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What
is your favorite animal to paint?
There are many animals that I love to paint, but I am especially
fond of the big cats. (Lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc.) I also particularly
enjoy painting zebras (love those stripes!) and frogs!
How
long does it take to complete a painting?
It really depends on the amount of detail. A painting similar
to the tiger above (This one was 36"x36") usually takes
about 2-3 weeks. I find that if I take a lot of care in planning
the picture, the actual painting takes less time because I don't
make as many mistakes.
Where
do you get the models for your paintings?
I paint mainly from photographs. (There's just NO way
that a tiger would sit and pose for me!) Actually I have
a huge collection of photographs that I keep in files for each
animal. I use my own photos, photos that friends give me, and
pictures from books and magazines. I also use videos when I can
to see the animals in motion) I never use just one picture for
a painting because I worry that it wouldn't look original, but
I DO need to use the pictures for reference. I used 12 different
pictures for the tiger alone in the painting above.
(
I liked the eyes from one picture, the whiskers from another,
etc.)
Do you get to go to any of the places that you paint?
Yes, when I'm really lucky! My favorite trip was to Africa several
years ago. I was able to use a lot of my pictures for paintings
when I got home. Before I started work on Welcome to the Sea
of Sand I spent several days in the Arizona Sonora Desert.
I worked mainly from my own photographs for that book.
What is your favorite painting medium?
I LOVE to use oil paints (either on canvas or board covered with
several coats of sanded gesso). I use soft synthetic sable brushes
to help me blend the colors. Because I paint very "thinly",
the paint dries fairly fast. This is important because I go over
each painting with at least three coats of paint.
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Another
medium that I enjoy is gouache. (pronounced gwash) Gouache is
an opaque water color and it is very good if you want to paint
something with a lot of tiny detail work. It doesn't blend well
though, so for me, blending effects are usually achieved through
MANY layers of paint with tiny brush strokes.
When did
you know that you wanted to be an artist?
I loved to draw and paint since I can remember. If you go
to the top of my "BIO" page you
can see a picture that I drew of myself in kindergarten. I loved
rainy days during kindergarten because we could stay inside and
color! My father, who was very artistic, helped me to learn about
perspective and shading when I was still quite young. By
the time I was in high school I knew that I wanted to be a professional
artist.
What book did you enjoy illustrating the most?
I have enjoyed every book that I have worked on. Each has
been challenging and rewarding, I DO have a couple of favorites,
though. One is Welcome to the Green House because it was
my very first book, and the other is Tiger Trail because
it was my most challenging book.
Do you ever get to meet the author of the book that you are
illustrating ?
I have been very lucky to work with some amazing authors and I
have had a chance to meet each of them. It's fun to share our
excitement over a new project and since we are working on a book
together we have a lot in common...the desire to create a wonderful
book for young readers!
How long have you been a professional artist?
I started selling my original oil paintings in 1975 and I
have been illustrating children's books since 1992.
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