Well I did it. I drew my first pencil sketch in umpteen years. One of my favorite books on creativity is The Courage to Create (by therapist Dr. Rollo May) because it speaks directly to the fear most us, and especially artists, writers and musicians, face on a regular basis. We’re afraid to step out of bounds, to try something new, to fail. When we act anyway, it’s liberating. I’m proud of my sketch. It represents a bigger triumph.

This preliminary sketch was done on a small, portable sketch pad so the next phase will involve transposing the basic design to a much larger piece of watercolor paper. My mentor, when I lived in Los Angeles, was a painter and watercolorist. She attended Chouinard Art Institute which was later absorbed into Cal Arts. Walt Disney himself had his animators attend drawing classes there.

So, I had a skilled teacher. My mentor was also an expert in color theory, which I believe rubbed off on me some. I also was privileged to work in story for Disney Animated Features during this same period. There, I was literally surrounded by huge storyboards full of gorgeous inspirational art.

One the preliminary sketch is transposed to watercolor paper, the painting will begin. My watercolor block is quite large (18” X “26”) so it may take a few days to transpose. The design will likely change somewhat in this process. The color palate will also play a part in how the painting becomes itself. It’s exciting, a little scary and fun.