Bush Baby...

the Great King Fisher...

W.W.N.R.D...

I spent a little time the other evening studying some Rockwell paintings I have prints of at home and did a little sketching inspired by them. He had the most amazing way of capturing the lifelike nature of people while still giving them a tiny hint of illustrative character. You really can learn a lot about drawing people by sketching from his art (in my case, just how far I tend to stray from reality). I imagine I will always turn back to Norman's art for answers...and as Tony DiTerlizzi once put it: "When in doubt, What Would Norman Rockwell Do?" - profound indeed...I think I need the rubber bracelet

Once a clockmaker...

Mortimer owned a million clocks yet still fell short of time...

Books that inspire me: How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head...

I thought I would begin to somewhat regularly share some of the books and illustrators that I pull my inspiration from. To begin I decided on a really great little book by Bill Peet called How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head.



As with most books by Bill Peet, there is a classic Disney-like mood to the art and story (it's obvious why). His characters, specifically the animals, are always presented in such an honest and gentle light.
If you have an interest in drawing animals with personality or just want to study up on some good pen line work, I highly recommend Peet's work.