27B

My studio in the National Transit Building is over 100 years old with lots of oak woodwork and a well-worn door that looks like it should be to the office of a private eye.

Having more or less caught up with my deadlines, I took a little time to finally put my name and studio number on the window.  I chose some old typefaces that looked appropriate—from some type catalogues that I have and from internet sources.  I created the words on my computer and printed them out big enough to fill the space on the door.

Then I taped the printout to a piece of black Contact paper and cut the letters out with a razor blade.  I taped the entire mess to the window and carefully peeled the backing off each letter.  I left the printout taped to the window so I could stick the letter back where it’s supposed to be—like a puzzle piece.

Now the door’s ready for some dame to walk through it asking me to find her missing sister…

I’m looking for an intern—

—who lives in Venango County, Pa & is interested in picturebook illustration. It will be 2-3 hours/day, Mon-Thur for 6 weeks. You help me paint and I’ll help you develop your portfolio.  You can e-mail me at Jmanders@aol.com

Squid for lunch

Here’s a spread from Pirates Go To School.  The verse describes a pirate’s lunch as slimy squid and crackers for their parrots—in the thumbnail sketch I drew squid on a cracker.  The art director asked me to show a pirate eating the squid and the parrot eating a cracker, as you see in the tight sketch.  The slideshow is the painting in progress.  Notice I extended the pirate’s arm so the parrot wouldn’t be in the spread’s gutter.

[slideshow]

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

It be Talk Like A Pirate Day, cullies!  What better excuse to while away the dogwatches with a copy of Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies?  And finally—it’s available in Chinese!