You may have been wondering where I was. In a nutshell: first I was hiking with my daughter on South Mountain; then I was falling; then I was at the Emergency Room with a broken nose, getting stitched up; then I was hiding at home, looking and feeling like an Insectoid Alien from outer space. I'm finally getting back to business. I've begun listing original illustrations for sale in my online Etsy store, and today I added four pieces from the book IS MY FRIEND AT HOME: PUEBLO FIRESIDE TALES.
These tales were edited by the brilliant editor and translator of Native American literature, John Bierhorst. Here is the opening image to that story, a tale that explains why Coyote has a blackened tail and crooked teeth.
Coyote tries to turn the tables on his treacherous friend, Snake...
...but Coyote's plan backfires when Snake sets Coyote's artificial tail on fire...
...and Coyote flees, a chastened and changed creature. I am realizing only now, years after this book's publication, that I should have portrayed Coyote's tail in the opening image WITHOUT the blackened tip! Because of course, he had not yet been tricked by Snake, and his tail was at that point still beautifully rust-colored and pristine. Yet all the eyes (artist, author, art director, editors) that examined that art pre-publication failed to catch the slip.
Go to my Etsy store for prices and other details on these pieces: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WendyWatsonStudio?ref=si_shop Or contact me through my website: http://www.wendy-watson.com
Sorry to hear about your recent broken nose from South Mountain. I have hiked that mountain many many times and parts of it really make for poor footing. Glad you are on the mend.
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