Too Far?

Only those who risk going too far

can possibly find out how far one can go.

T.S. Eliot

You know how a blank sheet of watercolor paper, or canvas, or any blank, clean surface intimidates?  Yeah, like "are you really gonna paint something worthy of the $5 this sheet cost?"

So, you don't.

I hate that.  That's why I buy boatloads of paper, keep it in piles, and forget I have it...and buy more.  That's so I can paint at random and without worrying that I'll be 'ruining' the precious paper/sheet as I have a whole bunch more....and I've forgotten how much I paid for it.  So I'm free to play!

Bear with me...

Recently, I was walking by my art desk and decided to do something stupid.  Well, more like 'risky' or 'daring' (why am I shackled to the idea that every drawing must be a masterpiece?).  And that was to just grab a pen and draw and see what happened.

Pulling on some latex gloves, and dumping a box of oil pastels on the desk, I selected an unfamiliar ink pen, and drew the first thing that came to mind: a dragon.  It was fun and the results were...ah, ....well, ok.  Er, different, shall we say?  I emailed it off to my friend, Emily.

Then, having impulsively done that, I wished I hadn't as the drawing wasn't that good and ...and...

Much to my stunned surprise, she wrote back that she 'LIKED IT'.  What?  Read again.  Yep.  'Liked it'.  Somehow her enthusiasm translated to my little brain as permission (did you catch that?) to 'risk' doing it again.  

The drawing at the top of the page is my 2nd attempt at this wild combination of media.  It's Emily.  And yes, Emily is beautiful.  And so were her words of encouragement to me.

The point?  Risk.  Risk going somewhere new.  It's a piece of paper, Silly.  Risk it.  You won't find out what you are capable of unless you do.  And you just might like the results.

Thank you, Emily.

 Brooke

Book Buzz

Buzz enjoys relaxing in the wilds of Maine

Word's out.  The Lake Where Loon Lives will be available May 16 (see prior posting.  Remember, you can now pre-order it on Islandport Press (islandportpress.com) or Amazon!).  As Buzz thinks he's the star in the story, I didn't want to tell him about the May 16 release because, well...

Yeah.

So, he gloats.  He smugs (yes, that's a verb).  Grabs his horn and flies out to the lake to find Mama Loon.  Then, dropping his little, green blanket onto her feathers ("I didn't wanna ruffle anything"), he pours himself a pink soda he's been saving for just this occasion, adjusts his Very Cool Socks, and proceeds to let the entire lake know He Has Arrived.

No wonder he's (jokingly) called The Maine State Bird. 

But wait.  Oh.  Hey.  Listen to that.  What's he playing?  No.  Can't be.  Mozart?  Really?  From Mr. Miles Buzz Fly?  It IS!  Mozart's Trumpet Concerto in Eb!  And he's goooooooooood...

Who knew?  And to think, I thought all Maine flies were non-musicians who thrived on harassing us with their One Note Jingle (from the famous In Your Face Symphony).  Buzz in particular.  But no, he does have a heart.  He just needed to be so Over The Top Excited about something that he'd dare to show it.

I stand corrected.

Mildred

Finally, Another Brooke Book!

Mama Loon discovers herself on Amazon.com

Loon-ification Happens

At long last, Brooke has another children's picture book available.  Well, almost.  The Lake Where Loon Lives, by Brenda Reeves Sturgis, illustrations by Brooke Carlton, and published by Islandport Press, will be out May 16, 2014.

Yahoo!

Last week, I was sitting with Mama Loon by a lake, during a wildly warm January thaw (see photo above).  We were looking at 'stuff' on her laptop, when suddenly, she started squeaking.  Yes, boys and girls,  squeaking.  She was so excited, she was unable to remember her English.  Mama finally managed to sputter out her discovery:  one can PRE-ORDER The Lake Where Loon Lives, on Amazon.com!

And, no, you won't get the book until mid-May, but a pre-order grants you a fabulous price.  Oh, and just in case no one else mentions it (and they probably won't as it's a secret), I am in the book.  Really.  I guess that makes me famous (?).  You'll have to hunt for me, but I'm in there!

