This is the cover illustration for a children's book called Spelling Magic. The book aims to teach young children how to spell problem words. Initially it was aimed at dyslexic children but through development the book came to be aimed at all children.
I did this painting very large as it was only going to be reproduced A4 size. I wanted to get in lots of detail and nice brushwork. In the original painting theres a lot of layering of the paint which I feel adds depth of colour to the main character and the magical light coming out of his wand. I hope this comes through in the printed reproduction too. I did this whole book in oils, partly because I wanted to improve my skills and partly because I love oil paint. It 'feels' so much better than acrylic to paint with.
I also invented the rabbit character (Bertie) who appears on every page and helps to teach the words to the children.
Oil on board, 60x80cm
Daniel, thanks for stopping by my blog! I really like what you have up so far - the oils on Spelling Magic are gorgeous. Gives such a rich feeling. And the Bull is -beautiful- line drawing there...and Captain Recycle is a real good idea for a school campaign!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely looking forward to seeing more.
--Shuku
Hey Shuku, thanks for all the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteI'll post some more up soon. You've got a really interesting range of stuff on your blog which I am enjoying looking through. Catch you later!
Dan