"Ernest Mouse"

Small Things...

2011-03-01T10:16:00.000-05:00

I recently finished an experiment in making backgrounds using watercolors and masking fluid. I kept fiddling with it (adding color pencil, gold ink and finally some faux gold leaf) and it turned out decent enough to present to someone. I thought it would make a nice surprise for my Dad, so I took some photos of it and sent it to him. At first I figured I would just take a picture of it while it was still attached to the watercolor block (see below, top)...

...but after cutting it free of the block and trimming it down to the right size (see above, second picture down), I realized that the composition of the piece had changed, so I took another picture.

I then framed it, and that changed it again (or at least made it look 'finished'), so I took another picture.

I had forgotten how much the little things affect an artwork.

Here are a few close-ups of the piece. The title I gave it is "Quimbly the Fire Mouse."

New Ernest picture!

2011-01-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Here is my newest watercolor picture---Ernest with a cluster of bluebells. This painting turned out quite well, and I added a little bit of colored pencil and a little bit of white gouache for some highlights.

Bleached Shoes

2010-08-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

When my Mom came out to visit us last month, we went shoe shopping for Jonathan. Mom got her grandson a pair of sandals and (joy of joys!) a cuter-than-cute pair of orange and white clown fish shoes. Mom found a pair of shoes that she liked for herself, so she bought those and asked if I would like a pair as well. They didn't have a pair of fish shoes in my size (I asked), so I thought it might be fun to make a pair of rabbit shoes by applying bleach to some plain black ones. I finally got around to it yesterday during Jon's nap, and I like how they came out.

Ernest and the Carrot

2010-03-06T19:08:00.000-05:00

The following set of sketches are a sequence shot of Ernest trying to weed the garden. Weeding is one of the big, important jobs that Ernest got to trade his big brother for, so the event transpiring in the third sketch is a pretty big deal. The next few lines are an excerpt from the current story text.

'It came up easily with a small "pop!"...It wasn't a weed. It was a carrot!

...Ernest tried to push it back into the ground, but it wouldn't go.'

I've done this plenty of times--trying to plant something, only to have it snap in half in the crisp, delicate way only plants can do.

Recent Sketches of Ernest and his Dad

2010-02-17T18:55:00.000-05:00

This is a story sketch of Ernest, after rolling off the family car and into the bucket of soapy water.

Sketch of Ernest's Dad painting the kitchen shelf. I was quite pleased with

how this quick drawing came out, though I don't know if this exact part of the story will be kept.

Evan's Amazing Fruit, or Something Inconsequential

2009-10-22T15:25:00.000-04:00

My husband and I got a white Ikea highchair for our son about three or four months ago, and I wanted to decorate the seat. So with a permanent marker, I drew a bunch of crazy-looking rabbits that I was quite proud of, but then found to my dismay that after a few dozen wipes with a wet washcloth, the drawings came off--I don't know what kind of plastic Ikea uses to make these things, but it's good stuff. All the food that's been smeared on it has wiped (or flaked) off with no problems at all. (If you look closely, you can spot two of the rabbits in different stages of being rubbed off.)

A month or two later, I felt compelled to draw on the tray that came with the highchair. I wanted to decorate something that didn't matter and wouldn't last long. Perhaps it was because I had been working on too many projects that felt too important to make mistakes on. Drawing Evan (the bunny-person in the beret and lacy collar) and his amazing flying 'fruit' was quite freeing. FYI, the three different 'fruits' are (from top to bottom) a strawberry, a soybean, and a butternut squash.

2009-09-23T19:42:00.001-04:00

My son, Jonathan, turned 9 months old yesterday. It's been just over a year now since the last entry was published (where did the time go?!), so I'd finally like to take the opportunity to upload another installment of "Ernest."
The newest picture is a watercolor of Ernest and his big brother Sam's pet weevil. This watercolor is one of my best yet, I think. Every one I complete feels richer in color than the one before it. The hamster ball was difficult--I wanted the background behind the ball to appear a bit distorted and 'fogged out' through the plastic. I think I got an okay result in the end, if not completely satisfying one. One of my favorite parts of the painting is the rug Ernest is laying on. The color scheme came from a sweater I inherited from one of my grandmothers. The sweater is old and worn, but I'm not ready to let go of it yet, and working on this painting gave me a good excuse to pull it out again.

2008-09-15T16:12:00.000-04:00

Grass stains, mud, a found stick, a red leaf...a very good day playing outside.
"Home Again" was a piece I particularly enjoyed making--the color scheme is working more here, and the lines are crisp. The purple 'Crocs' on Ernest's feet are the original super, squishy-soft kind--the ones sold now in stores are manufactured with harder, more compact rubber. (Shame, really. I liked the original kind much better.) The paper bag holds leftovers from lunch, as well as other odds and ends found in the woods that day. What I like best? The muddy hand prints on Ernest's t-shirt.

Some Exciting News...

2008-06-30T13:35:00.000-04:00

Hello, All!

A few new updates--first off, the author is going to become a grandmother! ...Which means that the illustrator is pregnant (Hooray!). The baby will be due around December 20th.

The Ernest Project is still plugging along. I've started inking in a new illustration, and will begin adding the watercolor when I've finished the background.

The above illustration is titled: "Ernest Singing Leaf Songs". I wanted to do this one for a few different reasons--First, I wanted to start getting a feel for the scale of Ernest's world (he and his family are dormouse sized), to get a finished shot of Ernest with is mouth open and of his little mouse teeth, to start the arduous process of figuring out the books color scheme, and lets face it, a tiny mouse singing songs about Autumn leaves is just plain fun!

After I showed the author this illustration, she came up with a few verses that Ernest would sing about fall leaves:

Red leaf! yellow leaf!
Falling all around!
Brown leaf! Orange leaf!
Falling upside-down!

First Official Blog

2008-05-26T09:39:00.000-04:00

Hello, all! This is the first official post for the "Ernest Mouse" blog!
(All celebrate with cookies and milk!)
The purpose of this blog is to document progress made on this project for all to see--the text, illustrations, and publishing of "Ernest Mouse", a small children's book my Mom and I began to develop several years ago. Recently, more and more progress has been made on the script, character development, look and feel of the story. The two of us feel that we're close to having something that might be suitable to publish!
I hope to post new updates, at the latest, every two weeks.