Editing my Story
Editing my story is taking me a really long time. This is because I decided my story needed to be torn apart and restructured. Editing is like exercising muscles, tearing things down so I can build it back up stronger. It is exciting to see it coming together again. I look forward to being able to share my story with a few beta readers soon. Although, I am a little nervous about it.
I am realizing that it is a fine line to walk trying to do my best and not giving in to perfectionism. Perfectionism is a crippling problem, it stifles creativity and hinders progress. I don't want the anxiety of stories not being perfect to keep me from writing. Breathe... keep it fun.
Colored Pencils
This year I've worked with oil pastels a lot. I have learned so much in a short amount of time. I do, however, like to rotate the types of mediums that I'm working with. It keeps it fresh and enjoyable for me. So, for a time, the oil pastels are up on the shelf.
My husband gave me a new set of colored pencils, which was perfect. I haven't worked with those for a while. I also got my hands on some willow charcoal that I think could be fun to combine with the colored pencil. I have found that I am drawn to illustrations that are created with mixed media. One of my favorites is If I Had a Dragon written by Amanda Ellery and Illustrated by Tom Ellery. It is such a cute, funny story and I love Tom Ellery's use of charcoal, ink and watercolor. Brilliant!
So, the picture below is not mixed media, but I still wanted to share it. I asked one of my brothers what his favorite bird was. He named a few that he liked and I chose one to be my next picture subject. The one I chose was the resplendent quetzal. I had never heard of it before. At first I thought my brother was being extra fancy by saying a "resplendent" quetzal which made me laugh. Then I realized that resplendent is actually part of its name, giving me another chuckle.
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| Resplendent Quetzal Colored Pencil Rendition |
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| Resplendant Quetzal Photograph by Nick Athanas antpitta.com |
This picture took me a lot longer to do than I anticipated. Something I learned while working with the oil pastels is how much you have to build the picture up by layering. I didn't realize it was so similar with colored pencil, until drawing this bird. Applying several layers of different colors gave it a better texture and a richer appearance. The bird didn't feel done until it had many layers. I also used a colorless blender pencil for the first time in this picture. Basically I use it over some of the colors on the paper to smooth them together.
If you are wondering about the squiggly line behind the bird, that's my youngest sons stamp of approval. I was really frustrated at first. Now that I've had some time to get over it, I can appreciate that he was trying to be a part of making the picture with mom. My older two kids asked if they could have the picture, which was a fun compliment for me.
My plan for the next month is to have my story ready for test reading by mid September. Also I will break the story down into what paragraphs will go on what pages in preparation for illustrations to begin. I hope you are having a fun summer, thanks for following me in this adventure!