Thought you'd like to know,
Mildred

Great Update!!!  If you want to, you can also get Loon from islandportpress.com, which is THE PUBLISHER!!!!  Yahoooooooo!!!!!

Afloat

Ever read a Really Good Book, an Absolute Page Turner, and just have to tell someone?

Tag.  You're It.

I just finished inhaling Erin Healy's latest novel, Afloat.  Oh, man.  As is usual when reading Erin's work, I couldn't put the thing down, had dreams about it, and am totally bummed I finished it already.

No, it's not a children's book, although there is a charming five year old in the novel.  And, no, Brooke won't let me tell you anything more about it, except that it is 'spellbinding'.  So plan on being 'away' until you finish it.

She also just got her very first digital camera, is fascinated that there's no film in it (how does that work anyway?), and took this great shot as I was caught up in the story, adrift in the river, lost in space, drifting away from Eagle's Talon...

I'll write again, when I get back,

Mildred

P.S. Oh, thought you might like to see one of Brooke's first non-film, digital camera attempts. She doesn't know I found this (let alone posted it), so mum's the word, ok?

Past-Her-Prime Tiger Lily in Brooke's Backyard

Night Light

Trusting God Always Involves Risk

Years ago, when I was struggling with trusting Jesus, a dear friend told me a story.  If memory serves me correctly, the story is true.

It seems a mountain climber and his Sherpa guide, were well into a treacherous mountain ascent.  Although it was not snowing at the time, there was deep ice and snow everywhere.  It was bitterly cold. The ledge they used as an excuse for a 'foot path' was so narrow, that one foot had to be carefully placed in front of the other.

To miss step was to fall hundreds of feet to a certain death.

The Sherpa knew the route well.  Tied to his guide, the climber made sure he placed his own feet in the Sherpa's imprint.  Sometimes he would hold onto the Sherpa's backpack to keep himself steady.  The higher they climbed, the more dangerous the path became, the more rocks loosened and fell, and the slower they moved.

Abruptly, the Sherpa disappeared into a pitch black cave in the side of the mountain.  Without missing a beat, he walked confidently into the complete darkness.

But the climber could see nothing.  Just black.  He pulled on the Shepa's backpack.

"We need to stop!" yelled the climber.
"Why?"
"I can't SEE!"

The Sherpa stopped. Turning his head he said, "If you only trust me when it is light, and you can see where I am going, then you don't trust me at all."

****

So now, when those Dark Cave Moments come, I grab Jesus' backpack, close my eyes, and (risk) trusting God.  Especially when I can't see a thing.

Is Jesus your Guide?
Brooke

Le Bumble Bee

Bumble Enjoys The Lilies of Maine

I watched Brooke paint this.  In about fifteen minutes, maybe less.  She's like a woman on fire when she does these "Speed Paintings".

First, (after taping down the paper), she soaks it in water.  Soaks.  No, not in a tub (although that's been known to happen), but with a 4 inch Hake brush, dipped repeatedly in a 5 gallon bucket of clean water.  Slopped all over the paper.  I mean there's water everywhere.

Then, grabbing and tossing brushes into colors, then water jugs, then buckets, then paint, then yelling, "No!  NO! Not a 10, a twenty" and other incomphrehensibles, she attacks the paper.

Sometimes, she has two or three brushes in one hand.  Sometimes, they fall on the floor.  Sometimes she picks them up, mostly she doesn't.  Her hands fly so fast, it's hard to see them.

Then, as suddenly as the flurry began, it abruptly stops.  She leaves everything wherever it's landed.  And just walks out the door.

No commentary.  No outbursts.  No nothing.  Just gone.

But, I have learned something new, in watching this latest demonstration.  Do NOT use a hair dryer on these 'Speed Paintings'.  The colors need to 'expand' into the paper.  Brooke leaves so she won't be tempted to 'fix' anything.  She'll be back in an hour or so.

You'll see.

