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!

Christmas Swing

Now that Christmas break’s in full swing, it’s time to give you readers a ring! (Lest I mislead, this post has nothing to do with holiday jazz, telephones, or bells — although I did play Christmas music on the carillon a week ago.)

Work for the term (writing internship, that is — storybuilding is never done) finished last week, which means instead of squeezing story time between meetings, teaching, and rehearsals, I have to squeeze it between Christmas activities, housework, and moving the cats off the drawing board.

And there are developments! Here’s a smattering:

  • Terry Treble Music Adventures: Books I & II are in the printing queue!
  • Post-November novel “Goodness, there’s a long way to go” revision/keep writing/overhaul process has begun
  • Operation: Opera continues — and hopefully will produce a tighter version of The Antiquary
  • Preliminary work on commissioned art for Centralia Carillon

And so many more things to explore! Who knows? Maybe I’ll wade into the realm of creative non-fiction and write a collection of this Christmas season’s “everyday adventures.” Life is an adventure, after all; we just have to remember it as such.

October-y

But not octoberries. Unless you enjoy autumn-flavored cephalopods. Sounds like fodder for a seasonal sushi joint.

Maybe I should start a weekly wordplay page. (Wednesdays, to triple the alliteration.) Would you enjoy that (or read in the first place)?

The end of September and consequent beginning of the august month of October have brought news and continuing progress.

Results are in for Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Racing Pajamas did not place, but I am grateful that the books will be donated to libraries somewhere. Seeds will be planted & spread abroad to work in places I know not–and yield fruit.

Project Progress:

  • Revised Antiquary synopsis
  • Began compiling Antiquary set notes
  • Started T-shirt design projects (felt ready to do something shorter-term). First subject: Jack Frost of Guardian fame. And advancing my knowledge of Photoshop along the way.
  • Read a 500+ page book on the art of Disney animation & gleaned a lot: Artistic inspiration, food for thought, ideas for creative problem-solving, insight on the film-making process, tips for drawing/composing an animation shot/sequence
  • Received final details for Terry Treble Music Adventures 1 & 2 — the books will be finished (design-wise, not print-ready) this weekend!

This, of course, is on top of a full school/teaching schedule. (Which, I triumphantly add, included designing an annotated bibliography worksheet inspired by The Legend of Zelda.) Fall break begins tomorrow afternoon — a release from academia & the perfect opportunity to accomplish much.

Antiquated Faces

Here is a handful of human heads hewn and hatched by my hand. In short, ’tis a sample smattering of several singers to stage my sometimes serious and simultaneously silly script.

In shorter, for those interesting in The Antiquary, here are rough sketches I did of several characters. Roll arrow over for “flavor text.”

Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Isabella Wardour

Jon Oldie but goodie
Jonathan Oldbuck
(The Antiquary)

Lovel
William Lovel

 Sir Arthur is not a good warder.
Sir Arthur Wardour

He's blue, daba di daba dai.
A Whigged Tory

Miz Griz
Griselda Oldbuck

Clint Eastwouldn't
Lord Geraldin
(Earl of Glenallan)

It was Lady Joscelind in the hall with the candlestick...
Professor Profile

Miss Mary Mac
Mary M’Intyre

 Uh huh.
An Unimpressed Young Lady