbi drew a sketch. I don’t have a picture of it. You’ll just have to take it on faith. Next she traced the sketch with pen and ink.
But she was not happy with the mermaid’s face. As much as it resembled the sketch, it did not inspire delight. Robbi demands to be inspired and delighted at least seven times a day, and I am capable of inspiring and/or delighting only six times daily. And so, taking matters into her own hands, she cranked out another drawing, this time with a more delightful face.
To this drawing, she added gouache skin tones. And rosy red lips.
And then she painted the arm/fin things, adding just a bit of blue.
And then the gorgeous green hair. And the shiny iridescent scales. I wish you were here in the barn at this moment to see them with your own eyes. The camera does not do them justice. They sparkle. It is delightful. And inspiring.
Then Robbi added some color to the water, to the rocks, to the seaweed and the kelp. She wondered if the scene were complete.
But then she remembered the eyes. Though tiny and seemingly insignificant, the eyes make all the difference. Just a dab of white (especially against a colored background as this is) cause the eyes to pop, inviting us into that window to a mermaid’s soul. A place you want to visit, I assure you.
And then, with some degree of trepidation and against all better judgment, Robbi painted in the watery background and painted in a wash of lighter sky. She worried it would ruin the piece.
But I don’t think it did. Not at all.
If you find yourself delighted and/or inspired, this piece is open for the bidding over on Ebay until 10:00pm on Sunday, May 24.
CLICK HERE TO LOSE YOUR MIND AND BID AWAY YOUR SAVINGS
Also, check out our new Activities Page and download a version to color in yourself!
by Matthew | Apr 17, 2015 | Drawing, Process |
Because we are committed to no less than ten big creative projects (four volumes for Idiots’Books, six mailings for Bobbledy) each year, there’s not much time to rest in the barn.
Robbi is busy at work on the next Bobbledy title, A Hole in this Book, a story about a boy who is trying very hard to tell the reader something but who is constantly thwarted by the surprising and awful things that keep happening to him. If you are the sort who does not like suspense, I will assure you that things turn out all right in the end, but not before Robbi as illustrator/god does a doozy on his living room.
You can see from the process pic above that Robbi has drawn a sketch on her computer, has made a printout, and is now tracing the line work with pen and ink. You will also see a (nearly empty) bowl of almonds to her left. And not a bunch of candy wrappers. Also, I can attest that the empty glass beside the bowl was recently full of water—not Coke.
The girl is trying to reform herself. Lately, she has been sleeping at night and working in the daytime.
She still frequently forgets to eat lunch if I am not here to remind her, but let us celebrate the baby steps, shall we?
I’m excited about this new book and look forward to sharing it with you all soon.
by Matthew | Apr 13, 2015 | Drawing, Process
A few years ago, Robbi was coveting a particular kind of paint, a kind of transparent (but extremely concentrated) liquid watercolors that are extremely bright. One might even call them “brilliant.”
The paints in question are Dr. Ph. Martin’s Radiant Concentrated Watercolors.
Robbi was smitten, not only with the paints inside the bottle, but with the bottles themselves (so I suspected; she would never admit it).
And can you blame her? What a friendly little sucker. Like so many art supplies, there is a romantic pleasure in merely surrounding oneself with them.
Robbi spoke of Dr. Ph. Martin’s so often that it became clear that a gift was in order.
But which to buy?
Set A — Colors include Lemon Yellow, Orange, Persimmon, Alpine Rose, Scarlet, Cherry Red, Moss Rose, Turquoise Blue, True Blue, Violet, Grass Green, Juniper Green, Saddle Brown, and Black.
Set B — Colors include Daffodil Yellow, Amber Yellow, Tangerine, Crimson, Wild Rose, Cyclamen, Ultra Blue, Slate Blue, April Green, Moss Green, Olive Green, Golden Brown, Mahogany, and Sepia.
Set C — Colors include Tapestry, Pumpkin, Burnt Orange, Hyacinth Blue, Norway Blue, Chartreuse, Jungle Green, Tobacco Brown, Ice Pink, Tropic Gold, Tropic Pink, Ice Yellow, Calypso Green, and Antelope Brown.
Set D — Colors include Sunshine Yellow, Sunset Orange, Sunset Red, Sunrise Pink, Tahiti Red, Fuchsia, Raspberry, Ice Green, Ice Blue, Peacock Blue, Iris Blue, Indian Yellow, Tiger Yellow, and Coffee Brown.
It was a quandary I couldn’t easily resolve. I thought of asking Robbi herself, but it would have dampened the surprise. And so, I dug deep (into my pockets; these suckers are not cheap) and splurged to buy all four.
Sometimes it is impossible to choose among your children.
Years ago, Robbi’s delight was equal to my anticipation, and the cute little bottles quickly became a lovely display on a little shelf beside her desk. But they were put in use infrequently. As bright and as “radiant” as they are, they do not belong in every painting.
But lately, they have been brought out of retirement. But Robbi is not the one using them.
Every Thursday afternoon, we have the pleasure of hosting local superstar Maya Betley. In addition to folding, trimming, sorting, stacking, stuffing, and frequently smiling, Maya has been doing some painting for us.
In Robbi’s evolving children’s book style, she uses watercolor washes as backgrounds.
Or to build set pieces, so to speak.
[Note that both of the above images come from recent Bobbledy title The Luckiest.]
All those textures start out as washes of watercolor paint on textured paper. Then Robbi scans them in and uses them to create intricate collages, all on the computer.
But as Robbi’s children’s book oeuvre continues to grow, she needed more washes to sample among.
Enter Maya. Enter Dr. Ph. Martin’s. Enter sun-drenched hours in the letterpress studio. It is a divine union.
Over the past few weeks. Maya has been spending Thursday afternoons painting, painting, painting. Beautiful washes, textured landscapes, and contemplative moody abstractions that Robbi will use to make books in the months and years to come.
Let’s take a closer look. Just gorgeous.
If you want to get your own set of Dr. Ph. Martin’s, head on over to Dick Blick and place your order.
If you want to get your own Maya, you’re out of luck.
by Matthew | Apr 8, 2015 | Drawing, Reader Submitted |
This just in: drawings from Bobbledy club member and stalwart prompt-responder Simon, whose latest drawings just happen to be of robotic dinosaurs.
What’s that you say? Did you just think to yourself, “But the theme of the month is supposed to be rain!”?
To that, I have two things to say:
1) you are correct!
2) take a closer look
This is not merely a drawing of a robotic Watrasaurus. Oh no. This is a drawing of a robotic Watrasaurus whose tail is being doused by a suspiciously narrow column of raindrops.
There you have it! Thematic relevance! But…perhaps you are wondering the same thing that the robotic Watrasaurus is wondering: “Who is doing this?”
Lucky for us, Simon sent TWO drawings. The second is an answer of sorts to the question above. Here, a robotic Gadgedon seems to be the cause of the extremely narrow rainstorm.
But questions remain:
1) Why is the Gadgedon raining narrowly on the Watrasaurus?
2) Is it rain at all, or is the Gadgedon thinking of bacon double cheeseburgers and therefore drooling profusely?
3) Does all “rain” fall from the mouths of profusely drooling Gagedons?
4) Has anyone considered letting Simon write the textbooks from now on?
Unfortunately, Simon only sent two drawings, and so these answers must remain mysteries for the time being.
And isn’t that much more fun, anyway?