Mildred

Oh, addendum:  Seems folks want to know that the paper is Strathmore 300 cold press watercolor paper, painted on the wrong side.  The watercolors are Shin Han professional colors.  The brushes are sizes 10, 12, 16, 20 and 1 inch (various brands).  The air is from Maine.  The humidity is currently from Georgia.  The water is delicious well water (do we care?), and I think I'm done....

One Minute Drawings

Once upon a time, a famous, fabulous, fantastic illustrator (my Dad), said, "To improve your drawing skills, force yourself to draw One Minute drawings."

Yeah, right.

I can't imagine anything looking at all recognizable in one minute.  But, Dad's the master, so if I do this his way, maybe, when I grow up, I'll be as good as he is.  Hey, there's hope!  OK, then.  I'll try. 

Little Mia watches 'Mom' as she paints her portrait.

Choosing to draw my beloved dog, Mia, I drew her with my calligraphy pen as fast as I could.

I looked quickly at the sweep second hand on my antique school clock as I buried my watercolor brush in my own 'blend' of black,  mooshed it all a top the black line, threw in a little burnt umber (well, not pure burnt umber as some other colors had sloshed into it), and finished her off with a couple of blobs of white gouache.

It looks exactly like her! 

Bottom line?

 "To improve your drawing skills,
force yourself to draw One Minute drawings."

If it turns out like Scrap, put it in a box to save for future ideas.  If it turns out Good, then you've learned something about yourself (like challenges are actually a good thing).

Or, maybe you'll end up with a Treasure you just Flat-Out Enjoy.

Brooke

Her Pigness

I thought I'd show Mildred how to draw.  Well, after all, I did teach her to play the trumpet, and a pen's a lot lighter, so what's to lose?  As her model, Mildred chose a close friend of hers, her favorite porcine, Her Pigness.

The pen was a regular ink pen, full of runny India ink.  Mildred filled herself up with water and then spit out little droplets all over the paper.  Then, she added the pen work.  That way, when the pen ran into the water, it would do Runny Things.
 
You know, expand, and provide weird, unanticipated blob-ification.

A few of those 'droplets' turned into the shadows at Her Pigness' feet.  Pretty cool, eh?  The color
was all fly-by watercolor bombs, courtesy of Mildred's aviation prowess.

Brooke & Mildred

Talking to the Birds

Birdette expounds on the intricacies of life

 Remember, when you were a kid, and you and your Mom were having a conversation.  When, out of the blue, Mom would gruffly say,  "Guess I'll just go talk to the birds"?  Although it always caught me off guard (I thought we were having a marvelous conversation), I remember being unsure as to just exactly what she meant.  I did feel pretty safe, though, in thinking she wasn't serious.

Until today.

Currently needing some serious directional help, I spent the day where I thought I could get it.  And came away more confused than enlightened (shall we say?).  Then, I remembered Momma's advice.

The hardest part was waiting for Birdette to sit on the magnifying glass.  Once that was established, we got along great.  I don't know exactly what she said, but she spoke with passion and confidence.  And ya know what?  I do feel better.

Wonder what else Momma said that I ignored to my own peril?
Brooke

Pirate!

I've been working on a children's picture book that has a Momma Loon as the 'star'.  Sometimes, when I'm 'stuck' or (my favorite) "Nothing good's comin' out of the pen!  It's the pen's fault!", I will reframe the main character.  You know, something completely out of character.

So, I made Momma Loon a pirate.

Using an ugly, old calligraphy stick (dip it in the 20 year old bottle of India Ink) pen, I drew her quickly on scrap 24 lb. cheezy paper.  Dried her with a hair dryer.  Then, slathered water color all over her.  I was after Idea, not Final Art.  And then...

She bled.  Bad.  Cigar ran.  Face ran.  Nose ran.

(Remember that for next time, Brooke, India ink runs in water.)

Then, I placed the Seriously Rumpled 24lb. sheet of paper in my scanner and spent the next three hours taking out the vast bulk of the 'bleed-ification'.  The final result you see above.

After all THAT, I'm not sure I even like the Cleaned Up version.

