Tag Archives: music adventure

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Goats, Boats, and Other Notes

Goats:

Spent several hours this week sketching rough drafts for another illustration commission, Do You Have a Pebble in Your Pocket?, a book to teach small children counting through representation. The premise: A farm boy keeps a pebble for every goat he has in his pocket; then, when each goat returns to the barn, he places a pebble in a pouch. At the end of the day, he still has one pebble in his pocket and sets out to find the missing goat.

Here are clickable splendid scribbles of the present cover and title page designs:

GP-rd_cover  GP-rd_titlepg

Boats:

Started work on the next tugboat commission. The Alice Moran is taking shape on the sketchpad. After working out a few more details and drafting a background of New York Harbor, I’ll do at least one more clean draft, then transfer to sturdier paper and bring out the paints.

If you haven’t seen the final, framed M. Moran painting (or images of the earlier stages), you are welcome skim through prior posts in the Captain’s Log (click and scroll down).

Other Notes:

At this point, Terry Treble Music Adventures I & II are still just for sale through me or MusicLearningCommunity.com staff directly. (No online order form just yet.)

I plunged into yet another revision (the fifth major one) of my opera libretto, an adaptation of The Antiquary by Sir Walter Scott. Good things are happening: crisping up some dialogue, incorporating more rhymes and wordplay, and reworking some arias. It’s nearly finished!

Among other projects started and standing, fleshing out and finalizing, I began reviewing two stories I’ll intertwine for a film script. But mum’s the word for now and awhile since it’s just getting underway–that gives you incentive to come back!

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Summer Summary

A week ago I finished the rough drafts for John Churchmouse (very rough, but workable enough to proceed towards more finished art). Then I went out of town and, now back, am ready to advance. Despite the approaching term (which means back to intern work) and corresponding preparations, I can still squeeze some storybuilding into the schedule. =)

Summary of summer projects’ progress:

  1. Completed first draft of The Antiquary libretto
  2. Revised libretto several times to arrive at current and final draft (with obligato perpetual tweaking)
  3. Revised and formatted Terry Treble Writes Rhythm, with subsequent edits to it and Terry Treble & Letter H Write Rhythm
  4. Revised John Churchmouse text (final form)
  5. Completed rough drafts for JC spreads
  6. Thumbnails & other exploratory sketches for Cartage
  7. Watercolor sketches (thistles, daffodils) & note card possibilities (tested tulips)
  8. And, of course, the “Just Married” seashell sign (Congratulations, N&H!)