THE 3-COLOR PALETTE

I've been emphasizing that one does not need a huge palette in order to achieve a variety of results. (See my earlier posts on this topic:  http://thewendywatsonblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-palette.html, http://thewendywatsonblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-palette-continued.html)  I was reminded of an exercise that my grandfather Ernest W. Watson suggested in his book ERNEST W. WATSON'S SKETCH DIARY:  try painting with a palette of just 3 colors.  I chose yellow ochre, light red, and Winsor blue as my palette for this demonstration.

I started with this little ink drawing of a figure I drew for the book I LOVE MY BABY SISTER, by Elaine Edelman.

In this version,all 3 colors are of fairly equal importance.  Notice that although only 3 colors are used, the effect does not feel at all "limited".  On the contrary, it is very colorful.

In this version, the 3 colors are again of fairly equal importance, but the overall effect is rather different from the first example.

In this example, the blue is clearly the dominant color, and there are only bare touches of the red and yellow.  But again, the effect does not feel "limited".  You will notice that all 3 of these images do consistently "go together" in the sense of feeling as though they are from the same pictorial family.  This is one of the huge boosts the illustrator receives when using a limited palette.  A limited palette almost automatically produces art that is consistent throughout a book or project.  And once again, in this post I'm preaching my strong belief that the artist does not need a huge array of materials in order to produce beautiful work.  Instead, I suggest that the artist choose carefully a small arsenal of high-quality tools, and then learn through trial and error how to get the absolute most out of each one of them.

A NOVEMBER OF MINI-INTERVIEWS 2012

I'm sharing here a blog post from my colleague Laura Jacobsen.  She and three others are blog-posting interviews of 16 picture book illustrators throughout the month of November.  I am one of the illustrators  whom Laura will be interviewing.  Follow all 16 interviews---and celebrate  National Picture Book Month! 

“Everything I learned in college, can now be found for free on Wikipedia.”- bobbiblogger,  Sept., 2012

Yeah, that sums it up pretty well. Don’t get me wrong, I went to a great art school, The Columbus College of Art and Design (although not as great as it is NOW after apparently a jillion dollar endowment–I mean we had classes in an old garage for crying out loud). But I have to admit I have amassed far more knowledge since I left by talking to and copying, I mean learning, from other artists, both in real life and online. Last year, our little band of local illustrator buds, Molly Idle, Mikela Prevost and Juana Martinez-Neal and I, interviewed each other, and learned so much in the process that this year we decided to expand our class offerings. Consider this our graduate program. In honor of National Picture Book Month classes begin in November, conveniently located on a blog near you, and, best of all, this education is FREE!

Our gracious and distinguished faculty include:

Kevan Atteberry

Lynne Avril

Alexandra Ball

Alexandra Boiger

David Christiana

Kent Culotta

Adam Gustavson

Jeremy Holmes

Brian Karas

Kelly Light

John Parra

Greg Pizzoli

Amanda Shepherd

Mary Sullivan

Constanze Von Kitzing

Wendy Watson

So set your alarm for November and don’t be late! (Three “lates” will count as an absence and go on your permanent record!)

TEACHING AT HOLLINS UNIVERSITY

I have just agreed to teach at a new summer graduate program at Hollins University, in Roanoke, Virginia:  The Certificate in Children's Book Illustration (http://www.hollins.edu/grad/childlit/childlit.htm). I am deeply honored to be joining faculty members Ruth Sanderson---and here's a piece of her art:

Ashley Wolff---and here's a piece of her art:

and Barney Saltzberg---with a piece of his art:

Although I've made many presentations, given many mini-workshops and programs, and mentored young artists and authors over the years, teaching this full-semester course---Picture Book Design---will be a new experience for me.  At the same time, much of it will be familiar and beloved ground, as the design of picture books is something that I of course have been practising for more than 50 years.
Hollins University is already host and home to outstanding MFA and MA programs in creative writing and literature, so I am doubly honored to be joining this program.  I'll be posting more about the program as time goes on---but for now, I 'm simply savoring the good news!