(black biro on 74mm x 97mm memo paper) If that was being advertised in London, it would probably go for half a million and be split up into flats (apartments).
It's cool how the internet can bring people together from far away places to make things. "Graham's Up the Tree" is based on a true story from the life of author mbpardy ... He's in Australia - I'm in Seattle area. When he posts these images at his page I see comments from people who grew up with real life versions of these characters I drew -- People that actually looked out the window and saw this little guy high up at the top of a tree... where no one else could go.
Australian author mbpardy & I have a children's book coming out soon called "Graham's Up the Tree." This illustration from the book makes a good countdown to release.
For these Grahams Up the Tree drawings I used a Pilot Custom 823 with FA nib. This pen is legendary. It has a very soft nib and a giant vacuum filled tank of ink so you can write and draw for days.
My favorite time of year is almost here. The cool breezy air, the colors and smells. The sounds of the last crickets, the mood of the sky. I could go on and on. This was A fun piece to work on. What will the next challenge bring?
"At 6 o'clock the window squeaks and mum calls time" from Graham's Up the Tree. It must have been strange for mbpardy to see his his story interpreted through my illustrations... but page by page these characters came to life, with both of our contributions somehow adding up to something bigger.
I always loved the wide-eyed screaming horror of Elsa’s original Bride, but for mine I thought it would be fun if she was instead just very, very, displeased. As soon as her motor-functions kick in, it’s gonna kick off, and Doctors Frank’ and Pretorius are gonna take a very short walk off that very high tower.
On the set of the original movie, attached to one of the columns, you can see a big wheel that’s used to crank open the skylight. I thought it might be interesting to incorporate this, symbolically, as a sort of halo, like the kind of thing you see in stained glass windows and old religious art, and to give the scene an additional sixth day creation kinda vibe.
Also, whilst working on this, every time I thought of the name “Pretorius”, I would involuntarily sing it in my head to the tune of, “No, No, Notorious”
