I just received a book in the mail—a copy of The Year Without a Santa Claus by Phyllis McGinley, with illustrations by Kurt Werth. The J.B. Lippincott Company published this title in 1956.
This was the poem that inspired the animated TV special from the 1970s.
But what to my wondering eyes should appear—is Santa Claus enjoying a few puffs from his hookah?
Whoa—what heady days the fifties were for kids’ book illustrators! Fat chance something like this would pass muster with an art director nowadays!
Come to think of it, a few years ago I did do a project that called for Santa to smoke a cigar. I’ll dig around in the attic and unearth those sketches for a future post.
https://www.johnmanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JohnManderslogo300w1-300x58.jpg00johnmandershttps://www.johnmanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JohnManderslogo300w1-300x58.jpgjohnmanders2009-12-07 14:58:522009-12-07 14:58:52Have a hubble bubble Christmas
Now that it’s December, I’m wistfully recalling the first hot weekend of last Spring, the one I used as an excuse to paint outdoors. I created some surface decoration on this wooden bookcase, to be auctioned off at a charity event for Beginning With Books.
I chose for my theme: pirates—natch.
I enlarged the sketch by drawing a 1″ grid over it, and drawing a 1′ grid on the bookshelf. The sketch was drawn so that one inch equals one foot.
Have a hubble bubble Christmas
UncategorizedI just received a book in the mail—a copy of The Year Without a Santa Claus by Phyllis McGinley, with illustrations by Kurt Werth. The J.B. Lippincott Company published this title in 1956.
This was the poem that inspired the animated TV special from the 1970s.
But what to my wondering eyes should appear—is Santa Claus enjoying a few puffs from his hookah?
Whoa—what heady days the fifties were for kids’ book illustrators! Fat chance something like this would pass muster with an art director nowadays!
Come to think of it, a few years ago I did do a project that called for Santa to smoke a cigar. I’ll dig around in the attic and unearth those sketches for a future post.
Cute kitties
illustration processHere are sketches for a strange little project I did for Silver Editions, a textbook publisher.
Dead man’s chest o’ books
illustration processUpdate: Welcome, Bittersweet Harvest readers!
Now that it’s December, I’m wistfully recalling the first hot weekend of last Spring, the one I used as an excuse to paint outdoors. I created some surface decoration on this wooden bookcase, to be auctioned off at a charity event for Beginning With Books.
I chose for my theme: pirates—natch.
I enlarged the sketch by drawing a 1″ grid over it, and drawing a 1′ grid on the bookshelf. The sketch was drawn so that one inch equals one foot.
The winning bid was from my pal Charlene Langer, an instructor at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.