So, I repeated the excercise on a much larger sheet of (still very cheezy) paper.  (Oh, and sans cigar.)  I really like the Unexpected Messes.  All the watercolor bled, instantly.  So, red cheeks become, ah, well, not, shall we say?  I had to put the brush in places, and at speeds, I'm not used to.

Gee, if I'm not careful, this could become my favorite media.

The fly, by the way, was drawn with another pen and ink combo.  Bad idea, eh?

Thought you might enjoy the process.
Brooke

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

Once upon a time, Joseph wanted to marry

a young lady named Mary.

When Joseph found out Mary was with child, he was surprised.

Then Mary told him that this Child was actually 

God coming to Earth as a little baby.

Joseph was worried about it. But an Angel came

and told him it was all true.  And, that he could marry Mary.

The Angel also said to name the Child Jesus.

So he did.

Then, they had to go to Bethlehem to have their baby.

It was a long, dusty trip.  

When they got to Bethlehem, 

there was no room in the Inn.

The Innkeeper told them about a great

little stable nearby.  And that's where

Baby Jesus was born.

Jesus thought the manger made a pretty cool bed.

Then, God sent a whole bunch of angels to sing to

all the shepherds, and to all the world, 

and to YOU!

Here's a sheet torn right out of the Angel Hymnal,

so you can sing the words they sang that night!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

All illustrations are from My ABC Christmas Book,

copyright 1995, illustrations Brooke Carlton

Blob-ification

As an illustrator, ever been, well, just stuck?

That expensive piece of watercolor paper just dares you to 'mess it up'?

No ideas come to mind?  The hours tick by and nothing  (productive or otherwise) comes?

The ink dries in your hand held, in-the-air, ready-to-draw-in-an-instant-upon-inspiration pen?

When nothing 'works', try (what I've labeled) Blobification.

Illustrator Carla Sonheim has several playful books out (visit her at carlasonheim.com!) from which I have selected The Blob to play with.   It's just so much fun that I wanted to share it (and give Carla all the credit for the idea).

Directions are simple (even an adult can do this).  Immerse watercolor brush in lots of color.  Smudgie onto paper, leaving white spot in it somewhere.  Let dry.  Take dog for a walk.  Return. Take dry paper, rotate.  Expect.

Then.

Go big.  Risk an entire sheet.  Really.

What You Didn't Know Was On Your Church's Stained Glass Window

Thank you, Carla.

Brooke

The Tooth Fairy

Last week, I overheard two children talking, well, whispering, in a school hallway.  One of the little girls had a loose, wiggly tooth.  The discussion was about the existence of The Tooth Fairy.  Apparently, there was some serious question as to Her being real or not.

Real or not?  Can you imagine?

So, - with the children's permission - I set up my camera in a 'hidden' location.  And waited.  And waited.  Actually, this would be my very first photo of Herself, so I was careful to be very quiet.
The night dragged on and on.  Finally, I could see the morning light begin to appear out the window.
Even I began to wonder if she would really come.

Then, the dog barked downstairs.  The sound made me turn away.  And that's when I heard a 'swish' in the water glass behind me.  So, I pushed the button on the camera.  Even though I got the photo, the foolish camera clunked so loudly that it frightened Her off before I could even whisper 'Good-bye'.

But, isn't She wonderful?
Mildred

The Kitchen Sink

Alejandro Blues

Once upon a time, I read an article about Gesso.  It's a Mysterious Liquid that all artists know about.  At the time, I didn't know what it did (not so sure I do now), but thought it worth an experiment or two.

Alejandro Blues close-up detail

Grabbing a large posterboard, I slathered Gesso all over it.  Let it dry.  And was relatively unimpressed with the result.

Hmmm, wonder what would happen if....?

And thus began, Alejandro Blues.  Both these illustrations here are small sections of the 22"x28" piece.  To the right, is a close up of the turtle's right 'foot' and some heavily-loaded-with-salt seaweed.

The foundation for Alejandro is the aforementioned 1)Gesso, topped with lots of 2)white glue, 3)gouache, and 4) watercolor.

