It has taken almost all day but the last sketch for the book is done. I told Donny earlier that the line was holding me up. Typical for a line to see Santa. Originally I had thought to make the line a single page and even started the sketch that way but I chided myself for being lazy. Folks that remember the era will want to see the line in all it's glory. It was almost as famous as Santa. And so I start in on the last double page spread. So many people, so many children. Their faces need that special Santa line quality. Children being anxious, bored, excited all in one look. Adults being patient, resigned, loving all in another one look.
And I have a few reindeer to tidy up. But finally the last line is drawn and I can put my pencil down. The color has me worried but not nearly as much as getting the sketches right. I am so pleased with the way the pictures tell the story thread. Donny gets a daily walk through the book and he is pleased too.
Adding color will be tomorrow's assignment. I plan to use the pastels I bought and add a bit of water to create a smooth effect. Still anything can happen. We decide that making copies of these original sketches before adding color to them will be wise. We will look seriously tomorrow but for the balance of today we will venture over to the Left Bank to stretch our legs.
As we cross the bridge behind Notre Dame I spy hundreds of locks and ribbons hooked or tied to the bridge works. Curious we look closer. They all have dates and initials. Recent dates. We decide they must be some kind of lovers' memory moment and later find out we are right.
We find a nice book store to do a bit of shopping for the three musketeers. Earlier we have gotten a cute outfit for Lydia and a soft toy for grand #6. Suddenly across the boulevard we spy a copy shop. We cross over and step inside. No one speaks English. But a customer does and explains to the clerk what we need. It is not a problem to make the copies but they close in ten minutes. Not enough time to get our sketches, yes ours, they are as much Donny's as mine, and get back to the shop. We'll come over in the morning, the shop is very close to home. Then I will have the rest of the day to begin the color process.
Back on the island we get a very cool velociraptor tooth for Martin. That covers all the grands with a Paris treat. For the adults we have gotten herbs for the guys and scarves for the gals.
It is nice to collapse in our cozy Paris flat without thinking about sketching.
No comments:
Post a Comment