"Pioneer" brings up many images, but I thought about the umbrella style seeds of the wild artichoke. Brave little seeds leaping off the mother plant and going where the wind carries them. Earlier this month I went with my son's class to the
San Mateo County History Museum where I learned that artichokes were Italian imports, brought to California in the mid 1800's. The first farms were in Half Moon bay.
Pioneers are the people who go before and pave the way for the rest of us. This image is based on a photograph of my mother and me sniffing a wild artichoke plant near my house. (I also used this technique on
Music.) I put down a field of black on a layer in
Photoshop--and erase out the
positive image. I use a copy of the background over the black layer with reduced opacity to guide me. Then I convert the background color to watercolor using filters.
I like to trace from photographs--but it feels like cheating. But I was heartened by an article in
Smithsonian Magazine about Norman Rockwell. He also used photographs as the basis of his paintings (and also felt like it was cheating.)
Norman Rockwell, my mother: artists who have come before me and paved the way.
An unusual perspective: the Guide Chicken. I was teaching one point perspective to a group of third graders. While I was talking about guide lines, I lost their attention. So I started talking about chickens instead. When I mentioned "guide chicken" their attention returned. "What's a guide chicken?" Well that is an illustration challenge, what would a guide chicken look like. (more importantly what would a guide chicken do? Not as loyal or as smart as a dog...)