Just to see what would happen, I also smeared lavish amounts of  5)Vaseline,  6)sand, and 7) chunks of Kosher salt all over it, too.

After waiting for my 'canvas' to dry, I added the final touches in 8) oil pastels.  Does smearing stuff around with a knife count as #9?

When I moved toward The Kitchen Sink, it ran away.
Brooke

Mural Fun

Brooke's first mural was a spontaneous 'challenge'.  On a Saturday work day at church, her Pastor (seemingly on the spur of the moment) offered her an entire room (54 feet of blank wall!), and asked her to draw something as a proposal.

"Quick," he said.  "Here's a napkin.  Draw something."
She ruffled around in her purse and came up with a chisel- tipped black marker.
"Go ahead, draw something," the Pastor encouraged.

Nothing more intimidating than having to draw Something, in an instant, on a napkin, with seven people all watching.

So, the pen was faithful, and drew an angel.  And then came the cheers from the appreciative audience.

Thus began the huge, four month long Mural Project, of which these little sheep are but a small portion.

What was NEW to Brooke's drawing experience was finding out about non-toxic paints (children will lick the drawings on the walls.  Really.), how to mix extenders ('oh, please DON'T dry before I'm ready!'), and Most Important Of All (!) finding a suitable assistant.


Frankly, the mural could not have been done without Brooke's Able Assistant.  Said Able Assistant was Jenna, and 13 years old at the time, and unbelievably good at understanding Panic Speech.

"Jenna!  JENNA!!" Brooke Panic Speeched, watching a blob of paint sinking south. " I need a Yanga Yatta, NOW!" her right arm extended significantly at Jenna.  "Hurry!"
"One clean 2 inch brush, right," came the inevitable calm reply, as the 'Yanga' was firmly placed in Brooke's outstretched hand.
"Yes, YES!  Exactly!  Thank you!  Oh, you are WONDERFUL!"

Jenna was like a Head Nurse during surgery.  She watched Brooke so closely, that she knew what Brooke needed before Brooke could bungle English in her attempt to verbalize it.  Sponges, rags, tape, rulers, and even brushes dipped in the right color, would all be shoved into Brooke's hands BEFORE words were exchanged.  It was a pretty cool thing to watch, actually.

Brooke tells me that, if Jenna were at hand, she'd paint another mural in a heartbeat.

Wish I could carry more than a #12 brush,
Mildred

Merry Christmas!

When the Wise Men of the East heard what King Herod said, they departed from Jerusalem.

And the star, which they had seen in the East, went before them

until it came and stood over the the house

where the Child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with GREAT joy!

And they worshiped Him.

 Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Mildred

(Mildred's paraphrase of Matthew 2:9-11).
Illustration from My Christmas ABC Book,  (c) 1995 Brooke Carlton

Will B. Toad

You know, the Bible says that the trees clap their hands.  In The Chronicles of Narnia, centaurs roam the land.  In parts of Africa's interior, there is tale told of a great monster who lives in the lakes.  I mean, think about it, how much do we REALLY know about everything?

Be careful where you park.

Mildred

Bear Loves Ice Cream

Once upon a time, oh, three or five summers ago, Brooke, Bear and I went to the beach.  While Bear went to get us all an ice cream cone, I borrowed Brooke's antique Pentax camera, and snapped this (surprise) photo of Bear as he was returning.

Hmmm.  Mint chocolate chip.  My favorite.

Mildred

Close Up Photographer

Close Up Photographer, a pen & ink drawing, was done for a photo shop in Maine.  Let's see, it was in the 90's I think.  And, no, it was not done on location (it was too windy for me).  Brooke worked on this one for days.

Did you know her Dad is also an illustrator?  Yep.  He talks to his drawings.  You know, 'choo choo' as he draws a train, 'Wee Wee' with little piglets, etc.  When Brooke was little, she remembers over hearing her Dad talk to his illustrations.  She decided she would never be caught doing that.

Yeah.  Right.  Guess who talks to her pictures?

Mildred