The Anne Marie

sketch/underpainting in progress for The Anne Marie

This week I got started on my sketch and underpainting for The Anne Marie by Israel Parker. Israel is very excited about seeing the in process photos of my collage work for the cover of his book and so I thought I'd share them here as well.

My first step is a detailed sketch on wood panel. The Home Depot did not have very good quality birch panel the last time I went, so I opted for red oak panel. The grain and striation in the oak is much more prominent than the birch and I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not. On this piece for the book cover, I do not plan on leaving much grain showing through. And by the way, the guys at Home Depot often wonder why I'm so picky about my building materials and all the small sizes I have them cut it down to for me!

Israel has sent me a manuscript which I plan on reading this weekend so that I can put some of his words to work in the portrait of Atticus on the cover.

Stay tuned for more in process steps. This is a very exciting project for me as the book will be available on Amazon.com and you never know who will read it and see it! PLUS working with Israel on his very first book is exciting, I love supporting other artists in their endeavors.